Villanova tops Wisconsin in overtime to close out nonconference play on a high note

MILWAUKEE — Duke Brennan came up to the top of the key and set a screen for Devin Askew, rolled to the paint, and rose for a two-handed dunk to put Villanova up eight in overtime, sending Wisconsin fans to the exits.

The inside of Fiserv Forum on Friday night felt more like a Wisconsin home game than a neutral-site nonconference matchup. It was a tale of two halves for Villanova, but when the clock hit zero, the Wildcats picked up a resume-boosting 76-66 overtime win against the pesky Badgers, who had wins over Big East foes Providence and Marquette.

The win moved Villanova (9-2) into the 29th spot of KenPom’s rankings and sends the Wildcats into the Big East slate on a high note.

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“I thought they did a really good job of extending their half-court defense on us, which kind of surprised us a little bit,” said Villanova coach Kevin Willard after the win. “We had opportunities in the second half to win the game. And when you have two freshmen and a sophomore out there, sometimes you have to live through those mistakes.”

The Wildcats got off to a hot start from the three-point line, hitting 8 of 19 attempts in the first half, led by Tyler Perkins’ barrage. He came into the game making 40.5% of his three-pointers, and his third three-pointer of the half from the top of the key pushed Villanova’s lead to 13 before the break.

Perkins paced the Wildcats with 19 points and earned some praise from his coach afterward.

“I like the fact that Perks’ looking to shoot the basketball,” Willard said. “He’s shooting a high percentage. He does all the little things that most people don’t see. But when he’s aggressive out there, it gives us another scorer.”

But the second half was a different story. The three-point shots weren’t falling (1-for-10 in the second half), and the pressure Wisconsin (7-4) put on Villanova’s ball handlers, like freshman Acaden Lewis and transfer guard Bryce Lindsay, left little room to operate.

A lead that had ballooned to 15 early in the second half slowly whittled down to three with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation. After a Brennan layup with 6 minutes, 16 seconds left, the Wildcats did not score a field goal for nearly five minutes. Villanova was outscored, 34-21, in the second half and shot just 8-for-29 from the field.

“We knew they [were] going to go on that run. They got everybody in the crowd [into it], their fans,” Lindsay said. “We just had to stay [together] as a team and play together.”

Wisconsin tied the game with 31 seconds left, and Lewis’ contested stepback jumper fell short right before the buzzer to send the game to the extra frame.

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But in overtime, it was Lindsay, who shot 1-for-9 from the field through the first 40 minutes, who ignited the Wildcats. He opened the scoring with a curling three from the top of the key after a Brennan screen freed him. A dribble handoff with Villanova’s big man got Lindsay loose again two minutes later, pushing the Wildcats up seven with 2:59 left in overtime.

“I see one fall, the hoop gets a little bigger for me,” said Lindsay, who finished with 12 points.

Brennan was tested by the size of Wisconsin big men Nolan Winter (7-foot) and Aleksas Bieliauskas (6-10). The 6-10 Brennan, who entered the night averaging 11.6 rebounds, second-most in college basketball, had seven of his 11 total rebounds in the first half, and outrebounded Winter and Bieliauskas combined.

He also found soft spots in the middle of Wisconsin’s defense on pick-and-roll action. Lindsay found him in the lane for an and-one layup to open the second half, and Lewis found him on a similar action to end a scoring drought later in the half.

He finished with his fourth double-double of the season and played a team-high 39 minutes in the win.

It was a shame that Lewis got into foul trouble in the first half because he was a big reason Wisconsin turned the ball over.

His constant full-court pressure, along with Lindsay and Askew, made the Badgers uncomfortable in the first 20 minutes, which was part of Villanova’s game plan. The Wildcats scored 15 points off of 16 Wisconsin turnovers, eight of them coming in the first half.

“That’s a Wisconsin team that can put up a lot of numbers,” Willard said, “and to have them struggle and turn them over like that, to me, was huge.

“If you let them just run their offense, they will pick you apart. And really early in the game, we wanted to get them uncomfortable.”

Friday was another learning experience for Lewis, who had opportunities to close out the game for Villanova down the stretch. He missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw with the Wildcats up three with 59 seconds left, committed a foul on the other end to give Wisconsin two free throws, then missed the potential game-winning shot.

He didn’t play most of the overtime period, but didn’t turn the ball over while finishing with seven points and two assists on 3-for-9 shooting.

“I thought he played great,” Willard said. “This is a great learning experience for him of what to do at the end of the game. But he had two huge steals in the end of the second half. And he’ll make his free throws next time, and he’ll make a better play at the end of the game.

“That’s why you got to put him in those situations, and he’ll learn from it. He’s done it every game.”

Added Perkins: “He’s so mature. ... He got in foul trouble early. And a lot of freshmen would dig in their head, not be ready, not stay in the game. But he had some great stops at the end of the game.”

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Before the game, Villanova announced that freshman guard Chris Jeffrey underwent right knee surgery and is out indefinitely. Jeffrey, a Brooklyn native, had a knee injury before he arrived on campus that “recently flared up,” the program said.

In nine games this season, Jeffery was averaging 4.2 points across 10.6 minutes. The team also announced that walk-on Wade Chiddick also had right knee surgery and has no timetable to return.

Villanova will open conference play at Seton Hall on Tuesday (7 p.m., Peacock). The Wildcats hope to ride the momentum they gained through their tough stretch of nonconference play.

“The schedule we inherited, didn’t give us a whole ton of games in November to test ourselves,” Willard said. “And I think going through Michigan, [Pittsburgh], now Wisconsin, and now we got a really good Seton Hall team on Tuesday, now we’re testing ourselves, and I like the way these guys are going.”