Saint Mary's Gaels at Villanova Wildcats

No. 4 Villanova routs St. Mary's in opener, 91-51

Justin Moore hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 27 points for the Big East favorite Wildcats. Brandon Slater and Jermaine Samuels each added 17.

Malik Jefferson led the Mountaineers, picked third in the Northeast Conference preseason poll, with 13 points. The two teams last played in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Gillespie, who played on the 2018 national championship team but was injured last season on senior night, decided to return for a fifth season thanks to the rule granting players an extra year of eligibility. He was cleared for workouts in August and made the AP preseason All-America team.

He hit an early 3-pointer and received the loudest ovation of the game from a raucous student section that's back this year and locked arms and swayed during pregame introductions.

The Wildcats, who according to closed as 25.5-point favorites, opened the game on a 10-0 run and were never threatened in an easy opener.

Villanova needed the tune-up headed into a stacked nonconference schedule that includes at No. 2 UCLA on Friday.

The Mount made the NCAA Tournament’s First Four last season on the strength of a defense that allowed just 62.2 points per game. The Wildcats hit that mark with 11:50 left in the game, as Moore got a 3 for a 62-35 lead.

BIG NUMBERS

Villanova coach Jay Wright won his 613th career game — and first as a Hall of Famer. Wright helped leadTeam USA to an Olympic gold medal as an assistant under coach Gregg Popovich, then the 59-year-old Wright was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Not a bad summer break.

ON DECK

Villanova has late November games in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic against No. 18 Tennessee, and then a game in the same tourney against either No. 19 North Carolina or No. 7 Purdue. Villanova also plays Syracuse in the Jimmy V Classic in December at Madison Square Garden and then a Dec. 12 rematch at No. 8 Baylor.

BIG PICTURE

Mount St. Mary’s: Its career mark against ranked teams fell to 1-33. Head coach Dan Engelstad is 0-3 against ranked teams.

Villanova: The Wildcats moved to 20-1 under Wright in season openers and have won the last 19.

UP NEXT

The Mount: Host Washington College (Maryland) on Thursday and return to Philadelphia on Saturday for a game at Saint Joseph’s.

Wildcats: Play at No. 2 UCLA on Friday night.

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