Villanova took the court Tuesday night for the first time in 27 days and survived a wild Big East battle with Seton Hall in a 76-74 victory. It was a very entertaining game and an impressive performance from the Wildcats considering the circumstances.
“Great to get a win, I’m happy for our guys,” Jay Wright said of the nail-biting victory. “I’m just happy we survived.”
The first two possessions of the game went about as good as Villanova could have hoped. Collin Gillespie drilled a 3 to open the scoring and then the ‘Cats forced a shot clock violation. It was an early sign that the concerns over rust and fatigue after the long layoff might not be quite as serious as expected.
The first half was intense, with both teams coming out scorching hot. 12 minutes into the game, Seton Hall was shooting 71.4% from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from 3. Villanova was right with the Pirates, connecting on 55.6% from the field and 71.4% from 3. “I think both teams were dialed in for that game and came out really executing,” Wright said. “I thought both teams were really ready to play.”
With both teams executing offensively, they played within four points of each other for the entire half, with each team holding a four-point advantage at one point in the half.
The Pirates took their four-point lead with four minutes to go in the half, and it looked like they might build some momentum heading into the break. But the ‘Cats ripped off an 10-3 run to close the half, capped by huge 3’s from Jermaine Samuels and Brandon Slater, to take a three-point lead into the break despite the fact that Seton Hall had shot 58.3% from the field and 55% from 3.
The second half brought more of the same back-and-forth action. Seton Hall tied the game four times but were never able to get over the hump and take the lead. The Wildcats took their largest lead of the game at nine with 7:21 to go, but saw the entire advantage evaporate with 1:28 left to play. Gillespie hit a pair of free throws at the 1:09 mark to put the ‘Cats up two, but Seton Hall answered right back with 51 seconds to go to re-tie the game and set up a wild ending.
Villanova missed a shot on its next possession, and then Seton Hall missed on the ensuing possession. Cole Swider grabbed the rebound and a foul was called with less than a second left. After the officials added a bit of time to the clock, Swider missed the first of his free throws. He knocked down the second to put ‘Nova up one with 1.9 seconds left.
Seton Hall executed an excellent play that saw a full-court pass falling into the hands of Sandro Mamukelashvili right next to the basket, but the ball slipped through his hands and out of bounds. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was fouled and hit one of two to extend the lead to two. Again, time was added to the clock, giving Seton Hall time for another heave. This time the ball found Mamukelashvili, who missed a tough turnaround 3 as time expired.
Villanova’s senior leaders came up big for the ‘Cats. Collin Gillespie finished with 22 points while Jermaine Samuels added 20 points and nine rebounds. Samuels made a handful of huge plays for ‘Nova, including a monstrous dunk and hitting 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in addition to grabbing some big rebounds. The fact that Samuels had just one day of practice ahead of Tuesday’s game makes his performance all the more impressive.
“That was pretty incredible honestly, I don’t really know how he did it,” Gillespie said. “With one day of practice, it was really impressive.”
His coach agreed. “I’m truly amazed at Jermaine Samuels,” Wright said. “He literally practiced one day. To come out and be able to play like that is incredible.”
Samuels was more concerned with his approach than the results. “My mindset was just to go in and contribute and play Villanova basketball, try to set the tone as best as I could and just try to lead by example,” he said. Ultimately, he was just happy to be back working and competing with his teammates. “As soon as I found out I was cleared I was extremely excited to take the floor and just go out there and contribute in any way I could,” Samuels said. “I know those guys were working hard and just to be back and contribute was the most important thing to me.”
We’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention the efforts of Cole Swider and especially Brandon Slater. Each was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Samuels and Caleb Daniels, who had missed the most practice time.
Swider gave the ‘Cats a nice boost in the first half, hitting all three of his shot attempts and scoring eight points while grabbing two rebounds. He finished the game with nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
Slater quietly put together a nice game and did a lot of little things for Villanova Tuesday night. He finished with seven points, three steals, two assists and a rebound. Slater made a couple of really nice passes, hit a big 3, and played some nice defense, including giving the Wildcats a spark with his three steals. Highlighting Slater’s contributions is the fact that he was a team-high +8 on the night. “Brandon’s getting better and better every game,” Wright said. “He was really effective. He hit a big three. He’s important for us.”
For Villanova to play the way it did after not playing for 27 days is truly impressive. There were some moments where the offense stagnated and there were a few glaring defensive breakdowns. But the offense didn’t show the kind of disarray we thought could be possible, and while the fact that Villanova shot just 2-10 from beyond the arc in the second half might indicate some tired legs, the ‘Cats never ran out of gas. ‘Nova also limited Seton Hall to just 12 free throw attempts, 11 below its average, having success in the only area we highlighted in our game preview.
Stats
Collin Gillespie: 22p, 1a (6-10 FG, 2-5 3PT, 8-8 FT)
Jermaine Samuels: 20p, 9r, 1a, 2s (7-11 FG, 3-3 3PT, 3-4 FT)
Justin Moore: 10p, 5r, 7a (4-10 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-4 FT)
Cole Swider: 9p, 5r, 2a (3-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT)
Brandon Slater: 7p, 1r, 2a, 3s (3-6 FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-0 FT)
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: 8p, 1r, 2a (3-12 FG, 1-5 3PT, 1-2 FT)
Caleb Daniels: 3 reb (0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-0 FT)
