Collin Gillespie and Caleb Daniels scored 18 points apiece and No. 9 Villanova rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat host Georgetown 76-63 in both teams' Big East opener on Friday in Washington.

Cole Swider contributed 10 for the Wildcats (5-1, 1-0 Big East), who won their third game in a row.

Jamorko Pickett led Georgetown (2-3, 0-1) with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Qudus Wahab added 12 points and Jahvon Blair had 11. It was the Hoyas' first game against Villanova at their on-campus arena since 1981.

Georgetown jumped out to a 17-7 lead with 14:41 remaining in the first half.

The Hoyas extended their advantage to 29-18 when Donald Carey hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 9:18 left before the break.

Villanova struggled with its shooting for large stretches, missed 11 of its first 14 3-point tries and fell behind 35-19.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (nine points) then dropped in a 3-pointer to close the Wildcats within 13 points.

After Carey knocked down his second trey, the Georgetown lead ballooned to 40-22. The Hoyas' biggest lead came at 46-28 before the Wildcats scored the last five points of the half to trail by 13.

Jermaine Samuels appeared to hit a 3-pointer to inch Villanova closer at the first-half buzzer, but his shot was launched just after time expired.

Gillespie connected on back-to-back treys and Daniels converted a driving layup as Villanova got within 50-43 with 16:13 left.

Soon after Pickett misfired on a 3-point attempt from the baseline, Swider responded with a trey for the Wildcats, and the deficit was 50-47.

Georgetown committed a pair of turnovers and Villanova came back with 3-pointers by Gillespie and Daniels to go back ahead 53-50, capping a 15-0 run.

The Hoyas, who started hot from beyond the arc early, missed their first three 3-point attempts of the second half.

Blair made a difficult 15-foot jumper and Pickett scored in the lane to put Georgetown ahead 59-55 with 9:16 remaining.

Villanova then went on an 18-2 run. Brandon Slater's layup with 1:36 left gave the Wildcats a 73-61 lead, essentially sealing the win.

--Field Level Media