It wasn’t always easy, it wasn’t always pretty, but Villanova got back on track Sunday afternoon with an 84-74 win over Georgetown. The ‘Cats had stretches where they played well and stretches where they played not so well, but they did enough to get the win against a Georgetown team that brought the fight.
“Really tough Big East game against a Georgetown team that’s playing extremely well,” Jay Wright said. “They’re a really good team, so that’s a good victory for us.”
Both teams came out hot to start the game, with Georgetown hitting eight of its first 10 shots. ‘Nova wasn’t far behind, connecting on 55% overall and 57% from 3. Jermaine Samuels scored Villanova’s first five points and finished with 18 in the half.
A 7-0 run by the ‘Cats mid-way through the half opened a nine-point advantage. That lead would hit double digits after Georgetown traded a Qudus Wahab layup for a Samuels’ 3-pointer. The Hoyas would hit right back, however, ripping off a 9-0 spurt to get back into things and pushing that run to 15-3 to take a two-point lead. The ‘Cats would restore a bit of order right before the half, scoring the final four points of the period to retake a two-point lead.
Villanova really cooled down from the floor, ultimately hitting just 38% for the half. Conversely, the Hoyas stayed hot and finished the half at 54%. Georgetown was taking it inside, building an 18-8 advantage in the paint. Villanova was able to offset those numbers by taking a 12-point advantage from beyond the arc and a 10-4 lead in second-chance points.
The teams traded blows for the first few minutes of the second half before the ‘Cats used an 11-4 push build an eight-point lead with 11:25 to play. Villanova regained its mojo offensively, hitting eight of its first 11 shots on the half, and it looked like it might take control of the game.
But the Hoyas responded with an 11-3 run and tied the game at 60 with 8:30 to play. The teams again traded blows and played within a few possessions of each other for several minutes, but Villanova was able to take control down the stretch, outscoring Georgetown 14-5 over the final 4:23 to earn an 84-74 win.
The 3-point line and the free throw line proved to be big boosts for Villanova. The ‘Cats were +18 from beyond the arc and +8 at the charity stripe. ‘Nova moved the ball well, assisting on 21 of 27 made baskets. The Wildcats also earned a slight advantage in second-chance points (14-12) and fast break points (12-7). That helped offset strong inside play from the Hoyas, who shot 59% on 2-point attempts and had a 36-20 advantage in points in the paint.
One key for Villanova in the second half was a change in defending Qudus Wahab. The Georgetown big man scored eight straight points for the Hoyas early in the second half and it looked like ‘Nova had no answer. But Wahab would score only two more points over the final 15 minutes of the game, something that helped Villanova create some space.
While it was a team effort on Wahab defensively, Wright didn’t hesitate to give out individual credit and it might not be who you were expecting. “Cole Swider,” Wright said. “He did an incredible job in the second half. Cole was just outstanding tonight.”
Swider’s teammates echoed that sentiment. “I think Cole was the reason that got us going on defense,” Jeremiah Robinson-Earl said. “Playing really great post defense, moving around, not standing behind letting him catch the ball, just using his speed. I think he did a great job tonight just playing really hard on the defensive end.”
Swider also hit a big 3 with just over two minutes to play that pushed the Villanova lead to seven. Swider finished with six points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
The star of the night, Samuels, had praise for Swider as well. “Cole’s worked very, very hard at being better guarding not only the perimeter but down low and that boost off the bench was huge for us,” Samuels said. “He made a lot of great plays and helped our team defensively in a major way.”
As for Samuels, he finished with a career-high 32 points, tied a career-high with five assists, and added six rebounds and three steals. He shot 10-17 from the field, 6-7 from 3 and 6-6 from the foul line. “He definitely came out with a fierce focus today and not just aggressiveness but intelligence,” Wright said. “He drove the ball well, but he got our offense started, hitting people, getting other people shots. The first half he just carried us.”
The scoring numbers stand out, but Samuels’ impact went far beyond just putting the ball in the basket. “There was some great drives that initiated rotation from Georgetown where he kicked it out, he didn’t get the assist but the next guy got the assist but it was all initiated by Jermaine,” Wright said. “He did so many little things, I’m really proud of him.”
It wasn’t a perfect performance from the ‘Cats, but they had some really good stretches and did some good things. Most importantly, they bounced back from Wednesday’s loss at St. John’s and got back in the win column.
