24 of Villanova’s 45 first-half points come at the free throw line and via second-chance points. Meanwhile, 19 of the Jays’ 27 field goal attempts in the first half were three-pointers, and though they made seven of them, they had just two offensive rebounds on the misses, leaving them with far too many empty possessions. In the second half, Creighton rebounded better and had better shot selection, but defended horribly. 27 of Villanova’s 38 second-half points came from three-point range, as they went 9-13 from behind the arc in the half.
And so as it’s been of late, defense, rebounds, and empty possessions were once again Creighton’s nemesis, and against the third-ranked Wildcats, those weaknesses were laid bare.