Villanova suffers first Big East loss to Creighton, snaps five-game win streak

Villanova succumbed to Creighton, 76-72, marking its first home and conference loss of the season on Wednesday night.

Villanova (12-3, 3-1 Big East) had its five-game winning streak snapped and picked up its first defeat since Dec. 9. The Wildcats could not find defensive stops in the second half, which was coupled with poor three-point shooting. Creighton (10-6, 4-1) pulled away after shooting 18-for-27 (67%) from the field in the second.

Acaden Lewis finished with a team-high 20 points for Villanova. He dished out five assists within the first few minutes of the game and ended with seven and only one turnover. The freshman guard also collected a game-high three steals. Lewis is averaging 13.4 points and 4.3 assists in conference play.

In the paint, ’Nova’s Duke Brennan continued to be a force, picking up his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds (seven offensive).

Villanova shot 44% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc, compared to Creighton’s 50% on field goals and 30.4% on three-pointers.

Next, Villanova will visit Marquette (6-10, 1-4) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (TNT/truTV). The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 28-20.

For just the second time this season, Villanova was outscored in the second half, 46-38. The only other time was in the 76-66 overtime win against Wisconsin on Dec. 19.

Villanova had no answer defensively for a surging Creighton offense. The Bluejays spun off a 13-2 run, while Villanova went on a three-minute scoring drought.

“I thought [the Bluejays] did a really good job of using their size to their advantage,” Villanova coach Kevin Willard said. “I thought [Josh] Dix and [Blake] Harper made some really big plays just using their size against us, and every time we tried to get a stop. You’ve got to give those two credit. They played really well.”

Creighton made Villanova’s best shooter, redshirt sophomore Bryce Lindsay, a nonfactor. Lindsay, who averaged 45.8% from deep in the last three games, went 0-for-3 on three-pointers against Creighton. Villanova made only 2 of 12 three-pointers in the second half.

» READ MORE: With Villanova knocking on the top 25 door, is it NCAA Tournament or bust in Year 1 of the Kevin Willard era?

“We had our opportunities at the rim,” Willard said. “I thought [Jasen] Green had two really good wall-ups towards the end, but we had our opportunities. It had nothing to do with [our] offense. It was totally just abysmal defense.”

Villanova kept Creighton at bay in the first half, and at one point led by25-15. However, it all slipped away after halftime. Villanova gave up 13 offensive rebounds, which Creighton turned into 11 second-chance points.

“Just defense,” Willard said when asked about what he took away from the loss. “I thought we took some bad shots in the first half, when we had a good run going. And I thought we were playing good defensively early. So I thought our offense in the first half was the issue. But defensively, you just can’t give up 13 offensive rebounds to a Greg McDermott team. You’ve got no chance.”

Brennan was quick to take accountability for Villanova’s defensive performance.

“Being a senior, I need to adjust my ball-screen coverages on different teams as we play,” Brennan said. “I don’t think I did a great job at it tonight, but I do look at the film and help out our defense. I’m that line for us.”

Creighton’s 76 points were the most a conference opponent has scored against the Wildcats this season.

At the beginning of the season, Willard consistently rotated nine to 10 players each game. Injuries limited the rotations with Devin Askew and Zion Stanford missing time to start the season. Villanova had multiple games with eight or more scorers.

» READ MORE: Villanova forward Tafara Gapare leaves the program

Now, it looks like Willard has found his rotations that work efficiently. The coach has leaned on his starting five of Lewis, Lindsay, Tyler Perkins, Matt Hodge, and Brennan for a bulk of the minutes, with most of them playing an average of 30 minutes or more.

As of recently, only Askew and Malachi Palmer have had meaningful minutes off the bench. Freshman guard Chris Jeffrey has missed the last five games due to a knee injury that required surgery, sidelining him indefinitely.