Villanova Basketball: 3 takeaways from dominant win over Maryland

3. Defensive prowess

Given the fact that again, Maryland was held to just 40 points, including just 15 in the first half, the defense has to be the main takeaway here in this game. Maryland was held to just 14.8 percent in terms of field goal percentage in the first half, and they would finish with just 12 total field goals, making 24 percent of their attempts.

From three, they shot an abysmal 19.2 percent, making five shots out of 26. Maryland only made seven shots that were not three-pointers as this offense just could not get going. Even when Willard made adjustments, ran different plays, and gave Villanova different looks, it did not matter, the Wildcats forced miss after miss in this one.

When it comes to Big East Basketball, defense is everything, and performances like this show that they are ready for when conference play comes around next month. This team was physical and fought to create turnovers and redirect shots, they just played to their brand of basketball in such a perfect way, and with performances like these, they can be a true contender in this conference.

This is also what championship teams are made of, defense, defense and more defense. The Wildcats have constructed a team that can dominate on this end of the floor and have proven it against a good team. They have the athletes to have these types of nights often, and they will need it in conference play.