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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- No. 1 ranked Villanova broke open a close contest with a 28-9 spurt late in the second half to claim a 92-76 victory over BIG EAST rival Seton Hall Sunday before 16,115 at the Wells Fargo Center. Redshirt freshman Omari Spellman notched 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting for the day to lead the Wildcats while Desi Rodriguez tallied 20 points to lead Seton Hall (17-6 overall, 6-4 BIG EAST).

Villanova improved to 22-1 overall, extending the best start to a season in program history. The Wildcats are 9-1 in BIG EAST play and have won nine in a row since dropping a 101-93 decision at Butler on Dec. 30.

"That was a good second half for us defensively," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "Seton Hall is a really good team. Kevin (Willard) just does a great job with them. They shot 50 percent on us, got six 3's in the second half and I actually thought we did a good job down the stretch. That's how good the teams in our league are."

"This was a good win."

Spellman added 11 rebounds to his 26 points in 35 minutes of action while also working against Seton Hall's Angel Delgado, a senior who recently became the BIG EAST all-time top rebounder.

"I thought Omari was really intelligent about defending Delgado," noted Wright. "In part because he's a senior, I think Delgado is one of the great big men in the country. I think he's maybe the smartest big man in the country. Sometimes when you go against a young guy who's excited to play you, you can take advantage of his inexperience. But Omari played like a veteran. He stayed on his feet, worked hard to get position."

Of Spellman's nine field, goals six were 3-pointers.

"I just wanted to play as hard as I could for my teammates and coaches," stated Spellman, who finished one high of his season high set at Temple on Dec. 13. "I think this was a testament to how great my teammates are. You have to worry about Jalen, you have to worry about Mikal, Donte, Eric, everybody. Sometimes they just pick me.

Seton Hall held the upper hand in the early minutes Sunday afternoon, dropping in 5-of-7 attempts from the field to grab an early 11-4 lead. A corner 3-pointer from Spellman -- who scored all of Villanova's points in the first 4:36 -- allowed VU to shave its deficit to 11-7 at the first official timeout.

That burst became a 9-0 surge that helped Villanova grab the lead back at 13-11. But the teams settled into a back and forth of high quality hoops that included a thunderclap dunk by Mikal Bridges and another triple by Spellman. With 6:19 left in the first period, the Wildcats held a 30-27 lead after an old school 3-point play from Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree.

However, the Pirates came right back to score the next four points and reclaim the lead at 31-30. The see-saw continued until a mini-spurt by Villanova lifted it to a 41-37 edge after 20 minutes of action. Spellman's 15 points led the `Cats while Seton Hall was paced by 10 points from Angel Delgado and eight from Carrington.

A pair of Brunson free throws gave VU a 43-37 edge in the first minute of the second half but the Pirates scored the next seven points, including four by Delgado to regain the lead at 44-43.

It stayed tight through the first 10 minutes of the second half. A Myles Powell 3-pointer with 9:44 left got Seton Hall to within 62-60 before a flash of firepower over the final 10 minutes of the first half that changed the game's dynamic. A 28-9 burst carried the Wildcats to a 90-69 lead with 2:12 to play.

National Player of the Year candidate Jalen Brunson finished with 21 points, six assists and just a single turnover while Mikal Bridges added 17 points for the Wildcats.

The 2017-18 Villanova Men's Basketball season is presented by KeyBank.

NO WILDCAT WALK SUNDAY

The "Wildcat Walk" will return on Saturday, Feb. 10 prior to the Wildcats' game against Butler at noon.

TALKING VILLANOVA BASKETBALL SHOW IN HAVERTOWN MONDAY

Due to an ongoing renovation at the Wayne location of J.D. McGillicuddy's Restaurant, Monday night's "Talking Villanova Basketball Radio Show with Jay Wright Presented by Hartford Funds" will take place at the McGillicuddy's location in Havertown. The show originated from that spot on Jan. 24.

Monday night's show is the sixth of 10 slated for 2017-18. It can be heard locally on 610 Sports or viewed via a live stream on the Nova Nation All-Access Pass at villanova.com from 7-8 p.m.