Villanova hosted Creighton Saturday to start an incredibly difficult four-game stretch and let a golden opportunity slip away in a 76-61 loss to the Bluejays. ‘Nova was hampered by another slow start, again spotting the opponent a double-digit lead, and despite continuing to show great toughness Villanova couldn’t overcome the early deficit this time.

The first half was basically a disaster. Villanova found a new way to manifest the slow starts that have plagued it recently, this time building a 5-1 lead over the first two and a half minutes and then watching the offense go cold and the opponent open a double-digit lead.

Creighton would rip off a 10-0 run to go up 11-5 as Villanova went scoreless for over four minutes. From there, the Bluejays would continue to build the lead, getting it as big as 17 before ‘Nova was able to trim it to 12 at the break.

The defense wasn’t very good, Ty-Shon Alexander tormented the ‘Cats to the tune 0f 14 points, and the three-point shooting was abysmal (21.4 percent) as Villanova found itself -9 from beyond the arc. ‘Nova committed more turnovers in the first half (six) than it had in the entire first meeting with the Bluejays (five), got outrebounded 20-14. As a result, the Wildcats trailed 35-23 and once again would have to try to claw their way out of a hole.

Villanova again showed its toughness and resolve in the second half, setting the tone for a wild ride. Twice the Wildcats cut the lead to three, only to see Creighton respond each time. First, the Bluejays answered with a 5-0 push, and the next time it was a 12-2 run.

After that 12-2 spurt, ‘Nova found itself trailing by 13 with just over six minutes to go and it felt like the game might be over. But the ‘Cats wouldn’t quit and got back within six with 4:36 to go to keep the pressure on.

Unfortunately, it proved to be too big a hill to climb as Creighton was able to keep the ‘Cats at bay and earn the victory.

There were a couple times in the second half where Villanova missed opportunities to really swing the momentum, and ultimately the ‘Cats dug themselves too big of a hole.

Justin Moore was the only Wildcat who could put the ball in the hoop with any sort of efficiency, scoring 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 4-of-5 from three.

Collin Gillespie also had 18. Saddiq Bey chipped in nine, Jermaine Samuels had eight returning from his foot injury, Cole Swider had two, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had six. JRE struggled mightily, going 0-for-7 from the floor, but was 6-of-6 from the line and deserves credit for not letting the offensive struggles affect the rest of his game. He grabbed 10 rebounds and dished three assists and continued to play with great energy.

The defense wasn’t as good as it has been over the last month and there were far too many long droughts as the ‘Cats had trouble putting the ball in the basket all day. Creighton shot 50.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from three while the ‘Cats hit just 36.1 percent from the floor and 26.9 percent from three. ‘Nova lost the rebounding battle 38-34 and committed 12 turnovers.

At the end of the day, you can’t keep spotting teams double-digit leads or sleepwalk through the first half. The Wildcats have made a habit of that, and on Saturday it finally cost them.

This will be a learning experience for the ‘Cats, and hopefully will help them refocus and bring it for 40 minutes more consistently. A loss was coming at some point, and it’s not the end of the world, but the timing of this loss hurts. Not only is Villanova entering a brutal four-game stretch which has now had the pressure ratcheted up a notch, but Seton Hall lost to Xavier so the Wildcats missed an opportunity to move into a tie atop the Big East standings. Those two facts make the loss particularly frustrating.