Villanova continued its winning ways on Sunday, defeating Georgetown 77-65 for its 10th straight victory. With the win the ‘Cats moved to 9-0 in the Big East, holding a one-game lead over Marquette for the conference’s top spot. The next closest conference foe is five games back and incredibly ‘Nova and Marquette are the only teams with a winning conference record. Let’s dig into the key numbers from Sunday’s victory.
30: Points for Collin Gillespie
It would be hard to discuss the win over Georgetown without starting with Gillespie. With Phil Booth struggling through much of the game and the rest of the Wildcats outside of Eric Paschall having quiet offensive games, Gillespie stepped up in a big way with a career-high 30 points.
Recognizing that the ‘Cats needed someone to step up at the offensive end, Gillespie flipped the switch and went about searching out his shot. He shot 6-11 from 3 and earned 12 trips to the free throw line, knocking down 10 of them. He did an excellent job being ready to shoot the ball and searching out spots on the floor where he could do so.
After playing a complementary role last year as a freshman with a bevy of scorers around him and deferring to Booth and Paschall much of the time this year, Gillespie showed a killer instinct on Sunday and an ability to do what the team needed him to do.
16: Rebounds for Jermaine Samuels
For basketball fans, it’s always nice to watch a player impact the game without scoring the ball, and Samuels put on a clinic in that regard on Sunday. Despite taking just one shot and scoring just three points, Samuels was all over the floor cleaning the glass, securing a career-high 16 boards.
Samuels tracked down long rebounds and pulled down tough boards in traffic. It was as impressive a rebounding performance as you’ll see. He added two assists and two blocks, and his energy was fantastic. The Hoyas missed 45 shots and Samuels played a huge role in preventing second-chance opportunities from hurting the ‘Cats.
33.8: Georgetown’s field goal percentage
Considering the Hoyas entered Sunday’s game with one of the most productive offenses in the conference, Villanova did an excellent job defensively. Georgetown shot just 33.8 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from 3. ‘Nova held the Hoyas to 65 points, 18 below their season average.
Georgetown’s leading scorer, Jessie Govan, was held scoreless on 0-9 shooting. Mac McClung had just four points on 2-11 shooting. Govan and McClung combined to go 0-8 from 3.
It was a fantastic defensive performance against a dangerous offensive team. The job on Govan was particularly impressive, as was the ‘Cats general effort defending the rim, where the Hoyas shot just 35 percent.
20: Made free throws for Villanova
The ‘Cats did a good job earning an advantage from the charity stripe, converting 20-31 free throws while limiting Georgetown to just 18 attempts from the line. ‘Nova earned a nine-point margin from the foul line. Gillespie and Paschall each produced double-digit trips to the line, while no player on Georgetown attempted more than four freebies. In addition to the nine-point margin, the free throw disparity served as a microcosm of Villanova’s aggressiveness and disciplined defense.
