Cats power past UConn 85-74

The game didn’t start off the way the Wildcats would have liked, as they fell behind 5-0. It looked like it was about to get worse, but then one of the day’s heroes, Caleb Daniels, had a huge sequence that helped shift things.

Interestingly, the sequence started with a Daniels turnover. Instead of dropping his head, Daniels raced back defensively and swatted UConn’s dunk attempt, preventing the Huskies from going up 7-0. Then, after Villanova secured possession, Daniels hit Villanova’s first shot of the game to cut the lead to 5-2. A four-point swing that early in the game may not seem like that big of a deal, but it was a huge sequence for the ‘Cats and you could feel the energy change. In addition to shifting the momentum, it helped set the tone for the ‘Cats going forward.

It sparked an 11-3 run that gave ‘Nova an 11-8 lead. Minutes later, ‘Nova would rip off an 8-0 push to extend the lead to nine. An Eric Dixon bucket pushed the advantage to 14 late in the first half before a half-court heave by R.J. Cole found the bottom of the net to cut Villanova’s advantage to 11 at the break. After falling behind 5-0, Villanova outscored UConn 40-24 the rest of the half.

The first half was one of the best the ‘Cats have played this season. The decision making and shot selection were fantastic, and as a result they shot 56% overall and 50% from 3. They committed just four turnovers. Defensively, Villanova limited UConn to 36.4% shooting while forcing seven turnovers.

Most impressively, the ‘Cats dominated inside. We noted in our game preview that UConn was an elite defensive team, especially inside the arc. The Huskies ranked No. 4 in the country in opponent’s 2-point percentage and Haslametrics had them No. 11 in the country in near-proximity defense. We also noted that they were among the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. All the Wildcats did was score 22 points in the paint (22-6), take a 4-2 advantage in second-chance points and shoot 57.8% from 2-point range (UConn had been holding opponents to 40.2% on such attempts).

Of course, UConn wasn’t going to simply fold. The Huskies scored the first four points of the second half to pull within seven. A Brandon Slater 3 prevented the run from growing, and the teams proceeded to trade blows for the next several minutes.

It was Villanova who would land the next big blow, this time a 12-0 run over three-and-a-half minutes that would push the lead to 19. An Adama Sanogo jumper ended the run, but ‘Nova would then score eight of the next 10 points to extend the lead to 23 with 9:34 to play.

A 9-0 UConn run cut the lead to 14 with just under seven minutes left. ‘Nova was able to stop the bleeding, but the Huskies continued to chip away, getting within 11 with 4:28 to play and 10 with 2:29 left. But they would get no closer, as ‘Nova was able to withstand the push and maintain a double-digit lead, one that it would push back to 16 before finally earning the 11-point victory.

A big caveat here is that Collin Gillespie, who was having a great game with 19 points on 4-7 3PT shooting, rolled his ankle after landing on a UConn player’s foot and left the game. This happened right as UConn had extended that run to 9-0, with 6:53 remaining. For the ‘Cats to be able to hold off the UConn push down both their starting guards (Justin Moore sat with a rolled ankle of his own) is impressive and a ton of credit goes to the rest of the team, especially Jermaine Samuels, Eric Dixon, Brandon Slater and Caleb Daniels. Chris Arcidiacono also deserves credit for stepping into some difficult circumstances.

“I was really proud of our guys,” Wright said. “Especially the guys playing the end. Chris Arch was great, and Jordan Longino and Bryan Antoine gave us just enough minutes, we want more and we wanna get them more, but they gave us just enough minutes to keep guys fresh. And I thought Caleb did a great job handling the ball, so we were really proud of him.”

“We just wanted to be there for our brother,” Daniels said of closing the game without Gillespie. “We knew that we still had some of the game left, but we just wanted to show him that we had his back. We took it one possession at a time, we stayed on the attack, and we stuck together.”

Villanova’s shot selection was interesting. The Wildcats attempted just 11 3s, making six. Meanwhile, they put up 38 attempts inside the arc. UConn coach Dan Hurley said after the game that the Huskies wanted to take away the 3, and they were successful. What they didn’t count on was the ‘Cats absolutely taking it to the vaunted UConn interior defense. We noted the first-half dominance inside the arc, and for the game the ‘Cats ended up with a 46-30 edge in points in the paint and an 11-6 lead in second-chance points. Villanova won the battle on the boards 28-20 and grabbed more offensive rebounds than UConn did (8-7).

Dixon was fantastic, posting career-highs in both points (24) and rebounds (12). He added four assists (tying a career-high) plus a steal and a block while shooting 10-15 from the field. Villanova scored at least one point on 71.9% of the possessions during which Dixon was on the floor.

“Eric did an amazing job posting up, sealing and being effective,” Wright said

Gillespie had 19 points in just 27 minutes, and all attention will turn to the diagnosis of his ankle injury.

Caleb Daniels was great as well, chipping in 16 points without attempting a 3-pointer. He did a great job attacking the basket and finished 5-7 overall and 6-6 from the free throw line. He added three steals, an assist and a block.

“In the first half when we created our distance, Caleb driving the ball and being strong taking the ball to the basket, they were great drives,” Wright said.

Brandon Slater chipped in 11 points on 4-7 shooting to go with two steals and an assist.

Jermaine Samuels scored six points, but his impact when far beyond scoring. He pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists without committing a turnover. He played a major role in the offense being able to find the rhythm it was so sorely missing on Wednesday. Samuels also had two steals.

With Moore out and Gillespie leaving early, Chris Arcidiacono played 26 minutes and contributed nine points on 2-2 overall, 1-1 from 3, and 4-4 from the free throw line. He added two rebounds, two steals and an assist.

“You get a lead in a Big East game, you know no one in this league is gonna quit,” Wright added. “We weathered the storm, and I was proud of our guys.”

It was an impressive performance from the ‘Cats and just what they needed after Wednesday’s loss to Marquette. They will now prepare to take on St. John’s in New York on Tuesday.