Villanova Wildcats at Creighton Bluejays

Ryan Arcidiacono saves No. 4 Villanova against Creighton

Ryan Arcidiacono converted a three-point play to give Villanova the lead in the last minute and came up with the game's final rebound, which helped the Wildcats win their 11th straight game 76-72 on Tuesday.

"That," Arcidiacono said, "was one of our guttiest performances of the year."

Indeed.

Austin Chatman's 3-pointer had pulled the Bluejays within 74-72 with six seconds left, and they got the ball back after Arcidiacono ran into Chatman as Villanova tried to inbound.

Will Artino missed what would have been the tying layup, and Arcidiacono grabbed the ball and got fouled. As Arcidiacono shot the last free throws, what had been a juiced crowd of 16,337 began to quietly head for the exits.

With a No. 1 NCAA seed in its sights, Villanova couldn't afford a slip-up against the Big East's ninth-place team. The regular-season champion Wildcats ended up getting more than they bargained for from an opponent motivated to play spoiler.

Arcidiacono finished with 23 points for the Wildcats (28-2, 15-2), who trailed by nine points in the first half as Creighton played a tight defense that neutralized Darrun Hilliard and JayVaughn Pinkston.

"We didn't have our players prepared for them to get up in us and be physical and stay with our guys everywhere," Wildcats coach Jay Wright said.

Chatman scored 21 points to lead the Bluejays (13-17, 4-13), who lost for the seventh time when leading in the final minute.

"It's really hard to have your team compete and fight and continue to believe in each other the way this group has and not crumble from within and not have them rewarded for that effort," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "That's what bothers me the most. We fought our tails off. We exerted a lot of energy the first half. It was arguably our best defensive half of the year."

Creighton held the Wildcats to 29 percent shooting in the half. Hillard, limited to 19 minutes because of foul trouble, finished with seven points and Pinkston had one.

Still, the Wildcats were within a point at halftime and ahead by 11 in the middle of the second half. But with Chatman, Rick Kreklow and James Milliken combining for nine of their team's 10 3-pointers, Creighton was never out of it.

The Bluejays were up 67-66 before Arcidiacono drove for a layup, got fouled by Chatman and made the free throw with 49 seconds left. Villanova got the ball back when Devin Brooks dribbled the ball out of bounds on the other end.

Villanova hit five of six free throws in the last 26.4 seconds before Creighton made things interesting at the end.

TIP-INS

Villanova: The Wildcats started their 11-game win streak with a 71-50 victory over Creighton in Philadelphia on Jan. 25. ... The Wildcats were 6-of-22 on 3-pointers after making at least 11 in each of their previous five games.

Creighton: Creighton lost for the first time in 28 games when scoring 70 points or more. ... The Bluejays have lost six straight against Top 25 opponents since a 65-63 victory at home over Oklahoma in November. ... Creighton is 7-55 all-time against opponents ranked in the top 10.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

UP NEXT

Villanova: hosts St. John's on Saturday.

Creighton: hosts Xavier on Saturday.

How can I watch Villanova vs. Creighton?

• TV Channel: Villanova at Creighton 2021 College Basketball, week 17, is broadcasted on FS1.
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