Villanova crushes DePaul 86-59; Josh Hart surpasses 1,000 career points

The Villanova Wildcats defeated the DePaul Blue Demons easily on Tuesday night 86-59 at Allstate Arena with a very balanced and comprehensive performance  . Although DePaul had several small runs toward the end of the first half to try to keep the game close, the result of this one never really felt like it was in doubt.

Villanova jumped out to an early lead from the tip, and was able to maintain a double-digit margin of victory for a large majority of the game. It truly was a great team effort tonight with 4 of the 5 starters scoring in double figures. Josh Hart again played like a contender for Big East Player of the Year with 18 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds and eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for his career (congrats, Josh!). Daniel Ochefu returned to action and looked like he hadn't missed any time at all, playing over 20 minutes and recording 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, despite being on a limited game plan per Coach Wright.

Darryl Reynolds continued to flourish with extend minutes, finishing with 14 points (5-6 FG, 4-4 FT), 6 rebounds and 2 steals. He had a couple of impressive putback dunks as well. In his homecoming to Chicago, Jalen Brunson was assertive as well, finishing with 11 points and 4 assists.

All in all, it was an easy win for the 'Cats, as they did exactly what you would expect a #1 team to do to DePaul. They started the game fast, responded to a couple of mini-runs by the host and then put their foot on their opponents throat and made the game a laugher early in the second half.

The Wildcats will return to action this Saturday, where they will play their first home game as the top-ranked team at the Wells Fargo Center against the St. John's Red Storm.