Villanova solidifies its ninth consecutive win, defeating DePaul

CHICAGO – The minus-35 wind chill outside was not fit for man or beast, but the weather did not affect the shooting of Villanova and DePaul as they took the court Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena for a Big East basketball game.

The 14th-ranked Wildcats actually found themselves outshot by the Blue Demons on this night but they more than made up for it with 15 three-point baskets and sound offense that resulted in a season-low three turnovers, all leading to an 86-74 win, their ninth in a row.

The Cats (17-4, 8-0 Big East) shot 47 percent overall and 42.9 percent from distance, and got four threes each from Saddiq Bey and Collin Gillespie. Bey, a freshman, posted his first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive boards.

But the fact that the Blue Demons (11-9, 3-6) shot 52.9 percent – thus becoming the only Big East team to reach the 50 percent mark against Villanova, and doing it a second time – belied the fact that they trailed by double digits much of the second half after the Wildcats came out of the blocks after halftime with an 11-2 run.

“I think they were shooting 54 percent at the half,” Wildcats coach Jay Wright said, “but threes make a difference and they had some turnovers, so that’s what you look at. So our defense, it wasn’t getting as many misses but we were creating some turnovers [11 in the game] that impacted us and we were playing pretty well offensively.”

The usual suspects led the Cats in scoring – Eric Paschall with 20 points and Phil Booth with 19 plus a career-high tying eight assists. But the play of the 6-foot-8 Bey, who shot 6-of-9 and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and added three assists and two steals, drew Wright’s praise.

“He’s as coachable a guy as we’ve ever had,” the coach said of Bey. “He’s really smart. It’s why out of all the freshmen he was able to get in there the quickest because he’s got a good basketball IQ. He’s got good physical strength.”

Wright called “the most important aspect” was that Bey has the competitive nature that was a trait of former Wildcat All-American Josh Hart, who like Bey attended Sidwell Friends in Washington.

Asked about his development, Bey preferred to speak more about the team.

“It makes it easier for everybody because we’re real detailed in practice and in film sessions” and scouting report, he said. “So I feel as though as a team that we emphasize all the little things of staying solid and trying to get better as a team every day.”

The Wildcats turned a 40-36 halftime lead to 51-38 early in the second half, thanks to threes by Gillespie, Paschall and Bey. Another Paschall three-ball gave his team its largest lead at 60-43, and a lane drive by the big forward made it 70-55 with 8:42 remaining.

DePaul then cut into the deficit, getting as close as seven, 78-71 on a three-pointer by Max Strus with 2:51 to play. But the Wildcats, who missed the front end of a pair of 1-and-1’s during this time, finally put the game away on a dunk by Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and two free throws by Booth.

Booth said taking care of the basketball was key.

“We’re still working on that, being solid with the ball,” he said. “DePaul’s a very good defensive team with their length so it was good for us to take care of the ball, still trying to attack.”

Femi Olujobi scored 20 points off the bench, and Eli Cain added 17 points for DePaul.