Saturday presented another challenge and another opportunity for the ‘Cats as they hosted the No. 12 Seton Hall Pirates at Wells Fargo Center looking to snap a two-game skid. Unfortunately, slow starts, mediocre shooting and better late-game execution from Seton Hall led to a third straight loss, 70-64.
It was, once again, an ugly start for the ‘Cats. Villanova scored just two points over the first 5:20 of the game and found themselves down 9-2. If it wasn’t for Jermaine Samuels, it could have been worse. Samuels scored Villanova’s first seven points and started 3-of-3 while the rest of the team was 0-of-6. Even with Samuels trying to keep ‘Nova afloat, Seton Hall built a 10-point lead midway through the half.
‘Nova ripped off an 11-2 run to close to within one with 4:38 left, sparking the Wells Fargo Center crowd. Quincy McKnight pushed the lead back to four with layup and foul, but ‘Nova would finish the half with another 10-2 push to carry a four-point lead into the break. All told, Villanova finished the half on a 21-7 run after falling behind by 10.
It wasn’t pretty for the ‘Cats in the first half, as they shot just 37.7 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three. But they did a great job upping the defensive intensity as the half wore on, ultimately holding Hall to 37 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. ‘Nova forced 10 turnovers while only committing five.
Samuels was big, scoring 10 first-half points and carrying Villanova through the early struggles. Saddiq Bey came on late, making some big buckets as ‘Nova made their run, finishing with nine points in the half.
Halftime seemed to kill Villanova’s momentum and rhythm, as the ‘Cats didn’t score for the first four minutes of the second half and Seton Hall opened with a 6-0 to retake the lead before Bey ended the drought with a three.
That set the tone for a tightly contested finish, but ultimately Seton Hall made more plays than ‘Nova down the stretch. The defense wasn’t as consistently good and the ‘Cats got punished on the boards. Seton Hall won the rebounding battle 42-32, including 10-7 on the offensive glass. A few offensive rebounds for Seton Hall in crunch time proved costly.
‘Nova did a decent job on McKnight and Myles Powell all things considered, but had no answer for Sandro Mamukelashvili, who had 18 points and eight rebounds, including four offensive. He made countless big plays for the Pirates down the stretch.
Villanova has a bit of a gripe about a non-call on a Bey layup attempt trailing by three with just under a minute to go, a non-call that all but ended the game. But at the end of the day, Seton Hall executed down the stretch better than ‘Nova did.
With the loss, the hopes of a Big East title are all but shot. Not only is Villanova’s margin for error essentially zero, but they would still need help.
The ‘Cats are officially in a tailspin, losers of three straight. The shot-making has not been good enough, the defense has been too inconsistent, and the slow starts to both games and second halves have caught up to them. The good news is they’ve had opportunities to win, particularly the last two games, and there’s still plenty of time to bounce back and head into the tournament strong. Still, it’s been an incredibly disappointing stretch. Villanova has shown flashes of the team we’ve come to expect, but the inability to do it for 40 minutes has been damaging.
The ‘Cats will look to get back on track on Wednesday when they host Marquette.
