Wildcat Wrap
 
Final Score: UConn 66, Wildcats 65
 
Just Fell Short: Villanova climbed out of an early hole to take a lead midway through the second half and forge a 58-58 tie with No. 1 ranked Connecticut (17-2 overall, 7-1 BIG EAST) with just over three minutes remaining. The Wildcats trailed 62-60 with 29 seconds left and ran a play for Justin Moore. Villanova was whistled for an offensive foul with 19 seconds on the clock.
 
UConn then made its final four free throws to secure the 66-65 win.
 
Tristen Newton led all scorers with 25 points while Cam Spencer added 11 points. Moore and TJ Bamba paced Villanova with 15 points apiece.
 
Huskies Were Hot to Start: After misfiring on its first field goal attempt of the night, UConn quickly showed why it sits atop the nation's college basketball rankings. The Huskies sank 4-of-5 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, to grab an 11-0 lead before the first official timeout of the evening.
 
"I thought UConn came out and set the tone the first couple of minutes," stated Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "They played hard throughout, made some timely shots, got stops when they needed to get stops.
 
"They played really hard. We've got some things we can clean up."
 
Eric Dixon found a cutting Hakim Hart for the Wildcats' first basket of the night. Dixon followed with a pair of free throws to make it an 11-4 UConn edge. A Mark Armstrong fastbreak layup cut the UConn lead to 11-6 before a pair of Alex Karaban free throws made it 13-6 with 11:27 to play in the first half.
 
When Moore sank the 'Cats first 3-pointer of the night, Villanova was up 17-16.
 
But six straight points from Cam Spencer keyed a 9-0 run that put the Huskies back on top 27-18 with less than three minutes to play in the period.
 
Villanova (11-7 overall, 4-3 BIG EAST) got a stop on the Huskies' final possession and a Dixon slam off an inbounds play with 3.9 seconds on the first half clock to narrow the deficit to 29-24 at intermission.
 
Moore's nine points led the Wildcats over the first 20 minutes.
 
After Intermission: When Bamba sank a corner 3-pointer, the Wildcats had forged a tie at 31. A pair of triples from Tyler Burton and one more from Bamba lifted the Wildcats to a 42-38 lead with 14 minutes left in the second half.
 
UConn responded with a run of its own, reeling off the next eight points to retake the lead at 46-42 with 11:13 on the second half clock. A Donovan Clingan score pushed the lead to 48-42 and UConn added a 3-pointer to make it 51-42 as the contest reached the midpoint of the second half.
 
But the 'Cats kept coming and when Bamba made a pair of free throws with 3:01 left, the contest was deadlocked at 58.
 
What They Said: Neptune on the two offensive fouls called on Villanova in the final minutes: "It's null and void. It doesn't matter what I think. This is basketball.
 
"Refs have a really tough job. They do a great job. I wouldn't want to do their job. We're never going to complain about refs or calls or anything like that. I bet there were 20 things we could have done better throughout the game. They're not yelling at us, 'hey why didn't you hold your follow through?' or 'why didn't you make a better call Coach?'
 
"They don't do that, so we don't critique them at the end of the game."
 
Added Moore: "Like Coach said, I just look in the mirror and see what I can do better. Make a better play."
 
Moore on his third game back after missing five weeks with a sprained right knee: "Day by day, I'm just trying to get better. They're going to be some bad days and good days."
 
Milestone Marked: When Bamba sank his second 3-point jumper of the second half, it pushed him past the 1,000-career points marker. The native of the Bronx, N.Y., played three seasons at Washington State University before transferring to Villanova last summer.  
 
Roaring Crowd: This classic BIG EAST battle was played before a raucous Wells Fargo Center throng of 18,966.