That’s why they are the Champs.
Villanova came into a rocking Mackey Arena and walked away with a hard fought 3-point victory in as good of a game as you’ll see early in the college basketball season. Purdue had a pair of three-point chances to tie late, but Villanova’s defense challenged them and both were off. Villanova won because they have the experience to weather the storms like this. Purdue lost because, still, they are not quite there. They can get there. There were promising moments, but as we have seen many times over the years, Purdue had its chances to make an important statement early and couldn’t come through.