For the first time since 2012, Villanova will not be participating in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats’ run at the Big East Tournament came to an end Thursday night with an 87-74 loss to Creighton. Now, they’ll await a potential invite to the NIT to see if there will be any more basketball this season.
Things went off the rails for Villanova right from the start Thursday night. The ‘Cats hit just two of their first eight shots and promptly fell behind 7-2. An 11-1 run by the Bluejays pushed the deficit to 18-7, and the ‘Cats would never truly recover.
A 6-0 push from ‘Nova closed the gap to five, but Creighton responded with a 10-3 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 12. The ‘Cats would trim the deficit to nine at the break, but it felt much larger than that.
‘Nova was not good at either end of the court in the first half. The ‘Cats shot just 33% both overall and from three. Creighton wasn’t much better, hitting 43% and 38% respectively, but the ‘Cats gave up far too many open threes. But the real difference in the first half was turnovers. Villanova committed five turnovers to Creighton’s one, and the Bluejays turned those Villanova miscues into nine points while ‘Nova didn’t score a single point off Creighton giveaways. Interestingly, Villanova’s halftime deficit matched the points scored by Creighton off turnovers.
Creighton scored the first five points of the second half to run the deficit to 14. ‘Nova tried to respond, scoring five straight to get back within single digits, but Creighton came back with a 9-0 run to open an 18-point lead. The lead would get as high as 20.
Villanova tried to make a late push, pulling within nine at both the 4:44 and 3:36 marks, but the ‘Cats would get no closer and wouldn’t really threaten again, with Creighton taking the 14-point win.
One thing we have to mention, and have to give this team credit for, is never quitting. Despite shots not going down and falling into a big hole, the ‘Cats never hung their heads and never stopped competing. You could tell Creighton knew ‘Nova wasn’t going to lay down. It’s something the team has shown throughout the season. Through injuries to key players and an anomalous amount of bad luck and balls not bouncing their way, the ‘Cats kept coming and working to overcome every obstacle was placed in their way. For that, they deserve a ton of credit.
The offense improved in the second half, with ‘Nova shooting 48.5% overall and 50% from three. The ‘Cats also cleaned up the turnovers, committing just two. But the same can’t be said of the defense. While ‘Nova scored 51 second-half points, it surrendered 55. Creighton shot a scorching 58% both overall and from three.
Villanova just didn’t play well enough to win. The struggles to score and the turnovers in the first half put the ‘Cats in a hole, and porous defense in the second half prevented the improved offense from making a difference.
It was a disappointing end to a frustrating season, especially with the way Villanova had played down the stretch of the regular season, including a convincing win over this same Creighton team, and the dominant win over Georgetown on Wednesday. Ultimately, the same issues that have plagued the ‘Cats all season (too many defensive breakdowns, especially with three-point shooters, long stretches of being unable to put the ball in the basket and an inability to play a full 40 minutes) doomed them in Thursday’s loss.
Regardless of whether there is an NIT invitation or not, the focus turns to an important offseason that will be highlighted by Justin Moore’s future, the transfer portal and an incredibly important 2024 recruiting class.
The Big East made the postgame press conference available on YouTube, you can watch it in full below.
