Cats advance to Sweet 16 with 71-61 win over Ohio State

Villanova played an excellent first half. A personal 10-2 run from Collin Gillespie opened a 10-point lead for the ‘Cats with 12:21 to go in the half. Ohio State would hang around, but Villanova had an answer every time and kept the Buckeyes at bay. The ‘Cats would extend the lead to 11 with 4:02 to go and 12 with 1:38 to play. The Buckeyes got back within nine with under a minute to go, but Caleb Daniels got fouled with 1.4 seconds to go while going for an offensive rebound and hit both free throws to send the ‘Cats to the break with an 11-point lead.

The Wildcats checked pretty much all the boxes we were looking for in the first half. They outrebounded Ohio State 19-11, including 6-4 on the offensive glass, helping ‘Nova to a 7-4 advantage in second-chance points. The ‘Cats won points in the paint 16-8 and shot 52% form the field while limiting Ohio State to 38%. They also earned a +6 advantage from the free throw line. Ohio State did manage to be +3 from beyond the arc, but Villanova played well at both ends of the floor.

Six Wildcats scored in the first half, with four of those six scoring at least five. Jermaine Samuels and Caleb Daniels had nine points and five rebounds each. Eric Dixon had five points and five boards while Gillespie led the way with 12 points.

Things started off well in the second half with ‘Nova scoring nine of the first 14 points of the period to open a 15-point lead with 15:52 to play. But this is the NCAA Tournament, and it wasn’t going to be that easy.

Ohio State used a 6-0 push to get back within nine as the ‘Cats suffered through a drought of 2:36. The Buckeyes would continue chipping away. A few minutes later, ‘Nova would suffer through an absolutely disastrous sequence that further pushed the momentum in Ohio State’s favor.

The Buckeyes were the beneficiary of a few lucky bounces during a loose ball situation that eventually ended with the ball going out of bounds on ‘Nova. After forcing a miss, the ‘Cats surrendered three consecutive offensive rebounds, with Ohio State ultimately earning a trip to the line. The Buckeyes converted one-of-two from the line, then Brandon Slater missed a layup at the other end. Malaki Branham drained a 3, cutting the lead to six and putting a gust of wind into the Buckeyes’ sails.

‘Nova would continue to struggle, hitting just 1-7 shots, including five-straight misses, that led to another drought, this one lasting 2:44, during which Ohio State pulled within two. A Jermaine Samuels layup and a Gillespie jumper sandwiched an Ohio State free throw, pushing the lead back to five with 3:55 to go. Then it was Eric Dixon’s turn to play hero. The big man connected on a 3 from the left wing to push the lead to eight with 1:38 to go, putting ‘Nova in position to ice the game.

“I’ve shot thousands of 3s this year in practice and by myself in the gym, so my teammates expect me to me to make the shot when I shoot it, so I just raised up and shot it,” Dixon said of his huge shot.

“I think we just continued to do what we did the entire game,” Gillespie said of weathering the storm. “They had a stretch where they were hitting shot after shot and we just said ‘attitude,’ stuck together and came together on the defensive end and just told each other ‘let’s get this next stop, let’s get this next stop’ and just try to make the next play.”

A Branham layup with just under a minute to play cut the lead to six, but Ohio State wouldn’t score again, and Samuels and Gillespie would put the game away at the line, giving ‘Nova a 71-61 win and a berth in the Sweet 16.

“I’m really proud of these guys,” Jay Wright said. “Proud of our leadership. Proud of Collin and Jermaine just the way they’ve been great leaders and Eric, he’s got guts man, that was a big-time shot he hit. He’s a confident kid, that’s what we love about him.”

The ‘Nova offense struggled a bit in the second half, hitting just 37% from the field and 30.8% from 3. Ohio State hit 45.2% overall but struggled to just 20% 3-point shooting. The Buckeyes were dominant on the glass in the second half, outrebounding Villanova 24-12 and 11-5 on the offensive glass, taking a 12-4 advantage in second-chance points. Villanova’s slight advantage from 3, free throw shooting and first-half cushion were enough to hold off the Buckeyes.

‘Nova showed great composure in weathering the furious Ohio State push. Despite the tense moments, the ‘Cats never trailed in the game. As a result, they claim a well-earned spot in the Sweet 16.

Jay Wright credited his team’s experience and the tough schedule the team played this season as factors in being able to maintain composure. “When you’re playing great teams in big-time atmospheres like this, there’s a lot of pressure there,” Wright said. “When that team makes the run, if you haven’t been there before and know that you can withstand that and that this is what happens when you play great teams and it’s happened to you before and you can fight through it. If you haven’t done it, it’s hard. You can panic. All these guys have been there. I think the Big East Tournament provides that for them. Our game at UCLA, our game at Baylor, our game against Purdue, those kind of games provide that for you and it’s very valuable.”

The ‘Cats will face Michigan on Thursday with spot in the Elite 8 on the line.