Villanova has let some big leads slip away

Being the nation's second-ranked team and having 22 victories means that Villanova has held some pretty sizable leads this season. It's just that the Wildcats appear to relax when they get a lead - if recent games are any indication - and that's not acceptable to their coach.

"We have not done a good job with it," Jay Wright said Monday after practice at the Pavilion. "It's just focus on details, focus on every possession. That's what we were trying to work on at practice, but we didn't do a good job at practice."

"We have three seniors but everybody else is either a first- or second-year guy. I guess we just have to understand that and be patient with them and keep pushing them. We don't have to be at our best until the end of the year, but we want to keep getting better, and we're not getting better playing with leads."

The Wildcats (22-2, 9-2 Big East) certainly will have to improve in that area Tuesday night when Georgetown (13-11, 4-7) makes its first visit to the Pavilion since Feb. 19, 2006.

On Saturday night, Villanova led St. John's by 26 points late in the first half but saw the margin trimmed to nine early in the second. It rebuilt the advantage to 24 and led by 87-64 with 2 minutes, 54 seconds to play, before the Red Storm went on a 14-0 run to provide some anxious moments down the stretch.

The Wildcats also had a lull in the game before that, at Providence, where they led by as many as 13 and by 59-48 with just under six minutes to go before they had a dry spell. The Friars got to within two before 'Nova surged at the end.

The only time the Cats completely relinquished a big lead came Jan. 24 at Marquette, where they were up 17 early in the second half and by 68-55 with 6:40 left before the Golden Eagles made everything down the stretch in a 74-72 upset.

Josh Hart, who had a game-high 26 points against St. John's, said it isn't difficult to play with a lead, but admitted the focus has to be better.

"We've just got to put together 40 full minutes," he said. "When we get a lead sometimes, we tend not to do that and we've got to keep working on that."

The Wildcats also are hoping that Kris Jenkins is draining shots again. After shooting 4 of 29 in his previous three games, Jenkins went 4 of 10 against the Red Storm and scored 15 points off the bench. Wright said he'll return to the starting lineup Tuesday night.

"I was very happy with his response," Wright said. "In terms of how we evaluate our guys, he had his most efficient game of the year. So we were really pleased and I hope he is, too. I hope he just continues to play that way. I thought he was outstanding."

Jenkins said it was a matter of "just focusing on the details and doing what my teammates and coaches expect me to do, be aggressive."

Asked how Saturday's change helped, Jenkins said, "I guess it all depends on the player and the mind-set. The coach wants me to do something, and that's what I'm going to do."

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq