No. 6 Villanova 81, DePaul 64: Darrun Hilliard II and Ryan Arcidiacono combined for 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting as the Wildcats used a big first half to defeat the visiting Blue Demons.

Hilliard and Arcidiacono each knocked down four 3-pointers as Villanova (15-1, 3-1 Big East) went 13-of-29 from outside the arc as part of a 53.6 shooting performance. The Wildcats struggled through a bizarre 8-of-18 effort from the free-throw line, but finished with 23 assists - 16 more than the Blue Demons.

Tommy Hamilton IV had a team-high 12 points for DePaul (9-8, 3-1), which entered with a 3-0 record in the Big East for the first time since joining the conference in 2005-06. The Blue Demons received 39 points from their bench, which combined to shoot 12-of-22, while their starters struggled to the tune of 25 points on 8-of-27 shooting.

Villanova shot 62.1 percent in the first half - including 7-of-12 from outside the arc - and committed only two turnovers while forcing 10 miscues by DePaul. Arcidiacono made a jumper just before the halftime buzzer to give him 11 points, one more than Hilliard, who made all four of his first-half shot attempts as Villanova took a 45-24 lead.

The Wildcats dominated with their defense early in the second half, holding the Blue Demons without a field goal for about 8 1/2 minutes as their lead increased to 62-30 when Hilliard made a 3-pointer and a layup on back-to-back trips. Hilliard finished 8-of-12 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range, while Arcidiacono was 5-of-6 overall, going 4-of-5 from long range.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Arcidiacono entered shooting 31.3 percent, including 2-of-12 in the last two games. ... Wildcats F Kris Jenkins had 10 points and seven boards off the bench. ... Hilliard had four of his team's seven steals.