There is a lot to unpack from Wednesday night’s Villanova-Creighton game, but ultimately the word of the night is “bittersweet.” The Wildcats played a sparkling first half, opening a big lead. However, the team’s heart and soul, Collin Gillespie, went down with a knee injury, casting a shadow over the performance. In the second half, Villanova nearly suffered an epic collapse but was able to fend off the Bluejays, earning a 72-60 win and claiming another Big East regular season title.
“Obviously bittersweet,” Jay Wright said. “Great effort by our guys.”
Things actually got off to an ugly start for the ‘Cats. They turned the ball over on their first two possessions, one the result of a shot clock violation, and Creighton scored on each ensuing possession to take an early 5-0 lead.
But the ‘Cats responded beautifully, ripping off a 17-2 run to take a 10-point lead. From there, ‘Nova would work on building the lead and would take a 19-point advantage into the break. Villanova was fantastic on both ends of the floor in the first half, and it represented a complete 180 from how things played out in the first meeting between the teams.
‘Nova shot 55% overall in the first half, including 12-16 from 2-point range. More importantly, the defense was much improved and ‘Nova held Creighton to 29% from the field and 25% from 3. Wright had said he wanted to see improved defense of the 3-point arc and of the pick and roll, and his team responded in a big way.
We have to give a ton of credit to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl here. After Gillespie went down, Justin Moore was in foul trouble and it was Robinson-Earl who handled the ballhandling duties for the remainder of the half, a stretch in which Villanova actually managed to increase its lead.
“I’m really proud of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl taking over the point for most of the first half when Justin was in foul trouble,” Wright said.
“I wasn’t prepared, but we’re always prepared for the most difficult situations,” Robinson-Earl said. “We’ve done it before in practice but we weren’t coming into the game ‘oh J-Rob you’re gonna run the point’ but we just always gotta be ready for every situation and execute what coach tells us.”
Villanova had hoped to simply steal a few minutes with Robinson-Earl at the point, but it worked so well that it was able to stick with it for the rest of the half. “We were gonna try it for a little bit to try to steal some minutes for Justin because he had two fouls, but we actually increased our lead Jeremiah did such a great job,” Wright said. “So we just stuck with it. I think that was the difference in the game.”
Villanova pushed the lead to 22 three minutes into the second half, but then the wheels fell off. The Wildcats went eight and a half minutes without scoring, and Creighton took advantage with a 17-0 run during the stretch, cutting the lead to just five. Robinson-Earl finally broke the drought with 5:45 to play, and from there the ‘Cats would outscore the Bluejays 13-8 to earn a 12-point win and the Big East title.
Villanova was much-improved defensively, something that not only helped them build that big lead but also weather the devastating scoring drought in the second half. “I think defensively we were really much more connected,” Wright said. “I knew we had a long stretch where we couldn’t score but we put together enough stops, that stretch was the key to the game. I think the first half Jeremiah Robinson-Earl played the point guard spot the whole end of the first half and then that stretch of eight minutes where I think they got to like five or seven, but we got enough stops and then we started putting stops together after that.”
You have to be impressed with Villanova’s performance for a few reasons. First, the nearly flawless way the ‘Cats played in the first half and the resulting big lead, especially in response to how things happened the first time these teams played. Second, the way they weathered the scoring drought. Eight and a half minutes without a point is enough to derail any basketball team, and for the ‘Cats to stay with it defensively and not panic was impressive. Finally, the way the team responded to the injury to Gillespie. He is the clear leader of this team, its engine, and while the obvious impacts of not having him on the court are enough to overcome on their own, the emotional blow of losing a player like him is another obstacle to overcome. For ‘Nova to be able to manage that, in addition to the scoring drought, is remarkable.
We also have to mention Justin Moore. He stepped up in a big way Wednesday night. At one point, he had 19 points on perfect shooting (7-7, 3-3, 2-2). Moore finished with 24 points on 9-12 shooting and 3-5 from 3. He added five rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block. Most impressively, he committed zero turnovers while handling the ballhandling duties almost exclusively in the second half.
After losing points in the paint 36-20 last time against Creighton, Villanova had a 36-26 advantage in that category Wednesday night. ‘Nova generated 23 shots at the rim, hitting 11-17 layups and 6-6 dunks. ‘Nova also did a much better job controlling the pace on Wednesday night.
What would normally be a celebratory night was certainly overshadowed by Gillespie’s injury. Still, there was a lot to like about the way the ‘Cats performed and plenty to be proud of. There’s a lot for the Wildcats to build on from Wednesday’s performance as they prepare to enter the postseason through whatever circumstances are thrown their way.
