Overview
 
The Villanova Wildcats used a suffocating defense and timely offense to post a 64-56 win over Seton Hall in their BIG EAST opener Tuesday night at the Prudential Center.
 
It was a complete defensive effort in head coach Kevin Willard's first matchup with the program he guided for 12 seasons. The Wildcats limited the Hall to 21-of-63 shooting for the night (.333), including just 3-of-13 from beyond the 3-point arc (.231).
 
Acaden Lewis led a balanced attack with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals. Bryce Lindsay added 15 points while Matt Hodge had 12 points and six boards.
 
"That defense," said Willard of Seton Hall, "makes it so hard to execute. If they keep playing defense like that they can be a second round NCAA Tournament team.
 
"Our defense was good tonight. I didn't think it was that good in the first half. We went back and looked at it at halftime. We looked a little tired. The size of Wisconsin kind of wore us out a little bit. In the second half I thought we were much more aggressive with our hands, much more active and made them take a lot of tough two's."
 
The Acaden Angle
 
After Seton Hall scored on a 3-pointer by Mike Williams III Lewis helped get his squad into the game. He sank a 3-pointer from corner and was fouled in the act. He added the free throw and scored a bit later in the lane to give Nova its first six points.
 
For good measure, he added three rebounds.
 
A Lindsay deep 3-pointer pushed the VU edge to 9-5 after 4:25 of action.
 
Defense Does Its Part
 
Over the course of the past two decades, the battles between the Wildcats and Pirates have shared a common theme: often, stingy defense from both teams made this into a gritty tussle. The middle part of the first half displayed more of that from both sides.
 
Seton Hall forced six Villanova turnovers in the first 8:41. Meanwhile, the 'Cats limited the Hall to 5-of-14 shooting in that span. It resulted in a 14-12 edge for Villanova.
 
The Pirates were able to capitalize on the offensive glass, grabbing six of the first seven offensive boards over 12 minutes to forge a tie at 18.
 
Villanova got triples from Hodge and Lindsay that helped it craft a 31-27 advantage at intermission.
 
The Wildcats held that lead because of a defensive effort that limited the Hall to 11-of-32 shooting in the period (.344). They also helped themselves with a 6-of-14 effort from long distance (.429).
 
Sharp Start
 
Seton Hall scored the first basket of the second half to narrow the gap to 31-29. Villanova answered with an 11-0 burst that stretched their lead to 42-29. The Wildcats held the Pirates without a point for 4:26 while Lewis and Hodge again contributed 3-pointers at the other end.
 
A Tyler Perkins 3-ball and a Lewis transition bucket made it a 16-0 surge. The Wildcats expanded their lead to 55-35 at one point before a 6-0 Pirates run cut the margin to 55-41. But Hodge scored on a putback of a Lewis miss near the rim and the VU edge was 57-41 at the 8:15 mark of the second half.
 
Seton Hall's full court defensive pressure caused the Wildcats some headaches over the final minutes – "we've got to work on our press offense," noted Willard – and narrowed the final score to 64-56.
 
What They Said
 
Willard on coaching against the Pirates at Newark's Prudential Center: "It was emotional for my wife and I last night with my boys. When I got this (Seton Hall) job, I had a 1-year old and a 3-year old. Now, I have a senior in high school and a freshman in college. This place helped raise my family in a very special way.
 
"Tonight, once the game started, we had a game to win."