The Villanova Wildcats continued their run of excellent basketball on Sunday afternoon, beating Seton Hall 80-52. It was one of Villanova’s best defensive performances of the year as the team continues to show signs of growth. Let’s look at the key numbers that defined the win.

34.6: Seton Hall’s field goal percentage

The Pirates shot a paltry 34.6 percent from the field. They had the same number of turnovers (18) as made baskets. After having some issues with Seton Hall getting into the paint early in the game, the ‘Cats did a great job of adjusting and forcing the Pirates to beat them with jump shots. The 52 points allowed by ‘Nova marked a season-low.

3: Points for Myles Powell

Villanova did a masterful job on Seton Hall’s go-to scorer. After entering the game averaging 22 points per game, Powell managed just three on Sunday, which was a season low. In addition, Powell was held to season lows in made field goals (1), field goal attempts (5), made 3-pointers (0), and 3-point attempts (3). He also had a season-high seven turnovers.

With Villanova selling out to stop Powell, the rest of the Pirates simply didn’t have enough firepower to keep up with the ‘Cats. Myles Cale managed 14 points, but no other Pirate reached double figures. We mentioned in the game preview that focusing on Powell could be an effective strategy for the ‘Cats and was one that they ultimately decided to employ. They executed it perfectly and it proved to be successful.

17: Made 3’s for Villanova

The Villanova offense was stagnant at times on Sunday, especially in the first half where there were instances of too much dribbling and the ball movement was lacking. The ‘Cats eventually found their rhythm, shooting 55 percent in the second half and dropping 50 points with a much more effective attack.

But the key difference in the game for Villanova offensively was the season-high 17 made 3-pointers. The ‘Cats shot 40.5 percent from beyond the arc, earning a 30-point advantage from deep. Both teams made the same amount of 2-point field goals (11) and Seton Hall earned a slight advantage from the free throw line (9-14 to 7-13), making Villanova’s advantage from 3 the difference in the game.

Phil Booth led the way with seven 3’s, and six Wildcats knocked down at least one from beyond the arc on Sunday.

Villanova will be tough to beat when they have the 3-point attack working like they did on Sunday, and even more so when it is combined with the defensive effort the ‘Cats put forth against Seton Hall.