Tyler Burton scored 15 points and No. 21 Villanova smothered visiting Maryland 57-40 in the Gavitt Tipoff Games on Friday night.
TJ Bamba contributed 11 points for the Wildcats (3-1), who led by 24 at halftime and never looked back. Villanova scored just 18 points on 26.3 percent shooting in the second half, but it didn’t matter much.
Julian Reese scored 10 points to pace Maryland (1-3), which missed 27 of its first 31 shots and finished at 24 percent on the night. The Terps ended the game on a 13-2 run to make the final score a bit more respectable.
Villanova burst out of the gates, taking an 8-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest and going ahead 17-3 after seven minutes had elapsed. Bamba and Burton made 3-pointers to begin the game, and Hakim Hart added one of his own shortly thereafter.
Eric Dixon’s 3-pointer made it 20-6 and then Justin Moore knocked down two long-range shots to help extend the advantage to 31-11.
In the latter portions of the half, DeShawn Harris-Smith made a layup and Reese converted a pair of free throws to get the Terps within 33-15. But their momentum essentially ended there, as the Wildcats scored the final six points of the half (including four free throws from Burton) to go into the locker room ahead 39-15.
Maryland finished the first half 4 of 27 from the field, including 2 of 14 from beyond the arc. By contrast, Villanova shot a sizzling 61.9 percent in the half and knocked down 6 of 11 from long range.
Things didn’t get any better for the visitors after halftime, as Villanova opened the second half with seven straight points to forge ahead 46-15.
The Terps didn’t reach 20 points until Jahmir Young’s 3-pointer with 9:09 remaining in the contest. That bucket ended a stretch of 13 consecutive missed 3-pointers by Maryland, which finished 5 of 26 from behind the arc.
The Terps didn’t surpass 30 points until Donta Scott’s 3-pointer with 2:41 remaining.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games is a series of eight contests between Big Ten and Big East teams, named after Big East founder Dave Gavitt.
–Field Level Media
