Wildcat Wrap
 
Final Score: Wildcats 75, Georgetown 47
 
Overview: Villanova jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. It limited Georgetown to 14 field goals on the night and the 47 points scored by the Hoyas were the fewest the Wildcats have allowed in a BIG EAST game this season.
 
"Obviously we played a totally different Villanova team than we played a couple of weeks ago," stated Georgetown coach Ed Cooley, whose Hoyas fell to VU 70-54 on Feb. 16. "We played a different team than played against Connecticut in their last game out. It's a team that had a purpose, trying to become an NCAA team.
 
"When you have a team playing with more focus, more purpose, that's what happens."
 
"I was really proud of the way our guys came out defensively," said Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "Probably more than any game this year, we came out, set the tone defensively and kept it up for a full 40 minutes. That's what we've got to continue to do.
 
"I think we've been getting better defensively. When we play like that defensively, it gives us a chance each time out."
 
Down Two 'Cats: Hakim Hart made his second consecutive start, this time in place of senior guard TJ Bamba. Bamba suffered a facial fracture in Saturday night's loss at Connecticut and was not in uniform for this contest. Meanwhile, junior guard Jordan Longino sat out with a non-COVID illness.
 
Following the game, Neptune was asked about the status of Bamba. The Washington State transfer suffered the fracture during Saturday night' 78-54 loss at UConn.
 
"It's a day-to-day thing," he said. "We'll have an update as we go."
 
Opening Act: Georgetown dropped in a 3-pointer on its first possession of the night. But the Wildcats responded with a 10-0 burst, with seven of those points coming from Eric Dixon. That lead grew to 22-13 over the next seven minutes as the Wildcats used their defense to help fuel offense. A transition feed from Mark Armstrong to Hakim Hart led Georgetown to call timeout with 8:17 left in the first half.
 
Justin Moore made three straight from beyond the arc to help VU extend its advantage to 31-16 with 3:17 on the first half clock. Villanova held the Hoyas without a point the rest of the way and added 13 of their own points, crafting a 43-19 lead at halftime.
 
The Wildcats held Georgetown to 7-of-25 shooting (.280) over the first 20 minutes, the fifth time this season VU held a foe to fewer than 20 points in a period. At the other end, Nova was 14-of-27 from the floor (.519), including 9-of-16 from long range (.563). Moore led all scorers with 14 points in the half.
 
After intermission: Georgetown scored a quick eight points in the first 4:14 of the second half but Dixon helped the 'Cats keep pace, scoring eight points of his own to keep the lead at 51-27.
 
A 13-0 surge midway through the period pushed the advantage to 70-38 and the Wildcats never looked back from there. By night's end, all five starters had finished in double figures with Dixon's 22 points topping the charts.
 
A Thousand for Tyler: In the final minute, graduate transfer Tyler Burton pulled down his eighth carom of the contest, giving him an even 1,000 for his five seasons in an accomplished career that began at the University of Richmond.  
 
The Uxbridge, Mass., native led the Wildcats in rebounding on a night when Nova owned a 33-28 edge on the glass.
 
Sharing the Basketball: Villanova tied a season-high with 19 assists on its 25 made field goals (it also had 19 in its opening night victory over American). Armstrong led the way with six helpers while Hart added five more.
 
Armstrong also had a big hand in helping to contain his counterpart at guard, Georgetown's Jayden Epps, who was held without a field goal in seven attempts over 33:22.
 
"Jayden's a great player," said Armstrong. "We just wanted to come out and really make him feel us. We just wanted to set a tone by coming out and playing harder and more together."
 
A Nod to Arch: Neptune recounted how in the final two minutes he asked Chris Arcidiacono – who logged 12:31 in the absence of Bamba and Longino – if he wanted to re-enter the game. Arcidiacono instead suggested he insert walk-on Collin O'Toole – who was celebrating a birthday today.
 
"I've got to give Chris a lot of credit there," stated Neptune. "It's his last Pavilion game and I asked him if he would rather finish on the court or off. He said I think you should put (O'Toole) in. He's just an unbelievable person. Play, not play, he gives it up for his teammates. For him to say that at the end was just really special."