On January 10th Villanova easily defeated DePaul 81-64 at the Pavillion. Villanova came into this game at Allstate Arena and were huge favorites to get another blowout victory. Villanova has been been using a combination of good offense and defense all season to defeat Big East opponents. Defeating unranked DePaul should be no problem right?

What Villanova didn't know is that DePaul has been known for upsetting Big East rivals this year. In the first half it appeared DePaul was going to do just that once again.

DePaul came out in the first half ready to play. DePaul connected on their first 10-of-15 field goal attempts to open the contest. The Blue Demons  couldn't miss from three as they made all of the first 3 three pointers they shot, which helped them take an early 26-17 point lead with about 7 minutes left. The Blue Demons finished the first half connecting on 13-of-25 field goal attempts and 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. Billy Garrett Jr's 10 first half points helped set the pace for DePaul.

As for Villanova their offense couldn't match DePaul's hot start. In the first half the Wildcats managed to make just 10-of-24 from the field and 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Villanova tried to make a first half comeback as they went on a 8-0 run and cut the DePaul lead down to just 3 points. However, DePaul outscored the Wildcats 9-6 over the final four minutes and they led 37-31 at the break. Many people were asking themselves if DePaul going to upset another Big East rival.

Villanova made sure that wasn't going to happen. The Wildcats opened the second half on a 14-4 run and took a 45-41 lead. In that span Ryan Arcidiacono scored 8 points for Villanova. From that point the Wildcats outscored DePaul 27-14 to pull away. The Villanova defense also looked better as they limitred the Blue Demons to just six second half field goals.

After DePaul shot 52 percent in the first half they missed their first 8-of-9 shots to start the second. DePaul was still feeling the effects of a tough schedule where they played two games in three days in two different time zones. The DePaul offense only managed to score 18 points in the first half. Billy Garrett Jr was DePaul's leading scorer and only managed 4 points in the second half.

With this win Villanova moved a half-game ahead of Providence atop the conference. After a 3-0 start, DePaul lost for the fifth time in their last seven conference games.

Stats: Ryan Arcidiacono scored all of his 18 points in the 2nd half for Villanova. JayVaughn Pinkston also contributed for Villanova with 14 points. Billy Garrett Jr led DePaul with 14 points.

Next Games:

Villanova - Marquette 2/4/15

DePaul - Seton Hall on 2/3/15

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About the author
Jeremy Blanding
Sports Writer for VAVEL USA. Covering all news in NBA, MLB, NFL, and NCAA.