Villanova handed first loss, by Seton Hall

NEWARK, N.J. - A defensive mistake. A lapse in execution at the offensive end, either unforced or caused by the opponent's defense. Then add more missed free throws than Villanova has had in a game all season.

The sixth-ranked Wildcats often had overcome errors like that to win during their 13-0 start. But on Saturday against Seton Hall and its fired-up fans at the Prudential Center, the combination was a recipe for disappointment.

On a day when their center, 6-foot-11 junior Daniel Ochefu, went off for 19 points and 24 rebounds, the Wildcats had no answers for freshman Khadeen Carrington late in the second half and overtime and lost, 66-61, to the Pirates in a physical Big East battle.

The loss dropped the Cats to 13-1 and 1-1 in the conference, kept them from posting an all-time best start to a season, and prevented coach Jay Wright from earning his 300th career win at 'Nova.

The Pirates (12-2, 2-0) limited the Wildcats to just 31 percent shooting and 20.8 percent from beyond the arc. And Villanova hurt itself repeatedly with bricks from the free-throw line, going 10 of 22 in the first half and 20 of 35 for the game.

"Over the season, we're a 70 percent free-throw shooting team," Wright said. "So what do you do on the nights you don't make free throws? You defend a little bit better, you get an offensive rebound, you take care of the ball a little bit better. They're the little things that I think made the difference in the game."

Ochefu recorded Villanova's first 20-rebound game since Harold Pressley in 1986, and his 24 tied Howard Porter (1969) and Frank Gaidjunas (1966) for sixth on the school's all-time list. He shot 7 of 9 and set a career high for points.

"It's just how our team is," Ochefu said. "Every game, someone is just going to blow up and have a big game. Today it was me. Against Syracuse, it was JayVaughn [Pinkston]. Another game, it was Josh [Hart]. So this is how we are."

However, the rest of the Wildcats shot 11 of 49, or 22.4 percent.

Seton Hall raced to a 17-3 start and led the entire first half. But the Wildcats erased a four-point halftime deficit with seven straight points - a four-point play and a three-point basket - by Darrun Hilliard to take a lead they held much of the second half.

The Pirates' Sterling Gibbs (20 points) hit a three-pointer for a 52-52 tie with 6 minutes, 18 seconds left and the game was tied at 54, 56, and 58. Carrington (17 points) scored four of Seton Hall's last six points in regulation and four more in overtime, including a spinning drive that gave his team the lead for good, 62-61, with 1:30 left.

Nova's best chance came at the regulation buzzer when Hilliard hit the front of the rim from three-point range. The Cats didn't score again after Carrington's go-ahead bucket.

"We didn't play our best, but I think it's because Seton Hall played a little bit better," Wright said. "They executed a little bit better defensively. Their guys made some shots and we didn't."

@joejulesinq