Villanova vs. UNC Asheville: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

Villanova (30-5) fought through an early challenge from UNC Asheville (22-12) on Friday to open its NCAA tournament journey with a comfortable 86-56 victory at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The No. 2 seed and national title contender received 17 points and 10 rebounds from Daniel Ochefu in the victory. Ryan Arcidiacono added 14 points on the power of four three-pointers for the Wildcats, which took control late in the first half and never looked back.

Dylan Smith put together a solid showing for the Bulldogs with 14 points and five assists in a losing effort. They just didn't have quite enough offensive firepower to keep pace with one of the nation's top teams.

Here's a look at how the South Region clash played out:

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(2) Wildcats	40	46	86
(15) Bulldogs	26	30	56

Even though there was a wide disparity between the teams' seedings, Villanova head coach Jay Wright still expected a hard-fought battle. Rich Hofmann of Philly Voice passed along the 15th-year coach's comments about Asheville's tricky defensive approach.

"They're really good, come after you defensively," Wright said. "They got a 1-3-1 trap that is really aggressive and tough, they turn people over. They won't be overmatched physically. They're a little undersized but tough, athletic, and very skilled."

Villanova finally started to settle in about midway through the first 20 minutes. It stretched the lead to nine thanks in large part to turning defense into offense to get some easier looks.

Here's a steal and slam by Mikal Bridges:

Asheville fought right back, though.

The Bulldogs trimmed the lead back down to two with less than five minutes left in the half thanks to a quick 10-3 spurt. Smith hit a three to cap the run and tried to fire up his teammates, as NCAA March Madness showcased:

It was all Wildcats for the rest of the opening half. They outscored the No. 15 seed by a 16-4 margin over the final handful of minutes in the half to take firm control of the game for the first time.

The Villanova surge was highlighted by a barrage of three-pointers. Arcidiacono knocked down the team's seventh outside shot of the half at the buzzer:

That run late in the first took any remaining wind of out Asheville's sails. It never made a serious charge in the second half as Villanova steadily built its lead. The No. 2 seed eventually turned a game that was competitive for the first 15 minutes into a blowout.

The Wildcats ended up shooting 57 percent from the field, including 45 percent from beyond the arc, despite a sluggish start. Most importantly, they were able to avoid any of the early drama that tends to pop up during March Madness.

ESPN Stats & Info noted the success from three-point range was even more impressive considering Asheville's defensive prowess:

Of course, nothing from today's victory will resonate if they don't continue their run, as Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports discussed:

Looking ahead, Villanova advances to the second round, where it is set to face off with the winner of Iowa and Temple on Sunday. The Hawkeyes and Owls should be in for a closely contested matchup later in Friday's action.

The Wildcats did more than enough to move on, but they must still elevate their level of play if they want to cut down the nets at the end of the tournament. There were stretches of championship form against an overmatched opponent. They will need 40 minutes of it as the event rolls on.

On the flip side, the silver lining for UNC Asheville is that it only featured one high-impact senior this season in Sam Hughes. So the Bulldogs should have a great chance to make another trip to the Big Dance next March with this experience under their belt.  

Postgame Reaction

Jamal Murphy of CBS Local Sports provided comments from UNC Asheville coach Nick McDevitt about what he seen from the Wildcats:

Wright echoed the outside comments about getting through the next round. His assessment of the situation was pretty blunt, as noted by Eugene Rapay of Villanovan Sports.

"We gotta go do it, that's the bottom line. If we don't do it, it's a failure," the Villanova coach said.

He also mentioned he wouldn't mind a Philly battle with Temple in Round 2, per Adam Zagoria of SNY.

"We all take great pride in Philadelphia basketball and I'd like to see Temple win this game," Wright said.

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.