NCAA Basketball: Three takeaways from the Villanova, Virginia thriller

What are our three takeaways from Villanova’s thrilling NCAA basketball win over Virginia at the Wells Fargo Center?

It’s already feeling like March.

In one of the best games of the season so far, the No. 1 ranked Villanova Wildcats beat the No. 12 ranked Virginia Cavaliers, 61-59, in front of the largest crowd for a college basketball game ever at the Wells Fargo Center. Donte DiVencenzo, who has been playing outstanding as of late, followed up a Josh Hart missed layup with a game-winning tip-in at the horn. That was the redshirt freshman’s first and only bucket of the game.

The Sunday matinee was a thriller throughout, though, as the Wahoos built a lead as large as 13 points and thoroughly dominated the top team in the nation for 30+ plus minutes.

But that’s when Villanova turned things around. Hart hit his first field goal of the game following the eight-minute mark of the second half and Kris Jenkins followed with his first two buckets of the afternoon.

The Wildcats defended with much more consistency in the final eight minutes, getting right back into the game despite poor performances from their star players. Jalen Brunson made a key layup with 37 seconds left to put Villanova up 59-57, but Ty Jerome, who had a career game, answered right back with an isolation bucket. That setup DiVencenzo’s thrilling finish and helped the Wildcats avoid their second straight loss.

Virginia’s defense bothered the Wildcats for most of the game, as only three Villanova players finished in double figures — Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges both had 15, while Hart had 12.

Meanwhile, the Cavs were led by Jerome, who put up 15 points, Marial Shayok (14 points) and Isaiah Wilkins (12 points on 6-of-6 shooting). Senior point guard London Perrantes only scored four points on 2-of-11 shooting.

The Wildcats have just two losses and have officially reached 20 wins for the 2016-17 campaign. Virginia’s stock is increasing as they have just four losses but looked like a legit top 10 team in this showdown.