NEWARK, N.J. _ On a day when No. 1 Villanova needed him to create a spark against Notre Dame, Josh Hart delivered.
Hart displayed his intensity, his energy, and his relentlessness for the entire game Saturday, scoring a career-high 37 points to go with 11 rebounds and four assists while leading the Wildcats to a 74-66 victory over the No. 23 Fighting Irish in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center.
The Wildcats (10-0), who trailed for the first 30-plus minutes against the determined Fighting Irish (9-1), needed everything they could get from Hart. The 6-foot-5 senior shot 10-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and sank all 14 of his free- throw attempts.
It certainly was a performance, exhibited on national network television, that enhanced Hart's candidacy for national player of the year in the early going.
"I don't follow that enough, but he's as good as any player in the country," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
In posting the most points by a Villanova player since Maalik Wayns had 39 at Cincinnati on Jan. 14, 2012, Hart scored 19 in the first half and 18 in the second, and did not leave the floor at all in the final 20 minutes, logging 37 minutes in all.
"I honestly didn't know how many points I had," Hart said. "I was just trying to make the right play. Some of the time they stuck with our guys and I was able to get to the rim. I've got to give credit to my teammates for finding me. Kris (Jenkins) had a couple of good off-the-ball screens and I just tried to make the right play.
"I've got to, no matter what the score is, make the right play. Whether we're up 20, I've got to make the right play. Whether we're down 20, I've got to make the right play. That's something that I truly believe in. I'm always going to do that. When I'm not, Coach is going to tell me."
That made his coach smile.
"I felt like after he spoke, do I really need to say anything?" Wright said. "That's like a coach, right?"
Hart also had two steals, triggering a defensive effort that limited Notre Dame to 25 points and 40 percent shooting while forcing seven turnovers in the second half. The Fighting Irish went in averaging 89 points and just eight turnovers per game.
The Wildcats rallied from deficits of 11 points in the first half and nine in the second. Matt Farrell, who tied Steve Vasturia with 18 points for the Fighting Irish, hit back-to-back jumpers to give his team a 50-41 lead with 13 minutes, 11 seconds remaining.
Hart followed that up by scoring 12 points in a 16-6 run over the next four minutes. He ended the run by feeding Jalen Brunson for a layup on a two-on-one fast break to give the Cats their first lead at 57-56 with 9:05 remaining.
Villanova never trailed again, but the Fighting Irish didn't allow them to relax. They were still close at 68-66 with 2:10 to play on Farrell's short jumper, but the Wildcats held them scoreless after that, and got two free throws each from Brunson, Darryl Reynolds, and Hart to seal the victory.
Brunson twisted his left ankle when fighting through a screen in the first half and played just 11 minutes in the second. The Wildcats already were down to a seven-man rotation because guard Phil Booth missed his seventh straight game with swelling in his left knee.
