By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, November 26, 2015

photo credit: cityofbasketball. com of Villanova Wildcats top scorer Jalen Brunson

Shooting woes hampered Stanford in its National Invitation Tournament Season Tip-Off opener Thursday, as undefeated Villanova defeated the Cardinal 59-45 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Cardinal had a miserable shooting day, making only 13 of 50 field goal attempts (26 percent), and 2 of 9 3-pointers.

Jalen Brunson popped in a game-high 18 points to lead the Wildcats (5-0), with Josh Hart adding 10 points and nine boards. Villanova didn’t shoot much better, hitting 31 percent of its shots, making 19 of 62.

Dorian Pickens scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for the Cardinal, marking his first career double-double. Marcus Allen had 12 points and five rebounds, and Reid Travis was Stanford’s leading rebounder with 12. Rosco Allen also had 10 rebounds for the Cardinal.

Stanford (2-3) will face Arkansas (2-2) Friday in an NIT consolation game, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time.