Villanova belts Hofstra on Long Island

The Villanova Wildcats had five players score in double figures en route to their 12th victory of the season. The Wildcats belted the Hofstra Pride at Nassau Coliseum on Friday night, winning 95-71. It’s the second year in a row that the ‘Cats enter Big East play with an unblemished record and third time in the last four seasons.

Leading the way was Mikal Bridges. While his efficiency wasn’t there (6-15 FG) he still managed to grab 20 points in the win. Jalen Brunson earned 14 points in the victory, and while his efficiency was spotty at times, he dished out seven assists and pulled down four rebounds to contribute in other areas.

Omari Spellman and Phil Booth were deft and efficient in the victory. The duo combined to shoot 13-17 from the field, and scored 19 and 17 respectively. Spellman had another double-double, with 10 boards to go along with his 19 points. It’s his fourth career double-double and his first since putting up 10 and 10 against the Gonzaga Bulldogs earlier this month.

Donte DiVincenzo chipped in 16 points of his own on 16 shots. The Michael Jordan of Delaware added five boards and three assists with no turnovers in 24 minutes. Speaking of mistakes, Villanova didn’t make many of them. The Wildcats committed only seven turnovers in 70 possessions. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s a Turnover% of just 10 percent. Pretty, pretty good.

There’s not to much to take from this game, other than seeing ‘Nova reckon with their dominance again. The Wildcats trailed 7-4 at the 16:11 mark, but roared ahead and never looked back. The led by as many as 32 points late in the game and shot 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. They put up 1.357 points per possession and spent just 3:27 trailing in the game.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Villanova enters Big East play undefeated, as the top cats of the conference, and the top team in the land.