Four observations from Villanova’s win over Seton Hall

A near-perfect performance at the free-throw line helped Villanova escape with a 76-72 win over Seton Hall Tuesday night in Newark.

Villanova, a winner in six of seven, made 22 of its 23 attempts from the foul line, the only miss coming with fewer than five seconds on the clock, and improved to 10-9 in Big East play and 16-14 on the season.

The finally healthy and suddenly surging Wildcats are above .500 in conference play for the first time since Dec. 21.

Here are four observations from Villanova’s win over Seton Hall.

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The Big East rivals played to a single-digit margin for the 10th straight time, and normally things tend to be a little whacky. This one had plenty of that.

There were 20 lead changes and 10 ties.

Seton Hall, the worst three-point shooting team in the Big East (31.8%), made 7 of 12 shots from beyond the arc before halftime. The Pirates then went 1-for-6 after the break.

That first half was relatively clean, too. The teams combined for just three fouls and one free throw.

But that all changed in the second half. Both teams were in the bonus before the midway point, and when you get in a free throw competition with Villanova, it rarely ends well.

The Wildcats entered Tuesday shooting 82.3% from the line, the best percentage in the country. No other teams were even at 80%. One after another, free throws fell, especially when the teams traded intentional fouls in the final minute.

Justin Moore, who finished a game-high 23 points, was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. Eric Dixon went 9-for-10, good for half of his 18 points.

“We’ve been in tough games all year long,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune told reporters after the game. “We’re pretty seasoned in playing single-possession, end-of-the-game type of situations. It’s something that our guys have become comfortable playing in and it’s starting to pay dividends now at the end of the season.”

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Villanova getting on a roll and bank to full strength also coincided with Caleb Daniels going into a shooting slump.

The fifth-year guard was on the court after practice Monday getting extra shots up. He entered Tuesday night having made just 10 of his last 45 shots and missed his first two attempts in the first half inside Prudential Center.

But Daniels went 3-for-4 from three-point range in the second half, including a few key makes when Villanova was having trouble find offense.

Villanova is playing much better basketball in recent weeks, but it doesn’t stand a chance to run the table at Madison Square Garden at next week’s Big East tournament if Daniels doesn’t get going.

He did it on the defensive end, too. In what what a key sequence late in the game, Daniels blocked Al-Amir Dawes near the rim, starting a fast break that ended with a Cam Whitmore layup to extend Villanova’s lead to two possessions.

Later, with Seton Hall down by two points inside 30 seconds to play, Daniels recorded a crucial steal.

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No one has benefitted more from Moore’s return than Whitmore, Villanova’s star freshman and potential NBA lottery pick this year.

Whitmore scored 19 points Tuesday night. He made three of his four attempts from three-point range and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line while grabbing five rebounds.

Like Daniels, Whitmore, too, had a key defensive play, contesting Tyrese Samuel’s attempt near the rim while Seton Hall edged closer with fewer than five minutes to play.

While he has certainly had more room to work offensively, and continues to make the wing three-pointer his favorite spot, the defensive end is where Whitmore’s game continues to evolve, both on the perimeter and inside.

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Creighton coach Greg McDermott made it clear Saturday after his team was stomped by Villanova in Philadelphia: “Nobody wants to see that team in the Garden.”

Villanova will be a team on a mission next week during the conference tournament, likely needing to run the table to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.

The win over Seton Hall locked the Wildcats into the sixth seed in the conference, as they will own the tiebreaker over the Pirates. Villanova will open the Big East tournament Wednesday night at 8 p.m. vs. the 11th seed, Georgetown.

While the late-season resurgence has had many thinking Villanova could play its way inside the tournament bubble without needing the automatic bid, a lot of work needs to be done, starting with Saturday night’s matchup with No. 14 UConn at Wells Fargo Center.

A win would give Villanova its third Quad 1 win and would have the Wildcats at 17-14 on the year and 11-9 in Big East play. That, on its own, is not enough to make the NCAA tournament.