The capacity crowd was on its feet. The Prudential Center felt like it was shaking. Seton Hall trailed by just a point, and 2:48 remained in the first half.
But in a blink, it was over. Villanova reminded the 16,733 in attendance over the final few minutes why it entered the contest No. 2 in the nation and a viable candidate to repeat as national champions.
Jalen Brunson keyed an 11-1 run close to the half and the Wildcats rolled to a thorough, 92-70 beatdown of the Pirates, clinching at least a share of its fourth straight Big East regular-season crown.
Villanova scored the first 11 points of the second half, methodically building a 26-point lead that removed all doubt of the eventual outcome. After Seton Hall stunned Jay Wright’s team in last March’s Big East Tournament title game, the Wildcats have responded with two dominant victories by a combined 52 points.
Seton Hall (16-10, 6-8 Big East), meanwhile, remains fully entrenched on the NCAA Tournament bubble, badly needing to win three of its final four games, starting with Xavier on Wednesday at the Prudential Center.
Villanova (26-2, 13-2) made a mockery of the Seton Hall defense, shooting a blistering 67 percent from the field. Even without Darryl Reynolds, Villanova’s lone true big man, the Wildcats out-rebounded the Pirates, 24-23, were even in the paint and kept Angel Delgado in check. They frustrated the slower Pirates with their quickness and burned them from the perimeter.
Brunson, the son of former Knicks guard Rick Brunson, was the best player on the floor — producing 22 points, 10 assists and four rebounds. Kris Jenkins also scored 22, and National Player of the Year candidate Josh Hart added 19. Khadeen Carrington led Seton Hall with 22 and Delgado had 19 points and 12 rebounds, but both struggled when the game was in the balance.
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