Villanova thumps Seton Hall as defense awakens

Villanova continued its confounding season by throttling the team that entered Sunday in third place in the Big East.

Against Seton Hall, the Wildcats shot 53.6% from the field and 46.7% from three. They forced 15 turnovers. Sparked by Brendan Hausen, Villanova went through stretches when it looked like it would never miss, while simultaneously stifling the Pirates defensively. The Wildcats were deserving winners, running away to a 80-54 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.

“We just got embarrassed,” Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said after his team dropped to 15-9, 8-5 in the Big East. “They punched us in the face and we ran away.”

The win improves Villanova to 13-11, but the Wildcats are still below .500 in Big East play at 6-7. There were still boos pregame for Kyle Neptune, and his team still needs a winning streak and a lot of things to go right to play in the NCAA Tournament.

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But performances like Sunday show why the Wildcats shouldn’t be counted out just yet.

Villanova’s five-game January losing streak correlated with opponents neutralizing its best shooter. Hausen, the only Wildcat shooting better than 38% from three, scored a combined five points in losses to UConn, St. John’s, Butler, and Marquette. Teams defended him tightly, with and without the ball.

Since then, Villanova has seemingly made an effort to get him involved more often. Hausen has responded by scoring in double figures in three consecutive games, including 17 points on Sunday. Hausen was 5-for-8 on three-pointers against the Pirates, and it looked like the threes came from different situations than usual.

“We try to find spots where we can attack defenses,” Hausen said. “Credit to Coach and the coaches for getting me to those spots and credit to my teammates for finding me.”

Neptune denied scheming more threes for Hausen, but he knows how valuable the guard is. “Obviously, B open for three is a pretty good option for us,” Neptune said.

Hausen’s confidence was clear, especially as three after three went in. He pointed to his forearm after each make, presumably to indicate he has ice in his veins. His team fed off that confidence, with six other Wildcats making three-pointers.

Eric Dixon, TJ Bamba, and Mark Armstrong each went 2-for-4 from three. Dixon was the game’s leader with 18 points, while Bamba and Armstrong scored 14 and 12, respectively.

Hausen’s response when asked about his celebration showed Villanova’s mentality.

“I don’t even know what’s going through my head when that happens,” Hausen said. “I’m supposed to be sprinting back, ready to get a stop.”

After allowing 80-plus points in four of six January losses, the Wildcats have doubled down on defense to start February. Villanova shut down Providence last week in a 68-50 win, then frustrated Xavier despite losing by 56-53 on Wednesday.

The defense against Seton Hall was not as impressive as last Sunday’s, but the Wildcats still dominated the Pirates. They allowed less than a point per possession, continually forced turnovers, and never allowed Seton Hall to find an offensive rhythm.

Villanova shut down star Pirates guard Kadary Richmond, who managed 12 points on 4-10 shooting. More telling was that they forced him into six turnovers.

Tyler Burton had five of Villanova’s season-high 11 steals. The previous high (10) came last week against Providence.

Beyond simply counting as a win, Sunday’s victory helped Villanova in the metrics as well. The Wildcats are now 4-2 in Quadrant 2 games, and their KenPom ranking, which updates after each game, improved from 41 to 34. The NCAA selection committee uses the NET rankings, which update daily, but the Wildcats will surely make a leap there as well.

Next up, the Wildcats visit Georgetown (8-15, 1-11) on Friday at 7 p.m. Two of the next four matchups are against the Hoyas, with a winnable home date with Butler and a trip to No. 1 UConn included as well. There’s plenty of opportunity for Villanova to improve its record and get back into the tournament field.

There is reason for cynicism. Villanova has shown flashes before, and Seton Hall could end up being yet another example of how good it could have been.

But there’s a lot of season left to play. This win showed what Villanova can be.