Villanova 94, DePaul 71
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Ryan Arcidiacono scored 23 points as hot-shooting Villanova snapped a two-game losing streak with a 94-71 Big East victory over DePaul on Tuesday.
The Wildcats (14-9, 5-5) put six players in double figures as they sprinted from a 40-40 halftime tie to eventually overwhelm the hosts.
Villanova also broke out of a 3-point shooting slump, going 10-for-18 from beyond the arc as Arcidiacono hit five of his 10 tries.
Cleveland Melvin scored 19 points for the host Blue Demons (10-12, 1-8), who have now lost seven straight and nine of their last 10.
Also in double figures for Villanova were Darrun Hilliard (17), James Bell (16), Mouphtaou Yarou and JayVaughn Pinkston (11 each), and Tony Chennault (10).
Jamee Crockett added 16 points for DePaul. Worrel Clahar had 12 and Brandon Young scored 11.
Early in the in the second half the Wildcats were shooting 91 percent from the field and were still hitting at a 79.2 percent (12-for-24) pace with less than six minutes to play.
Villanova eventually settled for 34-of-57 for the game (59.6 percent).
The Wildcats, who came into the game with five losses in seven games, ran their series winning streak to six and now lead the overall series with the Blue Demons 14-9.
Villanova hit a combined 16 3-pointers in recent wins over Louisville and Syracuse. But in last two games against Notre Dame and Providence, the Wildcats went just 5-for-25.
The Wildcats sprinted away from a 40-40 halftime tie with an 11-3 run to open the second half as Arcidiacono scored five points including his third 3-pointer of the night.
The lead reached double-digits for the first time at 13:37 Pinkston's layup. Villanova scored on 11 of 12 shots, including five straight as it opened a 65-53 lead with 11:39 showing.
With less than six minutes to play the lead had ballooned to 85-60. DePaul never got closer than 22 points the rest of the way.
The Wildcats appeared to rediscover their missing 3-point game in the first half.
Villanova shot a season-low 2-for-15 last Sunday against Providence but went 4-for-11 in the opening 20 minutes as the teams battled to a 40-40 halftime deadlock.
DePaul shot even better in a competitive first half going 7-for-14 from beyond the arc as Clahar was 3-for-3.
There were three lead changes and seven ties, including the last one of the half on Melvin's layup with 16 seconds left as DePaul forced the tie.
Melvin collected a game-high 12 points in the opening half while Arcidiacono topped the Wildcats with nine.
NOTES: Villanova senior center Mouphtaou Yarou entered the game with 925 career points and with eight regular-season games plus the Big East tournament still ahead in a bid to top 1,000. ... The pivotal number for the Wildcats his season appears to be 70. When they've scored 70 or more points, they're 9-1. When below, Villanova is 4-8. ... DePaul is on track for its seventh losing season in eight Big East campaigns. They were 3-15 last year and 1-17 in each of the two previous seasons. The Blue Demons' only winning campaign was 2006-07 when they were 9-7. ... DePaul's run of consecutive games with 3-point field goals hit 600 in last Saturday's 79-71 overtime loss to Notre Dame. The last time the Blue Demons went without a 3-pointer was nearly 20 years ago (Feb. 16, 1993 against Alabama-Birmingham). ... The Notre Dame loss was the first time DePaul has played back-to-back overtimes games since 1987-88. They had a 71-62 extra-session loss to St. John's on Jan. 19. The Demons have never played three straight overtime games. ... The Wildcats return to the Pavilion to host South Florida at 3 p.m. Saturday for what's expected to be their Big East-leading 10th sellout. DePaul is on the road for a 1 p.m. game at Marquette.
