The suddenly shaky ‘Cats were handed their second loss in three games on Wednesday night in Providence.
We don’t like to be overly critical, these are just kids after all, but there’s no way around it: that was a pitiful performance. Adding to the sting of the loss is the way in which it happened. The ‘Cats were let down by their normally reliable offense and played sloppy, silly, undisciplined basketball.
‘Nova fell behind 7-0 before battling back to take an 18-17 with 7:35 to play in the first half. Providence retook the lead 22-21 three and half minutes later, and the ‘Cats would never lead again. The Friars’ lead got as big as nine, but ‘Nova made several pushes to keep the game interesting.
Adding to the frustration of the loss and how it happened was that Providence seemed to be trying to give the game away down the stretch, and ‘Nova couldn’t capitalize. For every bad shot or turnover Villanova forced, the ‘Cats returned the favor with a mistake of their own.
One sequence epitomizes the night for the ‘Cats. After Mikal Bridges threw a pass out of bounds, mistaking Collin Gillespie checking into the game for a teammate on the court, ‘Nova had a sure turnover with Kyron Cartwright stuck holding the ball sitting on his behind in the backcourt after a deflection. With Cartwright stuck, without any immediate help, and the ten-second clock ticking, Bridges proceeded to foul Cartwright 70 feet from the basket, leading to Providence free-throws. This is not to single out Bridges, who was the best Wildcat offensively Wednesday night, and it’s hard to be critical as he was exerting effort and trying to make a play, but these are the kinds of situations where ‘Nova almost always makes the right play, and Wednesday night they didn’t.
The defense wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to get a win. ‘Nova held Providence to just 37% shooting and 32% from three. The ‘Cats forced 14 turnovers.
However, the offense was a mess. ‘Nova did manage to shoot 50% from the floor but made just three three-pointers in 20 attempts, just 15%. The ‘Cats have been cold from beyond the arc for several games now. But the worst part was the 19 turnovers Villanova committed. 19. Not only is that unacceptable, but it is completely out of character, and the turnovers made it impossible for Villanova to get over the hump down the stretch. We’ve grown accustomed to Villanova playing steady, smart basketball. On Wednesday night they couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot. Providence played a good game defensively, but if the ‘Cats only turn it over 10 or 12 times, they likely win the game. Many of the turnovers were the result of poor passes and poor decisions.
While the turnovers where the main culprit Wednesday night, ‘Nova failed to handle any of the keys we identified in the game preview. The ‘Cats lost the battle on the boards, getting outrebounded 37-35, and gave up 12 offensive rebounds. The free-throw line turned into a negative as well, as ‘Nova was outscored 22-16 from the charity stripe. Providence attempted 30 free-throws while ‘Nova attempted 22.
We always try to dig for positives, but after this one it’s a struggle. The fact that ‘Nova never quit despite the struggles from three, despite the uncharacteristic play and turnovers, and despite Jalen Brunson AND Mikal Bridges fouling out is one source of encouragement. Another is the fact that Eric Paschall returned to action. And finally, there is Collin Gillespie, who is growing up and gaining confidence right in front of our eyes. Gillespie had 10 points, including five huge points as ‘Nova was trying to make a final push.
The bottom line is this was a disappointing, disheartening loss, and one that puts Villanova in a very difficult position. With Xavier holding a 20-point halftime lead over Seton Hall as of this writing, it is likely the ‘Cats fall a game and a half behind the Musketeers in the Big East standings, meaning they no longer control their own destiny and will need outside help to continue their run of regular season Big East titles. This one is tough to swallow, particularly because we are so unused to seeing Villanova defeat themselves and fail to make the opponent pay for its mistakes. Things don’t get any easier from here, with a trip to Xavier awaiting on Saturday.
