Villanova kept things rolling Saturday afternoon with a solid 80-72 win over Seton Hall in New Jersey. While there was just a touch of drama late, Villanova never trailed and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the game.
Villanova was clicking at both ends to start the game. The ‘Cats hit their first three 3-point attempts and were shooting over 50% for much of the half. More importantly, ‘Nova was much better on the defensive end. Seton Hall’s shooting percentage hovered in the 30s for much of the period and the Pirates connected on just 2-8 from beyond the arc. ‘Nova also forced eight Seton Hall turnovers which it turned into 13 points. As a result, the Wildcats built a lead that reached as high as 16.
However, the ‘Cats hit a cold stretch late in the first half, missing their last five field goal attempts and not scoring over the final 2:42 of the half. Seton Hall took advantage, ending the half on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 10 heading into the break. Despite the less-than-ideal end of the period, Villanova played a great first half. The Wildcats had an advantage at both the free throw line and from beyond the arc, two key areas we were focusing on, and were handling things on the glass and in the turnover department. All of that, combined with the much-improved defense, led to an encouraging start.
The second half felt like a rising and falling tide. The Wildcats pushed the advantage to 15 two and a half minutes into the period. But Seton Hall wasn’t going to fold, and several times the Pirates cut the lead to 10, or even nine, only to see the ‘Cats respond and push it back to 14, 15, or 16.
There was a flash of concern for Villanova when Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who was leading the team with 17 points, was called for his fourth foul with 16:23 to play in the game. That sent Robinson-Earl to the bench for an extended period of time. “I was thinking about putting him back in every time they scored,” Jay Wright joked. “He scored 23 points but he is so good defensively and he’s the centerpiece of our defense. He can guard any position, but he also communicates out there, he’s always talking so that’s what we really missed.”
As we mentioned, Seton Hall was able to put a dent in the Villanova lead a few times with JRE on the bench, but ‘Nova responded each time. That was largely thanks to Jermaine Samuels and Justin Moore. Robinson-Earl was able to come back with just under three minutes left and make a few plays for the ‘Cats down the stretch.
“I was just worried about trying to make the right play for my teammates,” Samuels said. “My teammates got me opportunities to make plays and I just took advantage.”
Robinson-Earl was trying to stay positive and to continue having a positive impact even while sitting. “Obviously I want to be out there playing, but I can still be on the sideline talking to the players, bringing energy and just keeping the team going,” Robinson-Earl said.
Still, it wouldn’t be a Villanova-Seton Hall game without some drama, and the Pirates were finally able to break the nine-point deficit barrier with 2:34 to play, getting within seven. ‘Nova continued to push back and keep the Pirates at bay, but Seton Hall was actually able to get within two possessions a few times in the final 20 seconds. Ultimately, the advantage ‘Nova had built, and how well the ‘Cats played, was too much to overcome and the feisty Pirates ran out of time.
It became clear during Villanova’s pregame media availability on Friday that defense was going to be the focus for the ‘Cats on Saturday, and the team responded. After Seton Hall shot 56% against ‘Nova in the first meeting between the teams, the Pirates were held to 43% shooting on Saturday. Villanova turned 11 Seton Hall turnovers into 15 points and did a great job on Sandro Mamukelashvili, holding him to 12 points on 4-15 shooting.
Despite the nearly 14-minute absence, Robinson-Earl finished with a game-high 23 points. Jermaine Samuels added 17 while Justin Moore chipped in 16.
Seton Hall focused on Collin Gillespie, and as a result he finished with 11 points while shooting just 2-7 overall and 0-3 from 3. However, he was 7-7 from the foul line and did an excellent job running the offense, controlling the pace, and setting up his teammates to score. Gillespie finished with a career-high 11 assists and committed just one turnover, adding to his already conference-best assist to turnover ratio. “They know taking Collin away is important, they did a really good job,” Wright said. “If you’re not a smart player and mature like Collin is and you start forcing things that makes a difference in the game but instead he just got shots for everybody else and controlled the tempo of the game. He was outstanding.”
With Gillespie having to impact the game in other ways, Robinson-Earl, Samuels and Moore stepped up to carry the scoring load. “I thought they did a great job on Collin Gillespie,” Wright said. “And because they did I thought Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Jermaine Samuels stepping up was really important.”
Overall, it was a very good performance from ‘Nova. The defense was much improved, which was especially nice to see as it became clear that it has been a focus this week and heading into this game. The offensive execution was good, and while there were some cold stretches, the team moved the ball well and got good shots. The ‘Cats did an excellent job managing the long stretch without Robinson-Earl and also did an excellent job stemming the time every time Seton Hall seemed to be getting some momentum.
“Really good road win against a very good Seton Hall team,” Wright said.
