Villanova Univeristy Athletics

WACO, Tex. – The No. 2 ranked Baylor Bears used a superior defensive effort Sunday to defeat No. 6 Villanova 57-36 in a BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle contest played at the Ferrell Center.
 
"Baylor is an outstanding defensive team," noted head coach Jay Wright. "They're as physical, tough and quick as anybody we have played against. I give them credit for their defense.
 
"We didn't do a bad job defensively. They were just in us at the offensive end – physical, athletic, quick, and we really struggled with it."
 
Baylor scored eight of the game's first nine points before a 3-pointer by Justin Moore and a series of defensive stops helped the 'Cats cut their deficit to 8-4 at the first official timeout (15:57 on the first half clock). Yet the Moore field goal was Villanova's only one through the first 8:23 of the contest as it endured a drought of more than six minutes. The Wildcats' ability to force turnovers helped it stay within 12-4 of the Bears.
 
The Wildcats got a Caleb Daniels 3-pointer to close the gap to 12-7 but the Bears' continued to control tempo through their defense. At the 6:51 mark they held a 16-9 lead and the Wildcats had twice as many turnovers (six) as field goals (three).
 
Baylor pushed its advantage to 25-9 before a pair of Collin Gillespie 3-pointers got the Wildcats back within ten points at the half, 25-15.
 
Villanova connected on 5-of-24 field goals in the first period (.208) and committed seven turnovers. Its defense allowed it to stay within contact, though, limiting Baylor to 11-of-29 accuracy from the field (.379) and forcing seven turnovers.
 
Baylor's James Akinjo led all first half scorers with seven points.
 
A Moore basket pulled the Wildcats within 31-22 early in the period but Baylor's defensive hold again fueled a surge. This time it was a 9-0 burst that put the Bears up 40-22 and in control of the contest.
 
The tenor of the contest remained the same for the duration of the afternoon. Villanova was unable to put together enough offense to create a rally.
 
The final count was 57-36.
 
Villanova's engine, Collin Gillespie, was limited to six points as the Bears made every effort to neutralize his offense.
 
"They did a really good job of that," noted Wright. "They were tough on Collin and Justin. They just did a great job of loading up on them. Those guys stayed aggressive for us and we want them to do that. But they do a great job of helping and recovering even if you can get by one of their guards."
 
Akinjo, who began his college career at Georgetown, led all scorers with 16 points while Moore was the only Wildcat to reach double figures, finishing with 15 points.
 
The 36 points were the fewest scored by the Wildcats in a game since Feb. 4, 1979, a 36-34 victory over Penn State. The previous low during Wright's 21 season tenure that began in 2001, was a 46-40 loss at Connecticut in February 2002.
 
Up next the Wildcats will venture to Omaha later in the week for their BIG EAST Conference regular season opener at Creighton on Friday evening (8 p.m. on FS1 and the Villanova IHeart Radio Network).