Darrun Hilliard had 16 points and Villanova pulled away in the second half Thursday night to beat Milwaukee 73-53 in the NCAA Tournament.
The second-seeded Wildcats outscored the 15th-seeded Panthers 46-30 after the break and advanced in the East Region to face seventh-seeded Connecticut on Saturday.
JayVaughn Pinkston had 13 points and James Bell scored 12 for Villanova (29-4), which won its first regular-season Big East title in eight years but fell to Seton Hall on a buzzer beater in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament last Thursday, snapping a six-game winning streak.
Austin Arians scored 17 points to lead Horizon League champion Milwaukee (21-14), which had a five-game winning streak snapped after an unexpected run through the conference tournament.
[SportsNetwork.com]
