Jan 18, 2003
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PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - With the Big East schedule barely begun, Villanova and Rutgers are already heading in opposite directions.
Gary Buchanan scored 27 points and Villanova set a scoring record on Rutgers' home court in a 110-89 loss to Villanova Saturday night. The loss was Rutgers' (8-7, 0-3 Big East) fourth straight and dropped its record at home to 6-4. Last season, the team was 15-2 at home.
"A hundred points? That's not supposed to happen," Rutgers' Ricky Shields said. "It's not like it's the NBA and we're playing the Dallas Mavericks."
Ricky Wright added 18 for Villanova (11-5), which has won six of its last eight and improved to 4-0 in the Big East for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Freshman Calvin Wooten led Rutgers with a career-high 24 points.
The 110 points was the most scored by an opponent at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, surpassing the mark set by George Washington in a 105-100 win over Rutgers on Feb. 2, 1993. Before Saturday, Rutgers was allowing 63 points per game, second in the Big East.
"We said we were going to come out and play like this was the first round of the NCAA Tournament," Shields said, "but apparently we didn't come out with the right amount of intensity."
Villanova scored the first 10 points of the game and never trailed, eventually extending the lead to 21 on Marcus Austin's layup in transition with 2:55 left in the first half. The lead reached 89-57 with seven minutes left in the game before Rutgers cut the deficit to 12 in the final two minutes.
Villanova had a season-high 13 3-pointers. In their last two games, the Wildcats are 19-for-33 from behind the arc.
"It was just one of those nights," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "We haven't had one of these in two years at Villanova."
Rutgers, meanwhile, wilted under the Wildcats' defensive pressure early, committing seven turnovers in the first 4:06 when they fell behind 13-2. The Scarlet Knights also failed to guard the perimeter as Villanova made seven of its first nine 3-point attempts and finished the half 9-for-14.
"It was mainly our offense," Rutgers coach Gary Waters said. "Out of our first 10 possessions, we turned the ball over seven times. And they continued to apply pressure, and then applied the knockout punch. "
Wooten almost single-handedly kept Rutgers in the game in the first half, as he scored nine consecutive points on three 3-pointers, the third of which brought Rutgers to within 14 points (39-25) with 6:41 left.
Rutgers trailed by 14 in the final seconds of the half, before Wright sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the score 54-37.
