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PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The No. 6 ranked Villanova Wildcats used an 11-0 spurt midway through the second half to spark a 74-68 victory over Providence (17-8 overall, 7-5 BIG EAST) in a contest played Wednesday night before 12,410 at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

Junior Ryan Arcidiacono paced the Wildcats (22-2 overall, 9-2 BIG EAST) with 20 points while classmate Daniel Ochefu added 19 points and nine rebounds while coming off the bench. LaDontae Henton led all scorers with 23 points for the Friars.

"That's a great win for us in one of the toughest places to play in the country," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "This is a really good Providence team and you've got to play tough in here and be tough-minded. I'm really proud of our guys and our leadership."

The Wildcats held the Friars in check for most of the night at the defensive end before a frantic comeback effort closed the gap in the final minutes. But Villanova kept makinig key plays and sank free throws - 27 on the night - to preserve the victory, their second in a row here.

"I was very pleased with our defense," stated Wright.

"When we're good on defense, we're good as a unit. We're not the kind of team that can put Dylan Ennis on Kris Dunn and shut him down. We've got to do it as a team. Dunn is a great player and we tried to make it tough on him. I thought on LaDontae Henton, we did a great job in the first half but they made adjustments in the second half."

Ochefu did not start for the second game in a row as an extension of what Wright called a "minor academic issue".

"He's good now," stated Wright after the game. "It's a simple thing but we talk about it all the time. Starting is a privilege in our program and it comes with more responsibilities. You have to be held accountable and (Daniel) understands that."

"You could tell by the way he played that he gets that - he was great for us."

Indeed, Ochefu entered the fray after six minutes had elapsed and quickly made his presence felt. He scored 10 points before halftime and helped Villanova build a 29-26 lead into the break.

The Friars were within 34-31 early in the second half when the Wildcats struck. A pair of triples from Josh Hart - who did not travel with the team Tuesday as he battled a virus and only arrived on Wednesday morning - sank a pair of 3-pointers from the right corner and suddenly Villanova had built a 48-34 advantage.

Providence answered with eight points scored in 38 seconds to close the gap to 48-42 with plenty of time left on the clock. But the Wildcats were equal to every challenge the Friars could muster and in the end earned the six point road triumph.

Hilliard added 16 points to the Wildcats' cause while Hart contributed 10 points. Dunn finished the evening with 17 points but was just 7-of-20 from the field.

The Wildcats are scheduled to be back on campus for a bit more than 24 hours after the Providence trip before departing Friday for Indianapolis. Villanova is at No. 18 Butler on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14) at 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network).

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