OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton (9-3 overall, 1-0 BIG EAST) rode a wave of efficient offense and stingy defense to a 79-59 victory over Villanova (7-4 overall, 0-1 BIG EAST) in the conference regular season opener for both teams Friday night at CHI Health Center.
 
"Creighton played great tonight and we obviously did not play well," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "I thought we struggled offensively, and you have to give credit to them defensively. When we struggled offensively, they got out in transition. That run in the first half made a big difference as did the one they made in the second half."
 
Indeed, the Wildcats clawed to within 56-54 with just more than eight minutes to play but did not register another field goal the rest of the way. Creighton closed the game on a 23-5 run.
 
Collin Gillespie led Villanova with 16 points while Eric Dixon added 15 points and nine rebounds. The Wildcats were outrebounded 41-29 on the night, falling to 0-4 on the season when they are outrebounded.
 
"There were some poor offensive possessions on our part after we made a little run," noted Wright, "and they got out in transition. They're fast and they can really get it going, especially in this place. Creighton played great tonight."
 
Creighton scored the game's first four points before the Wildcats answered with an 8-0 run to grab an early 8-4 lead over the Bluejays. A 16-9 spurt by Creighton, much of it accomplished by smooth offense, gave it an 20-17 lead as the first half clock dipped below the nine-minute mark.
 
A 3-pointer by Gillespie tied the game at 20.
 
Five straight made field goals, including 3-pointers by Ryan Hawkins and Andrew Nembhard, keyed a 15-6 surge that gave the Bluejays a 35-26 lead at the 2:49 mark of the first half.
 
Creighton held that nine-point advantage at halftime, 39-30.
 
The Bluejays converted .567 of their first half field goal attempts, including .455 of their attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. Meanwhile, Villanova, which began the period connecting on 7-of-12 finished making just 3-of-15 for a first half field goal percentage of .370. The Wildcats generated only three assists on their 10 made field goals in the period.
 
Dixon and Gillespie each had eight points to lead Villanova in scoring over the first 20 minutes. Hawkins paced Creighton with 10 points.
 
The Wildcats made a push early in the second half, but Creighton offset that with a trio of 3-pointers. Villanova cooled off, sinking just 2-of-11 from the field in one stretch, and found itself down 55-46 as the clock dipped below the 12-minute mark of the second half.
 
A series of defensive stops helped Nova narrow the deficit to 56-54 with just over eight minutes on the clock. But Creighton answered with a 13-1 run, with Nembhard doing much of the damage, including a steal and score at the 5:15 mark. Meanwhile, the Wildcats missed seven of eight attempts from the field in that span.
 
When the dust settled Creighton led 69-55 with just over four minutes to play.
 
Contributing to the Wildcats' scoring drought in the final 20 minutes was their inaccuracy from long range. Villanova was just 1-of-9 from deep in the first 17:23 of the second half, 11-of-31 from inside it.
 
The Wildcats finished with just four assists.
 
"We only had six turnovers, which is a positive," said Wright, "but the four assists stands out. We struggled on offense and when we got open looks from three, we missed them."
 
Villanova is slated to open the home portion of its BIG EAST schedule Tuesday evening at Finneran Pavilion at 7 p.m. (FS1 and the Villanova IHeart Radio Network). Nationally ranked Xavier will be the opponent.