PITTSBURGH – For nearly 20 sweet minutes Friday afternoon, the Blue Hens and a large, boisterous rooting section could ponder the wonderful possibilities.
Delaware shot well and defended strongly at the outset of its NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first-round showdown with Villanova inside PPG Paints Arena, which pulsed with sound and fervor.
But toppling college basketball giants is a 40-minute exercise requiring considerable precision and certainly some good fortune as well.
The Blue Hens ran out of both after their encouraging start and Villanova pulled away for an 80-60 victory while beginning its pursuit of a third national title in seven years.
BOX SCORE: Villanova 80, Delaware 60
The Wildcats used 8-0 runs at the end of the first half and start of the second to erase a Delaware lead and quickly build and stretch their own.
Whatever flames of hope were still flickering for Delaware and its legion of followers were dampened by Villanova scoring on eight of its first nine second-half possessions and taking command by as many as 19 points in the first five minutes.
Delaware never dented Villanova’s hopes because it couldn’t match the Wildcats’ belated but brutally consequential 13-for-28 3-point aim. The Wildcats filled the stat sheet with five double-digit scorers, led by Justin Moore and his 21 points, and shot 51 percent overall.
The Blue Hens were 3-for-20 on 3-pointers and 22-for-40 overall (44 percent) from the field.
NCAA BRACKET: Villanova gets Ohio State next
Sanford School graduate Jyare David led the Hens with 17 points and frontcourt mate Andrew Carr had 13.
Big East Tournament titlist Villanova (27-7) advanced to Sunday’s round-of-32 against No. 7-seed Ohio State, which handled No. 10 Loyola Chicago 54-41 in Friday’s first game.
Colonial Athletic Association Tournament champion Delaware (22-13) will digest the disappointment but treasure the experience and the expenditure of effort.
The Blue Hens were attempting to become the 11th No. 15 seed to upend a No. 2 seed since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The 10th occurred Thursday night when Saint Peter’s stunned Kentucky 85-79 in overtime.
Delaware was playing its sixth NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament game and seeking its inaugural victory, having previously lost first-round matchups against Cincinnati (1992), Louisville (1993), Purdue (1998), Tennessee (1999) and Michigan State (2014).
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Over the 70 years of their basketball relationship, Villanova remained an insurmountable hurdle for the Hens, who are 0-16 all-time against the Wildcats. Only four of those games have been decided by single digits, including a 78-70 Wildcats win Dec. 14, 2019, in Newark, New Jersey that had given some of these UD players hope.
Keyed by strong early shooting, Delaware went up 15-8, and still led 19-14 when Dylan Painter scored from the low post against his former team with 8:46 left in the first half.
Villanova took its first lead 20-19 with 7:39 on the clock on Caleb Daniels’ 3-pointer. After baskets by Ryan Allen and Davis put the Hens back ahead, Villanova closed the first half on a 15-2 run and to cruise into halftime up 35-25.
Delaware made just one of its last 10 shots while Villanova closed 6-for-6 from the field with three 3-pointers.
The Wildcats then continued their hot shooting to start the second half, with back-to-back threes by Moore being particularly critical.
Delaware is also now 0-35 all-time against nationally ranked opponents and Villanova arrived sitting at No. 6 in the AP poll.
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