What. A. Game. What. A. Win.

Villanova took the court on Saturday staring at a tough challenge in the No. 1 team in the country and with a great opportunity to get a massive win, both for their resume and also for their confidence. They left it with their signature non-conference win and a victory over No. 1 under their belt.

There’s no way around it, the first half was ugly. The ‘Cats shot just 29 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from three. They were getting some good looks but they just weren’t going down.

Fortunately, Kansas was having the same problem. The Jayhawks connected on just 37 percent of their field goal attempts and 25 percent from three.

The slow offensive start threatened to derail Villanova’s upset bid, as the ‘Cats fell behind by seven just over nine minutes into the game. However, they stayed locked in defensively, started getting some deflections and turnovers, and sparked an 8-0 to retake the lead. From there, the teams traded blows for the remainder of the half, playing to a stalemate at the break.

‘Nova did a decent job on Udoka Azubuike in the first half, pestering him around the rim and making him work for anything he got. The ‘Cats also held their own on the boards and managed a slight 7-6 advantage in the turnover department. One big concern was that Villanova didn’t attempt a single free-throw in the first half. It felt like the opportunity was there for ‘Nova to have a lead, but considering that the shots just weren’t falling, heading into the break tied felt like an acceptable position for the Wildcats.

In the second half, it was Villanova’s turn to open up a lead only to see the Jayhawks storm back. The Cats took an eight-point lead five minutes into the half. Kansas responded and retook the lead with just under nine minutes to go, setting the stage for a roller-coaster finish that saw the momentum change hands multiple times before Villanova held on tight to secure the victory.

Villanova responded immediately to re-establish a four-point advantage a minute later, only to look up and see Kansas leading by four with 1:49 left. The Wildcats suffered a devastating stretch in which Kansas got a layup, Villanova had a dunk attempt blocked, and Kansas got another layup plus a foul. That allowed the Jayhawks to gain that four-point advantage. Fortunately, the and-one attempt was unsuccessful, but then poor shot selection by Justin Moore gave Kansas the ball with the lead and just over a minute left and it looked like Villanova was in serious trouble.

But on the ensuing possession, Collin Gillespie got a steal and a layup to cut the lead to two and give ‘Nova a bit of life. The ‘Cats got a stop on the next possession, and Gillespie found Jermaine Samuels for a three that put the ‘Cats up one.

That set the stage for a maddening final 24 seconds. Gillespie was called for a foul with 17 seconds left, but Devon Dotson missed the front end of the one-and-one and Villanova secured the rebound. At that point, your first reaction was “just make your free throws.” But Kansas only had four team fouls, meaning the Wildcats would have to inbound the ball multiple times before getting free throws. Every Villanova fan was thinking the same thing at this point, and sure enough on the final inbounds before going to the line the ‘Cats turned it over, giving Kansas the ball with 11.2 seconds left trailing by one.

After getting the ball in, Gillespie disrupted the Kansas set by knocking the ball out of bounds with 4.8 seconds to go. Dotson got a final shot off at the buzzer, a wild, running layup attempt that was defended beautifully by Saddiq Bey and that bounced harmlessly off the rim after hitting the backboard. Villanova held on and got the upset victory.

There’s a lot to unpack here, and we’ll likely do a “takeaways” article in the next day or two to really dig in (and prevent this post from being ridiculously long). But we’ll touch on a few things.

The offense largely struggled throughout the game, and it came in waves when it was working. A lull late in the second half during which the ‘Cats shot 1-for-9 nearly doomed them, but they made enough plays at that end of the floor to win. Villanova did a decent job taking care of the ball, turning it over only nine times, and opened up a huge 21-point advantage from the three-point line. The percentages were bad: 34.9 from the field and 24.4 from three, but the volume paid off especially with Kansas only connecting on three attempts from beyond the arc.

It was Villanova’s best defensive effort of the season. The ‘Cats held Kansas to a season-low 43.6 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three. They forced 12 turnovers and did a good job of making Azubuike work for what he got. They also prevented Dotson from being efficient and held him under his season average.

The overall effort was fantastic. The ‘Cats played with great energy and composure.

Jermaine Samuels led ‘Nova in scoring and was absolutely huge for the ‘Cats. The go-ahead three will stand out, but he got huge buckets for ‘Nova all afternoon. He finished with 15 points and five rebounds while shooting 6-of-12 from the floor.

Gillespie struggled, shooting just 2-of-10 from deep, but still made a lot of winning plays for the ‘Cats. He had 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. The find of Samuels for the go-ahead three was huge, and his steal and layup late saved the game. We can’t overlook his deflection on Kansas’ final possession, forcing the Jayhawks to reinitiate with just 4.8 seconds left.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl chipped in nine points and nine rebounds while Bey had seven points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Cole Swider had five points. Justin Moore had eight points, three rebounds, and three assists off the bench.

Villanova picked a great time for its best defensive effort of the season, and they did an incredible job of staying involved mentally and locked in defensively despite the offensive struggles.

After coming up short in two other opportunities at marquee non-conference wins, this victory was huge for the Wildcats. In addition to the huge boost to the resume, it should do wonders for their mentality going forward. They have now proven that they can play with the best teams in the country and have seen firsthand what strong defense can do.

It was an exhilarating game, another great chapter in the Villanova-Kansas story, and a nice addition to the Villanova basketball tradition. The ‘Cats will now head into Big East play on a high note, and they will kick off conference play on December 30 when they host Xavier.