The Villanova Wildcats kicked off the 100th season of Villanova basketball in about the best way possible, with a resounding 97-54 win over Army. There was a lot to like about the performance, so let’s jump right in a recap an impressive night.

The teams traded a few light jabs to start things off, almost like boxers feeling each other out. And then Villanova erupted, started dominating inside and out, and built a comfortable lead. The Wildcats got incredibly hot from 3, hitting five of their first six, and were dominating on the glass. Defensively, they held Army to a 1-14 stretch, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye Villanova had built a 20-point lead.

The lead would grow to as many as 31 before a cooler stretch of shooting and some turnovers slowed the Wildcats’ momentum and allowed Army to steady themselves and cut into the lead slightly. Still, ‘Nova carried a 49-26 lead into the break.

Freshmen Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore and sophomores Saddiq Bey and Cole Swider were the first half standouts. Robinson-Earl led the team in scoring and rebounding with 15 points and nine rebounds and was seemingly everywhere on the glass. He showed excellent touch around the basket and some nice vision as well. Moore was one of the key catalysts for the big first-half run, knocking down to 3’s. Bey looked like ‘Nova fans have come to expect him to look, chipping in 12 points and two rebounds. And we finally got to see that Cole Swider shot we’ve always heard about as he knocked down 2-4 from 3 and contributed 10 points.

For much of the second half, the teams played fairly evenly with Villanova’s lead hovering in the 23-27 range. But then the ‘Cats exploded again, building the lead to 41 in about a four-minute span. A lot of players chipped in on that run, from Robinson-Earl to Swider to Bey to Gillespie. The lead would get as large as 47, and by the time it was all said and done the ‘Cats had nearly doubled up the Black Knights, claiming a 97-54 win.

Freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had a sparkling, nearly flawless debut. He led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 24 points and 13 boards. While he only produced one assist, he showed some nice vision. He was everywhere on the glass, seemingly in the vicinity of every rebound. He was composed and he was efficient, hitting 9-14 from the field. If you were to dig for negatives from the performance, you could point to the 0-3 showing from 3 and the five turnovers, but even then, there are encouraging signs. None of his 3-point attempts looked awful and he was a perfect 6-6-from the free-throw line. Also, all five of his turnovers occurred in the first half, he played a clean second half.

Saddiq Bey joined JRE in the 20-point club, finishing with 22. He added five rebounds and an assist and certainly looked ready to take the next step that the Wildcats will be depending on him to take.

Cole Swider had his breakout game serving as the sixth man. He had 18 points on 6-9 shooting, including 4-6 from 3. It was really the first time we saw his highly regarded shot translate to the college level and he was playing with obvious confidence. He also had six rebounds and two assists, and he played serviceable defense. One interesting moment in the second half occurred when his man drifted free and drained a 3 despite Swider’s valiant attempt to recover, and he reacted with visible frustration at his mistake. If he can deliver similar performances on a regular basis it would be huge for the ‘Cats.

Collin Gillespie, who had a cold first half, rounded out the double-figure scorers for ‘Nova with 11, finishing 3-7 from deep. He added four assists, two rebounds, two steals, and a block. The easy thing to do would be to blame his mask, but it didn’t seem to be bothering him in warmups. It’s possible he just had a cold night, but it was nice to see him fight through it and end up with a productive night despite not having his best shooting performance.

Jermaine Samuels had eight points, spending much of the night deferring to his teammates. He was an efficient 3-4 from the field, but more importantly, he was impressive in other aspects. He grabbed nine rebounds, swiped to steals, and swatted a block. But most impressively he dished out five assists. On Tuesday night he passed at a level we hadn’t seen from him yet. He dropped two beautiful dimes in quick succession in the second half, one to Robinson-Earl and one to Bey. It was an encouraging development in his game.

Freshman Justin Moore had a solid debut. His final tally of 3-11 shooting doesn’t look great, but his 3-point shooting played a huge role in Villanova’s run that broke the game open in the first half. Moore added four assists and four rebounds and had only one turnover. He certainly looked ready to contribute.

Brandon Slater quietly had a very nice game. He finished with just four points, but only took three shots. More importantly, he contributed five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. He displayed incredibly quick hands and he looks like he can be a defensive menace.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree added two points, six rebounds, an assist, and a block.

Despite emptying the bench late in the game, Eric Dixon didn’t get on the court. Asked about it postgame, Wright said it was just a coaching decision and there was no specific reason for it.

Offensively, ‘Nova shot 52.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3, which is especially encouraging after the cold shooting in the exhibition with USC. The ‘Cats showed an ability to get hot and it looks like they can drain 3’s in bunches. Five different ‘Cats connected on at least one attempt from deep.

Villanova was solid defensively as well. Army shot just 31.3 percent from the floor and 23.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Black Knights turned it over 17 times while handing out just 11 assists.

The result is a dominating performance. The ‘Cats won points in the paint 40-24, points off turnovers 22-12, second-chance points 19-2, and fast-break points 18-11. They established a commanding 54-26 advantage on the glass.

Offensively the spacing was much better than we saw against USC and defensively there were very few egregious breakdowns. The ‘Cats did commit 17 turnovers, but seven of those came from freshmen and they should be able to improve upon that.

All-in-all it was an excellent showing and a great way to start the season. Things will get more difficult in a hurry, as next up is a trip to Ohio State to take on the Buckeyes, who are currently ranked 18 in the AP Poll and 16 in the Coaches Poll. With that game not taking place until next Wednesday, ‘Nova fans will have plenty of time to enjoy Tuesday’s opener.