OMAHA, Neb. -- Another remarkable shooting performance helped No. 16

Villanova pull away for an 85-71 victory over Creighton on Saturday night.

The Wildcats kept up their torrid shooting pace that started in Thursday's 95-64 blowout of No. 6 Xavier. After making 18 of its 26 shots from the field in the first half against Creighton, Villanova was 10 of 16 in the first 11 minutes after halftime in the Big East game.

Villanova (12-2, 2-0) shot 68 percent from the field for the game, making 34 of 50. Creighton (10-5, 1-1) shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half to finish 25 of 55 for 45.5 percent.

The Wildcats needed every one of those baskets to keep the Bluejays at arm's length for the first 28 minutes of the game, which was played before an announced crowd of 17,375 at CenturyLink Center.

Creighton trailed just 61-54 before Villanova steadily pulled away in the final 12 minutes.

"We only had six 3s, and we only had one or two in the first half," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "So if you can't score inside, you're in trouble. So to be able to run the offense was really important."

Wright also said that shooting at such a high level helped Villanova slow down Creighton's offense because the Bluejays weren't able to get out and run after missed shots.

Villanova junior guard Josh Hart led all scorers with 25 points. Hart made 10 of his 14 shots from field. Senior forward Daniel Ochefu finished 9 of 10 from the field for 19 points and guards Jalen Brunson (6 of 8) and Phil Booth (3 of 5) also shot better than 50 percent.

"I wish I could shoot like that every game," Hart said. "Daniel got off to a great start, so they had to key on him."

Hart said Ochefu's ability to adjust and get the ball back to teammates when Creighton started to key on him was an important adjustment to keep the offense flowing.

Villanova's biggest lead was 17 points (85-68) and the margin never fell below double digits after the second officials' timeout in the second half.

"There was no question who the better team was," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "Villanova was great. The bottom line is sometimes this game comes down to me against you, and either I'm a bigger man or you're a bigger man. I'm going to the basket or you're going to stop me. Tonight they went to the basket."

Villanova wasn't able to get its first double digit lead until late in the first half when an 8-2 run put the Wildcats ahead 31-21. The Wildcats had trouble shaking the pesky Bluejays.

In the win over Xavier, Villanova shot 63.2 percent from the field. In the first 20 minutes against Creighton, the Wildcats shot 69.2 percent.

Villanova maintained a 10-point bulge at 38-28 until the Bluejays went on a 7-2 run to end the first half to go into the intermission trailing 40-35.

Guard James Milliken made a 3-pointer from the right key and converted a layup with three seconds remaining to spark Creighton's rally.

In the opening 10 minutes, Ochefu did most of the damage. The 6-foot-11 senior scored 12 of his 15 first-half points in the opening nine minutes.

Two fouls limited Ochefu's playing time later in the half, but he finished the first half 7 of 7 from the field to go with one free throw. Hart picked up where Ochefu left off and scored 13 points by making 6-of-7 shots from the field, including one of Villanova's two 3-point baskets.

Creighton's lone lead came six minutes into the game when a jumper from the right side by forward Cole Huff put the Bluejays up 11-10.

NOTES: Creighton dropped to 7-3 in games beginning after 9:01 p.m. CT at the CenturyLink Center. ... Villanova is 2-1 against Creighton on the Bluejays' home court. ... The Wildcats' next game will be a home matchup Wednesday against Seton Hall. Creighton hosts Georgetown on Tuesday.