The renewal of Villanova and Connecticut’s Big East rivalry played out appropriately, turning into a classic Big East grind. In the end, it was the Wildcats who were able to outlast the Huskies on the way to a 68-60 win.
“A really good Big East game,” Jay Wright said. UConn’s really good. That’s a good win against a very good team.”
Both teams came out relatively hot. ‘Nova hit its first three shots and jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but UConn responded with a 10-3 run, sparked by eight points from James Bouknight, to go in front 10-9. Over the first four minutes, UConn shot 80% from the field while ‘Nova hit 63%.
Both teams quickly cooled, and by the under-8 timeout UConn was down to 45% shooting while ‘Nova was at 42%. The struggles continued, as each team suffered through a drought during the last five minutes of the half. Heading into the break, UConn was shooting 43% while ‘Nova was shooting 41%. Both teams connected on 27% from 3. Despite an impressive 14 points from Bouknight, Villanova held a 34-32 lead.
The offense in the second half made the first half look like a clinic. UConn shot 29.6% in the half while Villanova shot a dismal 18% from 3. While the offense wasn’t easy on the eyes, the fact that both teams were struggling at that end made for a competitive half.
UConn took a one-point lead at the 14:48 mark, but Villanova ripped off a 12-3 run over nearly six minutes of game action to take the largest lead of the game at eight with 7:41 to play. UConn would keep coming but would never get closer than five while ‘Nova would lead by as many as 10 before walking away with the 68-60 win.
It was one of Villanova’s better defensive performances of the season. Villanova held UConn to 36% shooting overall and 26% from 3. “We still got some room to make up but a lot of the reason that we’re not good defensively is what we chose as a staff, how we chose to allocate our time in practice,” Wright said. “They had a good week in practice, and it shows what you emphasize they’re gonna be good at.”
“I think it was a big step for us defensively,” Jeremiah Robinson-Earl said. “I think the week of having just practice and just going back to the details and honing on the little things that make us a great defensive Villanova basketball team, was very helpful this week.”
Villanova did an excellent job on the glass. The Wildcats outrebounded UConn 38-36 and the teams were tied in offensive rebounds at 10. UConn managed just a three-point advantage in second-chance points, 14-11. We highlighted that as a key heading into the game, and ‘Nova did a very good job mitigating a strength of UConn’s.
The Wildcats also built a 30-20 advantage in points in the paint, a testament both to the improved defense and the rebounding. It’s also impressive considering UConn’s elite defense around the basket.
Villanova’s shooting numbers weren’t pretty, as the ‘Cats connected on 42% overall and just 23% from 3. But they did a great job not letting the offensive struggles impact the other parts of their game and of continuing to do the little things necessary to win the game. “That was a big key today,” Wright said. “I think it was a product of all week, all our practices were all defense, we didn’t really do anything offensively. I didn’t know how it was gonna affect us, I was hoping it wouldn’t, but it did. The guys just stuck with it and trusted the defense and kept a great attitude, and that’s important. That’s part of the game just like making good passes is part of the game, it’s how you respond to each possession. I thought our guys did a great job. We stayed with it defensively.”
Robinson-Earl was fantastic with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Collin Gillespie added 20 points and six rebounds. But after the game, much of the talk was about Brandon Slater, who did a great job defensively. Slater played a big role in the Wildcats being able to slow Bouknight, who scored 14 points in the game’s first 12 minutes but just seven points over the next 28 minutes. After hitting 6-9 first-half shots, Bouknight was just 1-8 in the second half.
“Slater was great,” Wright said. “He’s a really good defensive player and he did a great job on him (Bouknight). Even in the first half, I thought some of the shots he hit were pretty good defensive possessions, he just hits tough shots and that what makes him a good player. I think we did a really good job in the second half, especially with Slater, getting up in him and contesting his 3s.”
“It’s a team defense,” Slater said. “I just can’t take that credit just myself. It’s all five guys, we’re helping, we’re stepping up for each other, we’re playing for each other and our coaches.”
Robinson-Earl noted what Slater brings to the team. “I think Brandon Slater is one of our key guys,” he said. “Especially coming off the bench and bringing that energy and always playing hard on the defensive end is a huge thing for us.”
It was a good, important Big East win for the ‘Cats, who now turn their attention to a revenge game against St. John’s on Tuesday.
