One of the New Year’s resolutions for Kansas University’s men’s basketball team is to feed big man Wayne Simien the ball.

“Coach has been emphasizing it over and over again. My teammates definitely made a concerted effort to pound it inside tonight,” Simien, KU’s once-ignored junior forward, said after feasting for 23 points in the Jayhawks’ 86-79 victory Friday over Villanova at Allen Fieldhouse.

It marked Simien’s first 20-point outing since his 27-pointer Nov. 25 against Michigan State. He hit seven of 15 shots and had double-digit field-goal attempts for the first time since the Oregon game five games ago.

“It felt good to be involved, but I missed a lot of shots, and I could have rebounded better, too,” said Simien, his own toughest critic after grabbing four boards in 35 minutes.

Friday, the 6-foot-9, 250-pound junior scored from the field and from the free-throw line, hitting nine of nine free throws on a night the Jayhawks made 35 of 41 charities.

“I felt like I was at the free-throw line all night,” Simien said. “Knocking down free throws was huge for us.”

Keith Langford hit 14 of 18 free throws as KU fell three free throws shy of the school record of 38 set five times, most recently against Niagara in 1997.

The No. 13-ranked Jayhawks (8-2) needed all those free throws and inside Simien buckets to put away pesky Villanova (8-3).

The Wildcats, whose 8-0 run closed the first half and forced a tie at intermission, sliced an 18-point second-half deficit to five down the stretch.

“Wayne needed that,” KU coach Bill Self said of Simien’s solid performance. “Not as much for confidence in himself, but confidence we’re going to do everything we can to get him the basketball. He is good after he gets it … real good.”

The Jayhawks, who hit 18 of 18 free throws down the stretch, have actually been good from the line all season. KU entered with a Big 12-best 77 percent free-throw mark.

“It is one thing to shoot 85 percent if you go 9-for-11 or 10-for-12,” Self said. “It is another if you shoot 41 of them. Everybody stepped up and made them because they were all important. We needed them all.”

The Jayhawks certainly fared better than the last time they faced a Big East team.

KU bricked 18 of 13 free throws in last year’s 81-78 national-title loss to Syracuse.

“Don’t ever talk about it,” Self said, asked his free throw philosophy.

“Seriously … I don’t spend much time talking about it. You’ve just got to expect guys to make them. I don’t get hung up on overpracticing or overemphasizing things. I think sometimes when you overemphasize things guys start worrying about it more than just get up there and make them.

“That’s why you are recruited here. You are not recruited to miss them. You are recruited to make them. I am dead serious when I say that.”

Langford — he scored eight points in a 16-2 run that upped KU’s 50-46 lead to 66-48 — was hacked several times on slashes to the hoop. He says he has taken to heart some recent orders from Self, who desperately wants Langford and the Jayhawks to push the basketball.

“We did what coach has been banging in everybody’s head — run,” said Langford, who hit four of 10 shots to go with his career-best 14 charities in a career-high 18 tries.

“He’s always wanted us to run. He’s always said to get the outlet and go. We were attacking. Coach has emphasized attacking. He told me I had to be aggressive, to penetrate and create things.”

Simien made his presence felt early, scoring nine straight points as KU grabbed a 22-12 lead early. The game was tied at half at 38, however, because of Nova’s Curtis Sumpter, who had 10 points in a 15-5 surge to close the half.

Sumpter finished with 18 points off 6-of-15 shooting.

KU took command early in the second half, outscoring Villanova, 23-5, to turn a 43-all tie into a 66-48 lead with 8:58 left.

Nova wasn’t finished, actually slicing the gap to 78-73 with 1:31 left.

“I think they’ve got a legitimate chance to win the Big East. That’s how good I thought they were,” Langford said.

KU needed six of six free-throwing in the last minute to keep the Wildcats at bay. Miles hit four of the free throws and Langford two, to go with a nice inside bucket by David Padgett (15 points, nine boards) off a pass from Simien, who had two assists.

“Villanova is good,” Self said of the ‘Cats, who hit 13 of 35 three-pointers to KU’s five of 11. “When Jason Fraser (two points, 21 minutes playing with assorted injuries) gets healthy, that’s probably as talented team as we’ve played and certainly the best perimeter team we’ve played this year. They are very explosive offensively. We did a good job getting the ball inside and getting some easy baskets, but they are so quick off the floor. We didn’t rebound it well, and we didn’t play particularly smart down the stretch except in a couple of situations, but it was a great win.”

KU opens Big 12 play Monday in an 8:05 p.m. tipoff at Colorado.