It appeared as if opening night of the Big East Conference season would result in the preseason favorite, Villanova, falling to the team picked to finish last, Georgetown.
But, after trailing by 18 in the first half, the ninth-ranked Wildcats started the second half with a 20-4 run and took control with an 13-0 run late in the period to defeat the Hoyas, 76-63, at McDonough Arena in Washington.
Villanova (5-1, 1-0 Big East) shot 50% from the floor in the second half and knocked down eight of its 15 3-point baskets, outscoring the Hoyas (2-3), 43-17. Collin Gillespie and Caleb Daniels led the Wildcats with 18 points apiece, combining for 24 points in the second half.
After shooting 58.1% in the second half, Georgetown was limited to 26.7% in the second half and turned the ball over nine times.
“I thought we got good looks in the first half and didn’t make them, but defensively we were a step behind everything they did,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “They were a little more prepared for us and maybe we were a little more predictable.
“In the second half, I just thought we got comfortable with what they were doing. We didn’t make any great changes. We just defended what they were doing better.”
The Wildcats were a few steps slow on defense for much of the first half, and the red-hot Hoyas capitalized. They shot 58.1% in the opening 20 minutes with six 3-point baskets and twice held an 18-point margin, the second time at 46-28 on Qudus Wahab’s hook shot with 2 1/2 minutes to play.
The Wildcats scored the last five points to reduce the deficit to 46-33 at halftime, and then came out smoking in the second half. They hit 7 of 9 shots overall and 5 of 6 from 3-point range, outscoring the Hoyas 20-4 over a stretch of 7 minutes, 20 seconds and led, 53-50, after Daniels knocked down a 3. Gillespie paced the run with nine points, on three 3s.
The game was close for the next eight minutes. The Hoyas held their last lead, 61-60, on a baseline floater by Jahvon Blair with 5:54 remaining. Daniels then knocked down a pair of 3s in one minute to spark the run of 13 consecutive points during which the Cats held the Hoyas scoreless for 4:23.
The Hoyas came out flying, sinking 7 of their first 11 shots for a quick 17-7 lead with the game a little over 5 minutes old. The visitors hung around at 24-18, but Georgetown held them without a field goal for 4:45 while going on an 11-1 run that featured scoring by four players. A close-in hook by Wahab gave the Hoyas a 35-19 lead with 6:51 remaining.
After Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored his first points of the game, a 3-pointer, the Hoyas got a followup basket from Jamorko Pickett and a 3 from Donald Carey to take their largest lead, 40-22, with 4:45 to play. They built the lead back to 18, 46-28, on another basket by Wahab.
