Delaware Falls To Villanova, 80-60, in NCAA Tournament First Round

Friday, March 18

Pittsburgh, Pa.

2:45 PM

University of Delaware

22-13,10-8CAA

#2 Villanova

27-7,16-4Big East

Delaware

Villanova

Photo by: Mark Campbell

Delaware Falls To Villanova, 80-60, in NCAA Tournament First Round

3/18/2022 6:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Delaware jumped out to an early seven-point lead before Villanova took control as the Wildcats recorded an 80-60 win over the Blue Hens in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.

The 15th-seeded Blue Hens, making the sixth NCAA appearance in school history, end their season with a 22-13 record. No. 2 seed Villanova improves to 27-7 and advances to face Ohio State in Sunday's second round.

Jyare Davis capped his outstanding run during the second half of the season with team-highs of 17 points and six rebounds, while Andrew Carr hit all five of his field goal attempts to finish with 13 points. Kevin Anderson scored nine points in his final UD game, while Jameer Nelson Jr. contributed eight points and three assists.

Delaware shot 44.0 percent from the field, but went just 3 of 20 from three-point range.

After a slow start, Villanova ended up shooting 50.9 percent from the floor and knocked down 13 triples in 28 attempts. Five Wildcats finished in double figures, led by Justin Moore's 19 points.

The Wildcats, who won the Big East Tournament title last weekend, also held a 33-24 rebounding advantage.

An early seven-point run gave Delaware a 9-4 lead five minutes into the game, while consecutive buckets by Anderson and Dylan Painter increased the Blue Hens' lead to 15-8 at the 11:26 mark of the opening half.

A Davis layup put Delaware up 23-20 with six minutes to play but Villanova answered with a seven-point run, going in front 27-23 on an Eric Dixon layup with 3:11 on the clock.

Carr answered with a layup, but the Wildcats scored the final eight points of the half to take a 35-25 lead into the break.

Villanova then scored eight quick points to open the second half, and after a Carr layup, Moore completed a three-point play to give the Wildcats a 46-27 cushion.

Villanova eventually increased the margin to 23 midway through the stanza at 63-40, but Delaware later hit five consecutive shots to close within 71-55 at the 5:23 mark. However the Blue Hens would not get closer the rest of the way.

The loss closes out a season that saw Delaware record 20 wins for the second time in three years. The Blue Hens say good bye to a senior class of Allen, Anderson, Reggie Gardner, Davis Long, Anthony Ochefu and Painter.

Martin Ingelsby
"I'm really proud of our effort, we battled for 40 minutes. The game kind of got away from us at the end of the first half and early in the second, and we were battling uphill from there. We put a scare into them for the first 17 minutes, but they hit some big threes. We've had an unbelievable run, and this group leaves as champions."