College Basketball|Villanova Doesn't Allow VCU to Wreak Its Trademark Havoc

November games in the college basketball season seldom materialize like the one Monday night at Barclays Center - not even the better matchups, the ones that are circled on calendars far ahead of time. Turnovers and missed shots are expected. Proper execution takes time.

And when one of the parties involved is Virginia Commonwealth - well, you can usually forget about clean, fundamental basketball. The Rams so thrive on making life miserable for their opponents that their relentless 'havoc' defense has become more than just a catchphrase. It is a school emblem. It is written across the backs of the team's warm-up jerseys and yelled by members of the pep band when they punctuate their anthem with, 'It's havoc you fear.'

And that buzzing, piranhalike defense would normally prey on a first-time opponent, playing in a foreign arena as the season just begins to unfold, except that No. 12 Villanova has the potential to unleash what it did in the second half: an offensive barrage, 17 field goals on 12 assists, near perfection. The Wildcats won handily, 77-53.

'You don't see this kind of pressure, and you don't see it consistently for 40 minutes,' Villanova Coach Jay Wright said. 'We knew we were going to get tested, and we knew we would how good a passing team we are. I thought we just did a great job.'

The game featured the hysterical pace of two rivals squaring off in March, even though these two winning programs, surprisingly, had never faced each other before Monday's matchup in the Legends Classic.

The Wildcats, with almost all of their key players returning from last season, when they won a program-high 29 games, ultimately looked like the more sound team. That was especially true in the second half, where they hit five 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes and never once struggled to break No. 14 V.C.U.'s vise-grip full-court press.

The Rams, on the other hand, went through pronounced scoring droughts, and their small lineup had its hands full with Villanova's forwards JayVaughn Pinkston and Daniel Ochefu.

'We were not ourselves,' the Rams' coach, Shaka Smart, said. 'Only turning Villanova over nine times is not acceptable for how we play.'

The second-half blowout offset what had been an almost flawless first half for both teams, with the lead having changed hands 11 times and neither team having gained an advantage of more than 5 points. Villanova's trouble shooting from outside - 1 of 8 from 3-point range - may have been all that was keeping the lead so close, but V.C.U.'s defense certainly looked to be in fine form.

The Rams (3-1) began the second half with a 6-0 run, looking as if they were propelled by jet fuel, and Villanova (4-0) was forced to call a quick timeout. Wright saw his team looking backward against the press and lackadaisically hitting the boards. He implored his group to find its aggressiveness.

'One of the things we admire about Shaka's team is that whatever the situation - up, down - they're aggressive all the time,' Wright said. 'We said if we don't play aggressive, they're going to take it from us.'

After the pep talk, the Wildcats hit two 3-pointers, pushed the tempo, attacked the glass and coolly reeled off a 16-0 run, pushing their lead to 48-36.

'Coming out aggressive on defense, getting stops, kicking the ball into the forwards, and guards coming off and shooting the ball,' said Pinkston, describing the keys to the second-half run. He finished with a game-high 15 points.

The Wildcats wound up shooting 58.6 percent from the field in the second half and outrebounded V.C.U. by 21-12. On Tuesday, Villanova will face the winner of the late game Monday between Oregon and Michigan.

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