Villanova 94, DePaul 71: Freshman Ryan Arcidiacono scored 23 points as the Wildcats used a second-half scoring explosion to cruise past the visiting Blue Demons.

Darrun Hilliard added 17 points and James Bell poured in 16 to lead five other players in double figures for Villanova (14-9, 5-5 Big East), which shot a season-high 59.6 percent from the field – including 68.8 percent in the second half.

Cleveland Melvin finished with 19 points to pace DePaul (10-12, 1-8), which has dropped seven straight.

After the teams entered the break tied at 40, the Wildcats made a concerted effort to pound the Blue Demons inside and connected on their first six shots. Villanova took its first double-digit lead on a layup by JayVaughn Pinkston – one of nine layups or dunks in the second half – at 61-51 with 13:41 remaining.

Villanova drained six of its seven 3-point attempts over the final 20 minutes as the lead ballooned to 27 points late in the contest. The Wildcats tallied 28 points inside the paint and 54 points overall in the second half as DePaul showed the effects of playing consecutive overtime games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Villanova has defeated DePaul five consecutive times. … The 23-point margin of defeat is the Blue Demons’ largest since Notre Dame handed them a 83-58 setback on Feb. 3, 2011. … The 54-point second half was a season-high total in any half for the Wildcats.