Villanova's defense smothered Stanford into a miserable night from the floor and the Wildcats advanced to the final of the NIT Season Tip-Off with a 59-45 win on Thanksgiving at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Cardinal struggled to make a quarter of their shots, finishing 13 of 50 (26.0 percent) from the floor despite a considerable size advantage in the frontcourt. Stanford started three players standing 6 feet 8 or taller while Villanova started 6-10 senior center Daniel Ochefu.

With that height discrepancy, Stanford won the rebounding battle 55-35 but was forced into 23 turnovers by an aggressive Villanova press. The Wildcats' guard-heavy attack took care of the ball, turning it over just six times, and their 30.6 percent shooting from the field (19 of 62) provided enough offense to get the job done.

Freshman guard Jalen Brunson led the Wildcats with a career-high 18 points, on 5-of-14 shooting from the floor. Junior wing Josh Hart had 10 points and nine rebounds.

Junior guard Marcus Allen led Stanford with 12 points and sophomore guard Dorian Pickens added 11.

The teams combined to shoot 26.7 percent from the floor (16 of 60) in the first half, which ended with Villanova up 30-23.

Stanford and Arkansas will meet in the consolation game at 12:30 p.m. Friday, followed by Villanova and Georgia Tech in the championship at 3 p.m.