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And the Wildcats failed.

No. 6 Texas got critical late 3-pointers from A.J. Abrams and Damion James to fend off No. 15 Villanova 67-58 in the Jimmy V Classic before 14,675 at Madison Square Garden.

The loss completed a tough night for the Big East because No. 23 Davidson downed West Virginia 68-65 in the opening game.

It was the first loss of the season for Villanova (8-1), which had trailed for only 3 minutes, 10 seconds through its first eight games and won each encounter by at least 13 points. The Wildcats were off to their best start since opening 10-0 in 2005-6.

"Texas had a physicality defensively and a great discipline defensively," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "And we just haven't faced that yet."

While Villanova was cruising, Texas (7-1) got toughened up by playing two ranked teams, losing to Notre Dame and beating UCLA behind a career-high-tying 31 points from Abrams, a 5-11 senior guard.

Against Villanova, Abrams had another impressive outing, finishing with a game-high 26 points, four assists and no turnovers. James, a 6-7 junior, added 16 points and six rebounds for Texas.

After Villanova got to within 51-45 on a pair of foul shots by Scottie Reynolds, James drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to push the lead to 54-45.

Abrams then hit two more threes down the stretch to extend the lead to 61-50.

"Everybody dreams of playing in Madison Square Garden, the 9 o'clock game, primetime game," Abrams said. "It was a great atmosphere. It was kind of pro-Villanova. But anytime you can play in the Garden, you don't care who's in the stands, just as long as somebody's there to watch it."

Not all the fans who started watching the game were there to finish it. Security guards escorted several drunken fans from the arena for brawling and unruly behavior. "A lot of people did [have too many adult beverages]," Abrams said with a smile. "A lot of people did."

Abrams and James spoiled a terrific performance from Villanova senior forward Dante Cunningham, who poured in a team-high 23 points and a game-high 12 boards. Corey Stokes, who played at nearby St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, added 11 points.

"I think Villanova's a team that at the start of the preseason was an underrated team and I still believe that. I would have put them in my Top 10 if I had a vote there," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "It's a team that went to the Sweet 16 with everybody back. They played really, really hard."

Still, Reynolds, the Villanova star, managed just 10 points on 2 of 7 shooting while being covered primarily by Texas guard Justin Mason.

"Justin, he's our defensive stopper and we try to put him on the other team's best player," Abrams said. "I think he did set the tone for us today."

Said Reynolds: "I think it's more the team defense and not just one person. They do a great job of playing team defense."

Over the past two years, Texas has lost Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin to the NBA, yet continues to be a perennial national power. Abrams and Barnes attribute it to the team's emphasis on defense and the overall strength of the program.

"We don't change, we just move on," Abrams said. "They're going to on and do their deal and we're going to continue to do ours. We haven't changed too much. Still playing hard on defense, keeping the same offense. And just bringing in new players."