#6 Wildcats Maul Marist in NIT Tip-Off First Round, 84-47, At Pavilion

To the Wildcat faithful-

The #6 Wildcats had no trouble getting past a hopelessly overmatched Marist Red Foxes squad, 84-47, at the Pavilion on Tuesday night.  No fewer than five Wildcats made it into double figures, by the final buzzer.  

Villanova was paced by its youthful backcourt of Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek.  Wayns finished with 17 points on 6-11 shooting, and seven rebounds, the latter being a remarkable number for a point guard.   Cheek came off the bench to add 15 points on 6-10 shooting, great numbers for a player who logged only 22 minutes.

Villanova held a 36-24 advantage at intermission, as Marist had stayed within reasonable striking distance, but the Wildcats really pulled away in the second half, scoring 48 additional points en route to a 39-point blowout victory.  The entire team played fine defense, as Marist mustered only 47 points - in other words, Villanova's 48 second-half points alone, would have been enough for a 48-47 victory.   (This undoubtedly would have made for a far more exciting contest, though, if the Wildcats had trailed 47-0 at halftime and rallied to win.)

The Wildcats made it 2-0 on the young season, and although this was not a surprising outcome, the final numbers look like what they should for a Top 10 team at home against a low-major opponent.  So while we can't read too much into it, there's reason for optimism.

Next Up for the Wildcats

There is only a brief respite, before facing the Boston University Terriers in the next round of the preseason NIT at the Pavilion, at 8:00 PM this evening.   Unfortunately, the game won't be televised...

Go Wildcats!

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