Too often, Villanova looked a step slow against Boston College, all over the court. Slow guarding man-to-man, slow on switches, slow on help defense.
Not like the No. 3 team in the country, not in Wednesday's late-night season opener.
You want to blame it on missing some practices because the program was shut down for a couple of weeks after COVID-19 positives hit, maybe.
This part will relieve Villanova fans. The mental toughness they'd expect to see, they saw. Down by nine in the second half, Villanova went on a 11-1 run to grab the lead back.
Boston College got the lead back. Villanova then took over the late minutes. It wasn't easy getting the lead, but they knew how to hold it. The veterans took control late. Final score: Villanova 76, Boston College 67.