We expected a good, close game Sunday between Villanova and Texas and that’s exactly what we got. Each team landed some blows and had multiple players make big plays, but it was Villanova that left with a huge road win by securing a 68-64 victory.

It was a very entertaining, back-and-forth first half. After some early jostling, ‘Nova ripped off an 8-0 run to open up a seven-point lead at the 13:50 mark. However, an 18-4 Texas push over six minutes and 30 seconds flipped the margin to a seven-point Longhorns advantage. Much of this damage was done with Collin Gillespie on the bench with two fouls and was spurred by some ‘Nova turnovers. But the ‘Cats responded with a 12-3 spurt to close the half, taking a two-point lead into the break.

Justin Moore led the way with 10 points, while Gillespie added eight. Villanova did a great job on the glass, building a 22-15 advantage on the boards.

The back-and-forth continued in the second half. There were several instances where it looked like the ‘Cats might be on the verge of pulling away, but Texas responded each time to keep things close. Villanova opened up leads of seven with 17:09 and 16:37 to play and eight with 15:08 to go. Texas closed to within three with 13:12 on the clock before ‘Nova pushed the lead back to eight with 11:55 left. But Texas had the lead back down to two with 6:44 left, setting the stage for a close finish.

Texas tied the game with 2:37 to go but Villanova answered with five straight points courtesy of a Cole Swider 3 and a Gillespie steal that led to a Jeremiah Robinson-Earl dunk. Jermaine Samuels, who scored eight points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out three assists despite being a game-time decision with a sprained finger, converted a huge layup with 31 seconds left to push the ‘Nova advantage to four, and from there Gillespie was able to ice the game at the free throw line with four consecutive foul shots to get ‘Nova the big win.

Wright was thrilled with Samuels’ performance. “Jermaine Samuels, a couple of his offensive rebounds were huge,” Wright said. “But also, him being able to battle in there, Jermaine had to go against some great athletes to rebound. To have a sprained finger, a splint on it, to come up with 12 rebounds is courageous. I’m really proud of him.” Wright noted that the feat was all the more impressive because Samuels has not practiced since the Hartford game.

As for Samuels, he said his mentality didn’t change all week despite missing practice. “I’m gonna play regardless,” Samuels said of his outlook throughout the week. “I just wanted to do whatever it took for my team to succeed. Finger hurt or not, there was gonna be no excuses and I just wanted to play Villanova basketball for my teammates.”

One adjustment we liked was the shot selection. We knew Texas defended the 3-ball particularly well, and the Wildcats attempted 19 shots from beyond the arc and 37 from 2-point range. They took what was given to them and didn't try to force things too much.

We highlighted rebounding, turnovers, and 3-point shooting as some of the keys to the game. Texas was +3 from beyond the arc, but ‘Nova had a one-rebound advantage on the glass and had three fewer turnovers than the Longhorns. The rebounding was particularly impressive considering the size and length of Texas. ‘Nova had an 8-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. “These were two pretty good defensive teams and two very good rebounding teams,” Jay Wright said. “Holding them to seven offensive rebounds is really good. That was a great effort on our part.”

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl credited the Wildcats’ performance on the glass to a great week of practice and a team effort. He also gave some extra credit to a specific teammate. “We had a great week of practice,” Robinson-Earl said. “Eric Dixon, I always give credit to Eric because he’s a bully in practice so I feel like he makes the games a lot easier. But it’s just a whole team effort on the inside.”

Wright also credited his team’s mental toughness, in particular for navigating the tough stretch in the first half when Gillespie was on the bench and another stretch in the second half when the offense was struggling a bit.

At the end of the day, this is a huge win for Villanova. Not only is it their second win over a ranked opponent, but Texas is really good. The Longhorns might even be a bit underrated by the polls right now. Regardless, they are a tough team to play. It was also Villanova’s first true road game and first game with any fans in attendance. Between the quality teams they’ve played, the experience in a bubble situation, and now a true road game with some fans in attendance, the ‘Cats are getting some really nice early-season experience.

“It was a great environment. It really seemed like a real game, it was pretty cool. I’m very proud of our guys,” Wright said.

Jermaine Samuels: eight points, 12 rebounds, three assists, one steal (2-7/0-2/4-6)

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one block (9-14/0-2/1-2)

Collin Gillespie: 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals (3-10/2-4/4-5)

Justin Moore: 19 points, three rebounds (6-9/2-4/5-6)

Caleb Daniels: two points, one assist (1-3/0-2)

Cole Swider: eight points, one rebound (3-9/2-5)

Brandon Slater: two rebounds, one block (0-1)