The Villanova Wildcats trail the No. 1 Syracuse Orange 43-24 after the first half of play at the Wells Fargo Center.
This game opened with a fairly even first ten minutes for Villanova and Syracuse. Through the first 10 minutes the score was even tied, 14-14. Then, Syracuse went on a 18-2 run over the next six minutes to open the score up. Villanova was outrebounded in the first half and turned the ball over nine times.
However, the major problem for Villanova was shot selection. The Wildcats shot only 2-9 from behind the arc and 7-26 from the field in the first half. Villanova entered the game as the Big East's best free throw shooting team but were only 8-13 in the first half.
Villanova was led in the first half by Mouphtaou Yarou's eight points and seven rebounds. Tyrone Johnson had six points (2-2 from behind the arc) for the Wildcats. The Orange were led by 14 points from Dion Waiters.
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