Duke Brennan had 21 points and 12 rebounds and Tyler Perkins had 17 points and 11 rebounds as Villanova extended its win streak to five with an 80-69 victory over Creighton on Saturday afternoon in Omaha, Neb.
Deven Askew had 13 points off the bench for the Wildcats (20-5, 11-3 Big East Conference), who ended a four-game losing streak to the Bluejays (13-13, 7-8). Villanova is 6-1 on the road in conference play and avenged a 76-72 home loss to Creighton last month.
Back-to-back Askew 3-pointers gave the Wildcats a 25-10 lead with 7:17 to play in the first half as Villanova used a 16-3 run to take control. The Wildcats never led by less than seven points the rest of the game.
Both teams struggled offensively early. Villanova started 5 for 17 from the field.
Creighton, whose team attended the funeral of guard Josh Dix’s mother Friday, struggled for nearly all of the first half. Isaac Traudt, one of the Bluejays’ key long-range shooters, was 0 of 4 from beyond the arc early.
Nik Graves led Creighton with 15 points, scoring 13 after the break. Dix chipped in with 14 points.
Austin Swartz made two 3-pointers and scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half for the Bluejays, who have lost seven of 10 and are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Villanova secured the game late, finishing 14 for 19 (74%) from the foul line, markedly better than recent performances.
Malachi Palmer came off the bench to score all 10 of his points in the second half for the Wildcats. Acaden Lewis, one of just five freshmen in the country to average 12.5 points and at least five assists, had eight points, four assists and two steals.
Brennan posted his 11th double-double to lead Villanova.
Jasen Green had a team-high 11 rebounds for Creighton. Hudson Greer added eight points and five rebounds and Fedor Zugic scored all seven of his points in the second half.
Villanova is holding opponents to a Big East-leading 29.9% shooting percentage from beyond the arc, and Creighton finished 8 for 27 (29.6%).
