Villanova quickly buried any lingering concerns from last Saturday’s sloppy performance at St. John’s, and any thoughts of a Georgetown upset, under a pile of made shots and forced turnovers on Wednesday night.

After conceding the opening bucket, the Wildcats continued the recent trend of getting going with consecutive threes. 6-2 was as close as the Hoyas would get the rest of the night, as ‘Nova put on a clinic at both ends of the floor. An 18-0 run opened up a 23-point lead, and the rout was on.

In the first half, the Wildcats shot 52% from the floor and 53% from three, assisting on 11 of 15 made field goals. Villanova also turned nine Georgetown turnovers into 16 points. ‘Nova did an excellent job on the glass, outrebounding a good rebounding team 18-16. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, the ‘Cats held a comfortable 42-20 lead.

The biggest story of the first half, aside from the stellar Villanova play, was the return of Collin Gillespie. The injured freshman saw his first action since breaking his hand in early December. There was speculation that Gillespie’s return was approaching, but his appearance tonight was a surprise. It was great news for Nova Nation, as Gillespie provides a huge boost to the Wildcats’ depth.

As good as the first half was, the second half was even better. ‘Nova scored the first seven points of the half, eventually stretching the run to 15-2 and leading by 35 points. The lead would balloon to 44 before a late push from Georgetown against the ‘Nova walk-ons cut the final deficit to 32, 88-56.

Jalen Brunson led the way with 18 points on 7-11 shooting and 4-7 from three. He added seven assists and two rebounds, continuing his flawless direction of the ‘Nova offense.

Mikal Bridges found his shooting stroke, knocking down 6-8 from the floor and 4-5 from three for 17 points. He chipped in a rebound and a block.

Omari Spellman had a productive offensive night as well. He finished with 14 points, hitting 6-10 from the floor and 2-4 from three. He also had two rebounds and a steal. Spellman did a good job on the defensive end helping to limited Georgetown’s frontcourt.

Phil Booth started hot and finished with a solid all-around game. He scored 12 points, six assists, and four rebounds. He shot 4-8 from the floor and 3-7 from three.

Eric Paschall had a fantastic all-around game with 10 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists, and an impressive block. He shot 3-4 from the field, 1-1 from three, and 3-3 from the line. His shot selection was much better, and he was effective attacking the rim. Paschall had several timely plays, and he left his imprint on this game. He also did a good job defensively on Georgetown’s bigs.

Donte DiVincenzo was again excellent off the bench. He scored 13 points and added seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. He shot 5-9 from the floor and 3-6 from three. He exhibited some very good patience, vision, and decision making.

Collin Gillespie had a successful return, chipping in two points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 15 minutes. It was great to see Gillespie back on the court, and his minutes will be huge for ‘Nova going forward.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had two points, a rebound and a block.

The walk-ons logged three minutes each. They had an opportunity to score but Tom Leibig missed a three. Denny Grace and Matt Kennedy each grabbed a rebound.

It was a basically flawless performance, arguably the Wildcats’ best of the season. Offensively they shot 60% for the game and 52% from three. They tallied 22 assists and worked the offense to perfection. Georgetown started the game looking solid on the defensive end, and Villanova simply wore them down.

The ‘Cats were equally good defensively. Georgetown shot just 39% from the floor and 27% from three. The Hoyas made just four threes, and two of those came in the last minute or so. ‘Nova forced 17 Hoya turnovers, converting them into 32 points. Georgetown entered the game as one of the best rebounding teams in the country, and Villanova won the battle on the boards 31-27.

‘Nova did a great job on Georgetown’s leading scorers. Jessie Govan had only 12 points on 5-13 shooting. Marcus Derrickson had eight points on 2-7 shooting.

If we are looking for something to nit-pick, we could point to Villanova’s 16 turnovers. But that number got inflated late, with the game well out of hand. Also, a couple of those turnovers were the result of questionable charge calls. Overall, it was a cleaner game than Saturday against St. John’s, and if the ‘Cats execute like that in every other aspect, they can overcome turnovers anyway.

This game was a prime example of what this team can do when playing at its peak. It was a joy to watch, and has to leave Nova Nation feeling good about the state of the team.

Next up, a mid-season non-conference game when the ‘Cats travel to Connecticut to take on UConn at noon on Saturday.