National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Villanova 87, Radford 61
When: 6:50 PM ET, Thursday, March 15, 2018
Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Officials: # Mike Roberts, # Paul Faia, # Robert Riley
Attendance: N/A
Jalen Brunson scored 16 points and East Region No. 1 seed Villanova had little trouble dispatching No. 16 Radford 87-61 Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Mikal Bridges added 13 points and Eric Paschall had 11 for the Wildcats (31-4), who will face ninth-seeded Alabama (20-15) in the second round on Saturday. Villanova captured the Big East tournament and showed no weariness in cruising past Radford. Omari Spellman, Phil Booth and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree each had 10 for the Wildcats.

It was Villanova's sixth win in a row and the first time it has faced Radford in program history.

Villanova hit 14 three-pointers, a program record in an NCAA Tournament game.

Donald Hicks led Radford (22-12) with 13 points while Carlik Jones added 11.

The Highlanders, winners of the Big South tournament, dropped to 0-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with all three defeats coming against No. 1 seeds.

Brunson converted back-to-back baskets with nifty moves in the lane with 17:15 remaining. Spellman followed with a deep 3-pointer and the lead ballooned to 54-29.

Two more baskets, highlighted by a dunk from Spellman, pushed the Villanova to 58-29.

Villanova hit its first six shots of the second half and the rout was on.

Paschall later converted a 3-pointer and was fouled and the lead was 70-37 with 11:45 left. The shot was the 12th 3-pointer of the game and the 400th of the season for the Wildcats.

Villanova knocked down six of its first eight 3-pointers and used a 22-1 run to bolt ahead 31-8 with 8:45 left in the first half.

Five different Wildcats hit at least one trey and the lead was 34-12.

Villanova started 13 of 16 and held a 41-21 advantage with 1:11 until halftime.

Brunson scored 12 points and Bridges had 10 as the Wildcats shot 68 percent (15 of 22) on their way to a 44-23 halftime lead.

Radford shot just 9 of 33.

-- Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Radford   Villanova
Donald Hicks 13 Scoring Jalen Brunson 16
Carlik Jones 4 Assists Donte DiVincenzo 8
Ed Polite, Jr. 8 Rebounds Omari Spellman 7
Carlik Jones 5 Free Throws Made Collin Gillespie 4
Donald Hicks 2 Steals Omari Spellman 2
Ed Polite, Jr. 2 Blocks Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Radford 61 33.9 8-24 13-16 10 30 3 6 13
Villanova 87 59.6 14-27 11-14 20 31 5 7 13