Printable bracket with game times
East Region | West Region | Midwest Region | South Region
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Top-ranked and top-seeded Villanova flirted with catastrophe before regrouping and blowing out No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's, 76-56, Thursday night in an NCAA Tournament first-round game at the KeyBank Center.
No. 1 seeds are now 130-0 in NCAA Tournament history against No. 16 seeds.
But the Mountaineers led by as many as eight points early in the game and still led by a point 10 seconds into the second half.
However, three baskets by Josh Hart, who missed much of the first half with two fouls, and a couple threes by Mikal Bridges sparked a 21-4 run that turned the one-point deficit into a 16-point lead.
Villanova closed the game on a 46-25 run. The Wildcats led by as many as 24 points late in the game.
Freshman Donte DiVincenzo scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and added a career-high 13 rebounds for the Wildcats.
Sophomore Jalen Brunson added 14 points on 7 for 11 from the field, Bridges added 13 and Hart scored 11. Sophomore transfer Eric Paschall had 10 points.
After missing its first seven shots, Villanova was 31 for 53 from the field (59 percent).
Mount St. Mary's was bidding to become the first No. 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history to beat a No. 1 seed. And the Mountaineers were trying to do it against the defending national champions and the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament.
Mount St. Mary's, which had to beat New Orleans in a First Four game Tuesday in Dayton just to reach the field of 64, raced out to a 10-2 lead over 'Nova, which missed its first eight shots and didn't get on the scoreboard until DiVincenzo scored on a drive through the paint 6:05 into the game.
Villanova, playing much of the first half with Hart on the bench with two fouls, finally tied the game at 18 on three Kris Jenkins free throws with 5:44 left in the first half and took its first lead at 26-25 on a Paschall slam with 1:23 left.
Villanova finally took the lead for good 34 seconds into the second half on a Hart drive to the basket.
What it means
Villanova improved to 32-3 with its sixth straight win since a late-season Big East loss to Butler. The 32 wins are third-most in school history, behind last year's 35-5 team and the 2015 team, which went 33-3.
Villanova is now 129-16 over the last four years, and the 129 wins are 10th most in NCAA Division I history by any school over a four-year period.
The Wildcats have won seven straight NCAA Tournament games since losing to North Carolina State in the second round in Pittsburgh in 2015.
The Wildcats improved to 58-35 in school history in the NCAA Tournament.
Mount St. Mary's fell to 0-4 in school history in the NCAA Tournament, with the four losses coming by an average of 32 points. The Mountaineers finished the season 20-16 after opening the season 1-11.
Stat of the day
No. 1 seeds are 130-0 in NCAA Tournament history against No. 16 seeds, with 118 of those 130 wins coming by at least 20 points.
By the numbers
• DiVincenzo's 13 rebounds are most by a Villanova player in an NCAA Tournament game since Mouphtaou Yarou had 13 against George Mason in 2011.
• Miles Wilson led Mount St. Mary's with 18 points.
• Villanova shot 40 percent in the first half and 63 percent in the second half.
• The Wildcats were 1 for 9 from three in the first half and 5 for 8 from range in the second half.
Turning point
After Mount St. Mary's took a 31-30 lead 10 seconds into the second half, Villanova ran off 13 straight points to take a 43-31 lead.
What's next
Villanova will play on Saturday for a berth in the Sweet 16 against Wisconsin, which defeated Virginia Tech on Thursday night. Game time is at 2:40 p.m. on CBS.
Villanova will be seeking an 18th trip to the Sweet 16 and its sixth in the last 13 years under head coach Jay Wright.