Villanova entered Tuesday’s game against Penn in desperate need of something positive to happen. The Wildcats responded in a big way, dismantling the Quakers 93-49.

“I thought our guys came out really focused, especially defensively,” Kyle Neptune said. “Withstood some tough shots that they made in the beginning and wore them out towards the end just with defensive pressure, intensity, just getting stops. Making shots doesn’t hurt either.”

It was a strange first half. Both teams came out scorching hot, combining to hit 11 of their first 13 attempts from three and scoring a combined 31 points in the game’s first five minutes. However, despite the hot shooting from deep, the teams were just 5-11 from the free throw line, a strange juxtaposition to the barrage of threes going through the net.

Amid the offensive chaos, the game stayed relatively close. Villanova led by as many as seven, but a 10-3 run by the Quakers tied the game at 26 with 8:55 to play in the first half. That’s when things got even weirder.

As hot as Penn was to start the game, it did a complete 180 and suddenly became as cold as you’ll ever see a team get. The Quakers would not score the rest of the half, going 8:55 without a point. Meanwhile, Villanova was generally able to maintain its offensive proficiency, closing the half on a 17-0 run to take a 43-26 lead into the break.

Former Quaker Tyler Perkins played a huge role in setting the tone for the ‘Cats early. Perkins made the first basket of the game and brought great intensity, finishing the first half with 10 points on 4-7 shooting, including 2-4 from three, while adding four rebounds and two steals.

“Tyler Perkins is the ultimate competitor,” Neptune said. “From the first second he got on campus, he’s set the tone. He’s gonna bring it. I thought he brought that to the game. We started great because he was intense.”

The second half was largely a continuation of the last nine minutes of the first half. Villanova opened the period scoring 18 of the first 23 points (and extending Penn’s drought to 10:33), pushing the overall run to 35-5 and the lead to 30. Penn remained ice cold, and with 11:10 to play had more turnovers (11) than made field goals (10). This trend continued through the remainder of the game, with the Quakers finishing with 14 made field goals and 15 turnovers.

By the end of the game, the statistics reflected the dominance one would expect in a game with a 44-point margin. Villanova shot 53.2% overall and 60% from three while limiting Penn to 26.9% overall and 29.2% from three. The Quakers shot just 25% on two-point attempts. The Wildcats had 19 assists to 11 turnover, outrebounded Penn 43-32, won points in the paint 24-12, points off turnovers 19-10, second chance points 19-8 and fast break points 10-0. Nine Wildcats scored, including Jordann Dumont scoring his first collegiate points, and four reached double figures. Jhamir Brickus had 16 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting, including 4-4 from three, and more impressively dished out eight assists while committing just a single turnover.

“That’s who we gotta be,” Neptune said about the defensive performance. “I thought we were way more cohesive than we’ve been. Guys were together, were talking. I thought our switches were better. I thought overall we played a great defensive game. They made some tough shots to begin with too, but I thought our guys were really focused defensively.”

“It’s something we talked about,” Neptune noted regarding the improved ball movement. “We’re a team with nine new players, guys are learning how to play together. They’re learning their looks, they’re learning their reads in a new offense for most of them. I think with time we’ll get better and better. There’s been times this year where we’ve shared the ball at a high level, sometimes the defense throws you off and you miss reads. I don’t think our guys are purposely not passing to guys, it’s just a matter of getting used to the offense.”

It was the first time since February 7, 2017, that Penn failed to score 50 points in a game, while Villanova’s 93 points were a season high.

Villanova got exactly the performance it needed Tuesday night and will look to build on it Sunday against a tough Maryland team.