Home for the holidays

Editor’s note: There aren’t any college hoops games the next three days, so this will be the last newsletter for this week. We’ll see you on Monday.

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1. Willard wins in return to Seton Hall

Nothing like a reunion just ahead of the Holidays.

Kevin Willard returned to his former stomping grounds in Newark, where he won more than 200 games as Seton Hall’s coach. This time, he got a win as the opposing coach as Villanova beat Seton Hall in its Big East opener, 64-56.

Villanova (10-2, 1-0 in Big East) had to shoot it well from deep to score on Seton Hall's elite defense, and that it did. The Wildcats went 10-of-23 (43%) from downtown. That made up for Villanova turning the ball over 18 times.

The Wildcats also had better guard play. Bryce Lindsay scored 15 points, and freshman stud Acaden Lewis scored 16. Lindsay accounted for a trio of 3s, matching Seton Hall's entire team.

The first 10 minutes of the second half changed the game. Villanova took control with a 24-8 run, as Seton Hall (11-2, 1-1) couldn't find anything offensively. The game felt a bit out of reach at that point. Seton Hall scored just 0.89 ppp, while going 18-for-50 (36%) on 2s and 3-for-13 (23%) from three.

Starting point guard Budd Clark never got into the flow of the game, and it showed. He played only about five minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. He finished scoring four points on 1-11 shooting in 20 minutes.

Clark had just a pair of assists after tallying 7+ in three of his last four games. He had to shoulder the scoring load, but it was a struggle today.

"Our game plan was to make Budd a scorer,” said Willard, who spoke afterward about the emotional aspect of returning to a place where he spent 12 years as a head coach.

Willard also embraced Hall coach Shaheen Holloway and got a warm reception from the fans. “It was good to be back.”

2. St. John’s rights itself before holidays + more results

There's nothing more dangerous for a high-major squad than a Christmas Week buy game. Unless you’re St. John’s coming off a disappointing loss.

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