MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- No. 4 Villanova features one of the best backcourt combinations in the country in Scottie Reynolds and junior Corey Fisher.

So it is no surprise that fifth-ranked West Virginia's strategy defensively Monday was to try to keep the duo from getting to the free-throw line and force them to take tough shots.

But given the talent and experience of Reynolds and Fisher, it is even less of a surprise that that strategy didn't come close to working.

The two combined for 38 points, 8 assists and 5 steals and led the Wildcats to an 82-75 win against the Mountaineers before a crowd of 15,593 at WVU Coliseum in the venue's first game involving two Top 5 teams.

"It is amazing to watch those two," said Villanova coach Jay Wright. "I mean, I felt bad for [Fisher] because he got a couple of tough calls early in the second half and had to sit down, but then Scottie just took the game over. It is a great luxury for us to have two guards like that. It makes us tough to defend and thus tough to beat.

"This was a great Big East road victory for us because this is one of the toughest places to play. We've always had trouble scoring here and not just scoring, but running an offense with the way they play defense."

Reynolds was especially strong down the stretch when the Mountaineers, who trailed 44-33 at the half, were trying to make a run to get back in the game. He had 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and seemed to have an answer every time West Virginia threatened to make a run.

His ability to shoot the ball in transition, as well as get to the rim and get fouled -- he was 10 for 10 from the free-throw line -- clearly frustrated the Mountaineers and kept them from climbing back into the game.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said he spent a lot of time talking to his players about staying in front of Reynolds and Fisher and not leaving their feet to bite on pump fakes, but it didn't seem to matter much once the game started.

"They are good, especially when they are able to step behind ball screens and make shots," Huggins said. "We tried to use our length to make it hard for them and stay in front of them and tried to get our guys to stay on the ground because they are really good at pump-faking and then jumping into you.

"Of course, the two guys we told them to stay down on were 17 for 20 from the foul line. So they are good but at the same time, we didn't do as good of a job as we needed to against them. [Reynolds] is a very good player, but every good team in this league has good players. It is kind of funny how that works."

As bad as the Mountaineers (19-4, 8-3 Big East) played defensively against the Wildcats -- they were rendered almost powerless to stop the Wildcats whether they played man or a 1-3-1 zone -- they also didn't do themselves much of a favor at the free-throw line or rebounding.

In fact, even though Villanova (21-2, 10-1) started four guards and played with four guards for most of the game, it still outrebounded the Mountaineers, 38-30.

And the Wildcats outscored West Virginia at the free-throw line -- 19-18 -- even though the Mountaineers took 10 more free throws than they did.

"We never get outrebounded but my question is this -- if they are out there [in a triangle-and-two] expending so much energy and devoting so much attention on the perimeter to stop Da'Sean -- how in the world do we not get rebounds?" Huggins said. "We just didn't rebound the ball."

The triangle-and-two employed by Villanova, which made 29 of 51 field-goal attempts (57 percent), was indeed a big factor in the Wildcats' ability to control the second half and maintain a safe lead the entire way.

Villanova's defense took Butler almost completely out of the game -- he had 12 points at halftime and finished with 13 -- and once that happens the Mountaineers really struggle to score points.

"We know they can hit 3s and have seen them hit them in a barrage, especially Butler," Wright said. "So we were intent on not letting those guys get loose on the perimeter, especially in the second half once we had a lead."

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.