The Wildcats move to 10–2 after beating the Pirates 64–56.
On Tuesday, December 23, the Seton Hall Pirates hosted conference rival Villanova in what turned into a heated and chippy Big East matchup. Before either team got down to business, Seton Hall honored Villanova head coach Kevin Willard with a brief “homecoming” moment, earning him a standing ovation from the crowd.
Then the pleasantries were over.
Just a few minutes into the game, a missed foul call was immediately sent to review, which was a sign of how this one was going to go. You have to love conference rivals.
Mike Williams got the Pirates going early, knocking down a three to open the scoring, but Villanova wasn’t about to let Seton Hall run away with it. The Wildcats answered right back, and from there the first half turned into more of a ping-pong match than a basketball game, with both teams trading baskets and momentum.
After several back-and-forth possessions, the Pirates needed a spark to either pull ahead or keep things even, and Tajuan Simpkins delivered. His layup tied the game at 24–24, making it clear early on that this one might come down to the wire if both teams kept this up.
Villanova’s Matt Hodge hit a three with under five minutes to go in the half to regain the lead, but Seton Hall answered with a few tough possessions of their own. Josh Rivera knocked down a bucket that sent the Prudential Center crowd into a frenzy — partly because it was a great play, and partly because by that point, fans had had enough of what they felt were “bad calls.”
Honestly, you could probably hear the booing from Newark Airport.
The game was chippy from the start, and the officials wasted no time calling it tight. Villanova managed to maintain its composure and took a 31–27 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Wildcats flipped a switch.
Villanova played fast and sharp to open the second half, jumping out to a 42–27 lead. That crowd you could hear from the airport? Yeah. It got really quiet. The Wildcats controlled the boards and stayed aggressive defensively, which allowed them to build a 16-point lead over ‘The Hall.’
A.J. Staton-McCray finally gave Seton Hall some life, knocking down a three with just over six minutes left to start chipping away at the double-digit deficit. And fittingly, the game remained exactly what it had been all night: chippy.
Watching Villanova under Kevin Willard has been a noticeable shift from the Kyle Neptune era. You can see a team trying to get back to championship-level basketball. There are still areas to clean up, and turnovers are one of them, but if anyone can drill that into a young roster, it’s Willard. He’s taken this group and gotten them rowing in the same direction, opening the season at 10–2.
Gone are the days of Villanova looking lost after a loss or lacking a clear game plan. Championship basketball may not return this season, but it’s absolutely on the horizon.
