St. John's storms past Nova, 70-50

“I thought St. John’s just came out and set the tone," Kyle Neptune said. "They played extremely hard, got in us, threw the first the punch and we just never recovered.”

There wasn't a whole lot to like about the performance from 'Nova, but one positive was that the Wildcats matched the Red Storm's energy and intensity to start the game. Despite once again struggling to connect on good looks ('Nova started 1-7 from three), the 'Cats hung with St. John's through the early part of the game, trailing by just two seven-and-a-half minutes in.

However, another recurring problem would resurface at that point: big, game-changing runs by the opponent. This time it was a 15-2 push from the Johnnies, and once again Villanova found itself trying to dig out of a huge hole.

“I thought we came out, we were decent in the beginning and then I thought they played harder," Neptune said. "They got timely offensive rebounds, they were physical with us, set the tone being physical. They played their game better than we played ours.”

To the Wildcats' credit, they answered with a 7-0 run to get back within striking distance. And then yet another recurring issue popped back up: end-of-half blunders. Out of a timeout with 3.4 seconds remaining, Villanova attempted to throw the ball approximately 60 feet into the low post. The pass was nowhere close and sailed out of bounds untouched. The turnover cost the 'Cats a chance to cut the deficit to single digits heading into the break and afforded St. John's an opportunity to extend the lead. While the Johnnies would miss the ensuing shot, it was a missed opportunity and another example of an end-of-half gaffe for the Wildcats.

After St. John's opened the second half scoring with a two-point jumper, 'Nova ripped off a 6-0 run to pull within two possessions. But the Johnnies immediately restored their lead to 10. 'Nova would twice get within five, once at the 12:46 mark and again with 10:42 to play, but it would get no closer the rest of the night as the wheels fell off over the final quarter of the game. Over the final 10:42, Villanova would be outscored 28-13 and would walk out of Madison Square Garden with a resounding 20-point loss.

There are plenty of things you can't point to as reasons for the loss.

One that will get plenty of attention is the three-point shooting, as the 'Cats hit just 4-25 (16%) from deep. Yes, that's not good, and no, you won't win a ton of games shooting that poorly. But there were two other issues that played a bigger role in Wednesday's result.

The first is points off turnovers. Both teams committed 11 turnovers, but St. John's turned those 11 'Nova giveaways into 18 points while the 'Cats managed just seven points off St. John's miscues.

The second is second chance points. Villanova was pounded 17-4 in this category, as the Johnnies piled up 15 offensive rebounds and took advantage of those opportunities.

While the numbers themselves are concerning, adding to the frustration is that those are the two areas St. John's was hoping to build an advantage in. Villanova knew that coming in, and not only could the 'Cats not stop it from happening in either area, they also let St. John's establish dominant advantages, advantages that ultimately won the game.

“I thought they played harder than us," Neptune said. "They present a different game than other teams, and I thought they came out and executed perfectly. I thought in the half court we got stops, but them turning us over and the offensive rebounds were too much to overcome.”

“We got some shots." Neptune added. "But either way, you think about the turnovers, you think about offensive rebounds. You take care of that, I think we have a different outcome.”

With an ever-shrinking margin for error, Villanova will attempt to right the ship with a trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse and a date with Butler on Saturday.