MORGANTOWN — It looks like the sports writers got it right again.

Villanova entered Big Monday’s showdown ranked No. 4 in the nation, one spot ahead of West Virginia.

The coaches had WVU ranked No. 4 and Villanova No. 5.

The Wildcats certainly looked the part, taking WVU apart inside for several easy baskets and then making their free throws down the stretch to hold off the Mountaineers 82-75 at the WVU Coliseum.

And making free throws was certainly a key point.

The Mountaineers (19-4, 8-3) missed 14 of 32 in the game and were just 3 of 10 during a key late stretch when they were trying to mount a comeback.

Villanova (21-2), meanwhile, went 19 of 22.

“It’s a tough league,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said afterward. “And it’s even tougher when you only make 18 of 32 free throws.”

“We’re not usually that bad (and) I really don’t miss that many free throws,” said Devin Ebanks, who had 13 points but missed three of four at the line.

“We can’t blame anybody but ourselves,” Truck Bryant added. “Tonight we missed way too many free throws. Especially late, when we needed points.”

Though the free throw woes hurt, it wasn’t the only reason WVU lost.

Villanova continually went inside to score, sometimes on uncontested layups or dunks.

And Villanova’s leading scorer, Scottie Reynolds, held to two points in the first half, had 19 in the second.

WVU’s leading scorer, Da’Sean Butler, had 12 at the half but had just one point in the second.

Add it up, and the numbers certainly went the Wildcats’ way.

The Wildcats led 44-33 at the break.

But, as is its custom, and what is quickly becoming this team’s identity, the Mountaineers fought back.

“Their reputation of coming back was a fear to us at halftime because we’ve always lost here,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “You know they can really hit threes, and we really concentrated on not letting those guys get to the perimeter.”

Wright alternated defenses expertly and employed a triangle-and-two with Corey Stokes charged with guarding Butler.

Butler attempted just five shots in the second half.

“They played man, played a triangle-and-two, they did a good job,” Butler said. “I kind of laid back and waited for it to come to me. I wasn’t aggressive enough.”

Butler’s quiet second half did open the door for others to step up, and one was Casey Mitchell, who had 12 points in nine minutes, including a four-point play with 1:59 left that cut the lead to 74-69.

“We can’t expect Da’Sean to score 30 points every game and carry us,” Huggins said. “It wasn’t him. They went triangle-and-two a bunch. But Casey (Mitchell) gets 12 in nine minutes and that’s not a bad tradeoff, really.”

West Virginia went down by as much as nine, 78-69, with a minute to play.

They would cut it to five, 80-75, but get no closer.

“They came out more aggressive and brought the fight to us and we did not match it,” Kevin Jones said. “When you get down to a good team like that, it’s hard to come back. And they have a good team. They find a way to keep you down and they keep doing that.”

Corey Fisher added 17 for the Wildcats and Antonio Pena had 10 points and nine boards.

Bryant led WVU with 15, followed by Ebanks and Butler with 13 each, Mitchell 12 and Ebanks 11.

WVU is at Pittsburgh Friday.



No. 4 VILLANOVA 82,

No. 5 WEST VIRGINIA 75

VILLANOVA (21-2)

Pena 5-7 0-0 10, Reynolds 5-10 10-10 21, Fisher 4-5 7-10 17, Redding 4-8 0-0 9, Stokes 2-3 2-2 6, Wayns 1-1 0-0 2, Cheek 3-3 0-0 7, Sutton 1-2 0-0 2, King 0-6 0-0 0, Armwood 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 29-51 19-22 82.

WEST VIRGINIA (19-4)

Ebanks 6-11 1-4 13, Jones 5-11 1-4 11, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Butler 2-12 7-10 13, Bryant 5-10 3-4 15, Mazzulla 1-1 1-2 3, Pepper 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell 4-8 1-1 12, Flowers 0-4 1-3 1, Kilicli 2-3 3-4 7. Totals 25-61 18-32 75.

Halftime—Villanova 44-33. 3-Point Goals—Villanova 5-11 (Fisher 2-2, Cheek 1-1, Redding 1-1, Reynolds 1-3, Stokes 0-1, King 0-3), West Virginia 7-27 (Mitchell 3-7, Bryant 2-6, Butler 2-9, Flowers 0-2, Jones 0-3). Fouled Out—Mazzulla. Rebounds—Villanova 38 (Pena 9), West Virginia 30 (Jones 8). Assists—Villanova 11 (Reynolds 5), West Virginia 13 (Butler 3). Total Fouls—Villanova 24, West Virginia 20. A—15,593.