No. 7 Villanova hands No. 24 Cincinnati first loss
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Corey Fisher scored 21 points, Maalik Wayns had 13 of his 15 in the second half and No. 7 Villanova beat No. 24 Cincinnati 72-61 on Sunday, handing the Bearcats' their first loss of the season.
Fisher had 20 points and made all nine of his free throws in a dynamic first half for the Wildcats (14-1, 3-0 Big East).
Villanova upped its winning streak at The Pavilion, its cozy 6,500-seat on-campus arena, to 45 straight. The streak began on Jan. 17, 2007, and now includes 19 wins over Big East teams.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Winners of nine straight, the Wildcats haven't lost since losing 78-68 to Tennessee Nov. 26 in the finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.
Cincinnati (15-1, 2-1) started the season 15-0 for the first time since 1998-99. The Bearcats started 19-0 in 1962-63.
Rashad Bishop led Cincinnati with 14 points while Yancy Gates and Sean Kilpatrick added 11 each.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But the Bearcats couldn't get anything going offensively and finished with 23 points in the first half, the fewest in any game this season. they finished 3 of 20 from 3-point range for the game.
Cincinnati didn't seem to resemble the team which remained unbeaten as the calendar flipped to 2011. Yet its nonconference schedule — ranked 335th out of 345 Division I teams — was not much of barometer of how good the Bearcats could be.
Villanova broke open a close game by ending the half on an 18-4 run to take a 39-23 lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As Cincinnati misfired — going more than 8 minutes without a field goal during one stretch — the bench continually erupted on a number of fouls that were called. The Bearcats' bench had been warned a couple of times earlier in the half for arguing about calls.
Then with 2:06 remaining, coach Mick Cronin received a technical foul and promptly removed his suit jacket in frustration while being held back by some of his players from yelling further at the officials.
Less than 2 minutes into the second half, Cincinnati forward Ibrahima Thomas was called for a technical foul after complaining following a foul call on Villanova's Mouphtaou Yarou with 18:38 left in regulation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Corey Stokes hit the two free throws for the technical and Yarou followed with two free throws for a 46-25 lead.
Cincinnati got within 55-48 with 10:18 left thanks to a 17-6 run. The Wildcats responded with a quick 7-2 spurt to ahead by 12 points. Dominic Cheek's three-point play with 7:53 remaining gave Villanova a 62-50 lead.