Villanova opened the Big East portion of its schedule Wednesday night with a 103-85 win at DePaul that pushed the Wildcats' record to 13-0 -- meaning they're now just one victory away from matching last season's program-record 14-0 start.
"We've got some really talented guys," Villanova coach Jay Wright told reporters after the win in which his Wildcats made 15 of 31 3-point attempts and eclipsed the 100-point barrier for the third time this season.
Mikal Bridges had 20 points and five rebounds. Phil Booth added 17 points and six assists. Eric Paschall and Jalen Brunson each finished with 16 points. And Omari Spellman scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season. In other words, all five Villanova starters reached double-figures in points. And now the Wildcats travel to Indianapolis for Saturday's game at Butler.
Villanova will enter that contest ranked No. 1 in the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one). Butler is unranked, of course. But the Bulldogs are a top-45 KenPom team that owns wins over Ohio State and Utah. And they're undefeated at Hinkle Fieldhouse. So it's not crazy to think LaVall Jordan's team could keep things competitive with Villanova this weekend.
The complete Top 25 (and one) is below.
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
The Wildcats' perfect record features wins over two other ranked schools - specifically Tennessee and Gonzaga. Ten of Villanova's 13 wins are double-digit victories. | -- | 13-0 |
| 2 |  |
The Sun Devils' perfect record features double-digit wins over Xavier and Kansas. Their next game is their Pac-12 opener at Arizona. | -- | 12-0 |
| 3 |  |
The Spartans have won 11 straight games since losing to Duke in Chicago. Michigan State still has two more non-league games before it opens the Big Ten schedule vs. Maryland. | -- | 12-1 |
| 4 |  |
The Aggies beat Buffalo easily on Thursday even though their leading scorer, D.J. Hogg, did not play. Texas A&M's resume features four top-50 KenPom wins. | -- | 11-1 |
| 5 |  |
The Mountaineers have won 11 straight games since losing to Texas A&M. Their resume features wins over Virginia, Missouri and UCF. | -- | 11-1 |
| 6 |  |
The Cavaliers' lone loss is a single-digit loss at West Virginia. Their next game is their ACC opener against Boston College. | -- | 11-1 |
| 7 |  |
The Blue Devils' lone loss is a loss at Boston College. That makes them the only team currently in the top 10 of the Top 25 (and one) with a sub-75 KenPom loss. | -- | 12-1 |
| 8 |  |
The Horned Frogs will take a 17-game winning streak that dates to last season into their Big 12 opener with Oklahoma. Their resume features wins over SMU, Nevada and St. Bonaventure. | -- | 12-0 |
| 9 |  |
The Musketeers have won eight straight games since losing to Arizona State. Their resume features wins over Baylor and Cincinnati. | -- | 13-1 |
| 10 |  |
The Sooners will take an eight-game winning streak into their Big 12 opener at TCU. Trae Young is leading the nation in both points and assists. | -- | 10-1 |
| 11 |  |
The Shockers own wins over Baylor and Oklahoma State. They had Markis McDuffie for the first time this season in Friday's win over Florida Gulf Coast. | -- | 10-2 |
| 12 |  |
The Tar Heels' resume features seven top-100 KenPom wins that help offset their loss to Wofford. UNC's best wins are over Tennessee, Arkansas, Michigan and Ohio State. | -- | 11-2 |
| 13 |  |
The Vols have beaten Purdue, NC State and won at Wake Forest. Their only losses are single-digit losses to Villanova and North Carolina. | -- | 9-2 |
| 14 |  |
The Boilermakers have won eight straight games since losing to Western Kentucky. They have three top-35 KenPom wins. | -- | 12-2 |
| 15 |  |
The Jayhawks have won three straight games since losing consecutive games to Washington and Arizona State. But their resume still features just one top-50 KenPom win. | -- | 10-2 |
| 16 |  |
The Wildcats have won seven straight games since losing three straight in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Rawle Alkins is averaging 16.0 points per game since returning from injury. | -- | 10-3 |
| 17 |  |
The Wildcats are 3-2 against the top-100 at KenPom with losses to Kansas and UCLA. Next up is Friday's showdown with Louisville. | -- | 9-2 |
| 18 |  |
The Hurricanes' lone loss is a single-digit loss to New Mexico State. Miami has top-65 KenPom wins over Minnesota and Middle Tennessee. | -- | 11-1 |
| 19 |  |
The Seminoles have won two straight games since they lost a single-point game to Oklahoma State. FSU's first three ACC games will be against Duke, UNC and Miami. | -- | 11-1 |
| 20 |  |
The Bears have won five straight games since losing to Wichita State. Their other loss came at Xavier. | -- | 10-2 |
| 21 |  |
The Zags' resume features three top-50 KenPom wins -- most notably victories over Creighton and Texas. Thursday's loss at San Diego State was Gonzaga's first sub-50 KenPom loss. | -- | 10-3 |
| 22 |  |
The Bluejays have won five straight games since losing at Gonzaga. Their other loss is a single-digit loss to Baylor. | -- | 10-2 |
| 23 |  |
The Red Raiders have won five straight games since losing to Seton Hall in New York. Their next game is their Big 12 opener against Baylor | -- | 11-1 |
| 24 |  |
The Bearcats closed the non-league portion of their schedule with four straight wins. Next up is UC's AAC opener against Memphis on New Year's Eve. | -- | 11-2 |
| 25 |  |
The Razorbacks will take a five-game winning streak into Saturday's game with Tennessee. Arkansas is the only team to beat Oklahoma this season. | -- | 10-2 |
| 26 |  |
The Pirates have beaten Texas Tech and Louisville but also suffered two sub-50 KenPom losses. Their losses are to Rhode Island and Rutgers. | -- | 11-2 |