Cats handle St. John's 73-62

It was a strange first half. The earliest stages of the game went about as poorly as you could have hoped if you where a ‘Nova fan. The ‘Cats committed two turnovers on their first four possessions and St. John’s had three offensive rebounds in the first four minutes. The result was an early 7-2 lead for the Johnnies.

Compounding matters was some poor shooting from the ‘Cats, who missed their first five layup attempts and at one point missed eight straight field goal attempts. However, St. John’s was only able to extend the lead to 10-4. Jay Wright credited the transition defense with keeping Villanova in the game during that stretch.

“I thought our defense, converting defensively, was really good,” Wright said. “They’re as efficient as anyone in the country in transition. I thought we did a great job a couple times in that period of getting back. We had a couple really good defensive conversions in transition, that’s hard to do.”

Then, the floodgates opened for the ‘Nova offense.

Jordan Longino broke the streak of missed shots with a 3, and that make would start a run of six straight makes for the ‘Cats. The turnaround helped fuel a 16-7 run for ‘Nova, giving the ‘Cats a 20-17 lead. From there, the ‘Cats would keep going.

Over the final six minutes of the half, ‘Nova would once again hit six straight shots, including 5-5 on 3s, to take a 40-26 lead into the break. Overall, the ‘Cats made 12 of their final 13 shots of the half.

“Moving the ball and making extra passes,” Wright said of the strong offensive finish to the half. “Not holding on to it, having our head up. It’s easy to say that as a coach but when you have guys in you, smacking at the ball it’s hard to have your head up and see. We had a period there where we were good, had our heads up, were moving the ball, making the extra passes and getting the open shots.”

Villanova shot a scorching 9-12 from beyond the arc in the first half and had a 21-point advantage from deep. The ‘Cats also did a good job limiting the Johnnies’ transition game, holding them to just two points off six ‘Nova turnovers.

‘Nova kept St. John’s at arm’s length through much of the second half, leading by between 11 and 17 through the first 12 minutes or so. With 6:46 to play, a Collin Gillespie jumper gave ‘Nova its biggest lead at 20 and the ‘Cats looked primed to cruise to a win.

St. John’s wouldn’t go away and ripped off a 13-2 run to get back within single digits at nine with 2:15 to play. But the Johnnies ran out of time, and perhaps gas, as ‘Nova was able to score the next seven points to restore a 16-point lead with 1:05 to go. The Johnnies trimmed five points off the deficit over the final minute of the game, but it wasn’t enough as ‘Nova earned the 11-point win.

Overall, it was a nice performance from the ‘Cats. They committed 11 turnovers, which is a bit high for them but not a terrible number against a team like St. John’s, and they managed to stay even in points off turnovers (14-14). ‘Nova also earned a one-point edge in fast break points (7-6) and limiting St. John’s to six fast break points is a great achievement.

As a result, the Johnnies were forced to play offense in the halfcourt and struggled at that end of the floor. They shot just 39.7% overall and 19% from 3.

Meanwhile, Villanova was able to take advantage of the St. John’s 3-point defense, knocking down 11 treys at a 47.8% clip and earning a 21-point edge from deep.

Gillespie led the way with 17 points and did it efficiently with just seven shots. He committed just one turnover, doing an excellent job handling the attempts of St. John’s to take him out of the game. Caleb Daniels was fantastic as well, dropping in 15 points while hitting 3-5 from 3 and adding five rebounds, an assist and a block.

Eric Dixon was also great, scoring 15 points on just five shots while going a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds.

We should also mention Brandon Slater, who looked as close to himself as we’ve seen since he suffered an ankle injury. It didn’t show in the scoring department (five points, 1-4 FG, 3-4 FT), but he looked much smoother, more aggressive and more confident. He was attacking the St. John’s defense, creating opportunities for himself and his teammates. He tied Dixon for the team-high in rebounds with seven and added three assists, two steals and a block.

Finally, we should talk about Jordan Longino. Pressed into some extra responsibility with Bryan Antoine out, Longino responded well. We mentioned that he hit a much needed 3 to break the early scoring drought and he made another one later in the first half to continue Villanova’s hot streak. His six points were a career-high and he added a rebound and a steal. More importantly, he handled the St. John’s pressure beautifully and played strong defense.

“Really proud of him,” Wright said of Longino. “He really helped us in the first half. We were kinda struggling with their speed, quickness, he came in, he’s fast, he’s quick. I thought he stepped up for Bryan big time. He caught to shoot and he hit some big shots early when we were struggling and then he did a great job in the second half, great job defensively so I was proud of him.”

With the win, the ‘Cats improve to 16-5 overall and 9-2 in the Big East. They’ll now prepare for a trip to Marquette, where they’ll look to avenge an earlier loss when they take on the Golden Eagles on Wednesday.