VILLANOVA, Pa. _ Villanova coach Jay Wright likes to say at the start of the season that his team has a lot of work to do.
He'll say that at midseason, too, but the 10th-ranked Wildcats' season opener Tuesday night against Army showed a mixed bag _ flashes of sharp passes and smooth switching at the defensive end at certain times, and flickers of not quite being sure who was supposed to be where on the court at others.
The Cats used their superior size and talent and a dominant final 10 minutes to defeat the Black Knights, 97-54, at Finneran Pavilion, kicking off the program's 100th year of college basketball. They rode a stretch of wretched shooting by the visitors to take a 40-9 lead late in the first half, and then showed their coach in what areas they need to work for bigger games ahead, such as next Wednesday at Ohio State.
Forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who with guard Justin Moore became the ninth and 10th true freshmen to start their first game in the Wright era, led everyone with 24 points and 13 rebounds, showing an array of moves inside and a smooth shooting stroke from outside.
Sophomore Saddiq Bey, who is being asked to handle the basketball more, added 22 points for the Wildcats and Cole Swider chipped in with 18. The Wildcats shot 52.2% from the field, 40% (12 of 30) from 3-point range, and outrebounded Army 54-26.
Tommy Funk and Tucker Blackwell led the Black Knights (0-1) with 15 points apiece.
The 6-foot-9 Robinson-Earl led all scorers with 15 points and had a game-high nine rebounds by halftime when the Wildcats led 49-26 after being outscored 17-9 by the Black Knights in the final 5 minutes, 53 seconds.
Army gave Villanova a better game early in the second half, keeping the game in the 21- to 26-point gap while improving its defense against the Wildcats. But the Cats gradually increased their lead in the final 12 minutes, growing the margin from that point to 40 and beyond.
The first 14 minutes of the game showed the raw talent that will develop and help Villanova as the season goes on.
In addition to Robinson-Earl, Bey showed a variety of offensive moves in the opening half, knocking down a 3-point basket, slicing through the lane for a vicious dunk and hitting a pull-up jumper. Swider, a pure 3-point shooter, showed some different moves, faking a 3 and heading to the hoop, where he took the punishment and stepped to the line to swish two free throws.
The Wildcats defense played well for much of the first half but Army went ice cold after hitting its first two shots to take a 4-2 lead in the opening 1:18. They hit one more basket in a span of nearly 11 minutes and missed 11 consecutive shots between makes.
When Funk, sank a layup at the 7:52 mark, Villanova held a 35-9 lead and extended the margin to 40-9 on a conventional three-point play by Robinson-Earl with 5:53 to play.
But the Wildcats then gave Wright something to talk about at halftime, making just 4 of their last 11 shots and committing three turnovers from that point.
