NEW YORK — On Tuesday night, No. 7 ranked Villanova stayed perfect, beating Illinois, 73-59, at the famed Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic.
The unbeaten Wildcats (9-0) showed their resolve against the Fighting Illini (7-2), snapping a 50-50 tie with 8:32 left in the second half by constructing an impressive 23-9 run to win comfortably.
Illinois held just three leads — all in the first five minutes of the game.
Turning point
As Illinois whittled Villanova’s lead down to 48-47 with 10:13 to play in the second half, Wildcats guard Dylan Ennis ripped off eight straight points, including a pair of three-pointers, to give the Wildcats a 56-51 advantage.
The first of Ennis’ two treys came with the score knotted at 50 and Illinois fans buzzing.
Big men on campus
Ennis, the Wildcats' leading scorer, scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the final nine minutes of the game.
News
Illinois 6-foot-6 sophomore guard Malcolm Hill scored a career-high 20 points. With the Fighting Illini trailing by 11 in the opening stanza, Hill scored seven of his team’s final 13 first-half points to help Illinois cut the deficit to six going into the break.
Numbers game
• Illinois came into the game averaging 83.9 points per game, good for 15th-best in the nation. Villanova held the Fighting Illini to a season-low 59 points.
• In its first nine games this season, Villanova has yet to have a player score 20 or more points in a contest.
• Villanova had more turnovers (16) than assists (13 — per the official game box score) for just the second time this season.
Did you know?
Illinois entered Tuesday’s matchup averaging 9.3 turnovers per game, tied for third-fewest in the country. Villanova forced the Fighting Illini into 14 turnovers.
History
Villanova leads the all-time series with Illinois, 4-3. The last time both teams met was on March 20, 1988, when Villanova won, 66-63, in a second-round NCAA tournament game to advance to the Sweet 16.
Jimmy V Classic
The Jimmy V Classic is part of ESPN’s Jimmy V Week, which features special content to help raise funds for cancer research in honor of the late Jimmy Valvano, a legendary coach who lost his battle with cancer in 1993 at the age of 47.
The V Foundation for cancer research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and Valvano.
What’s next?
Villanova (2-0 Big 5) welcomes Big 5 rival Temple (5-3, 2-1 Big 5) to the Pavilion on Sunday for a 2 p.m. tip.
Illinois plays Oregon (5-3) on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago at 7 p.m.