Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points and No. 14 Villanova overcame a 7:29 scoreless stretch to open the second half in beating Penn 77-54 on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats shot only 26 percent after halftime and needed 3-point sprees to open and close the game to put away pesky Penn.
James Bell scored 14 points, JayVaughn Pinkston added 13 and Villanova (8-0) won its first game as a ranked team in almost two years.