Villanova Wildcats Prove to be too much for the Providence Friars
By Chuck Booth
Two bitter rivals squared off today at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia as the Villanova Wildcats welcomed the Providence Friars for a Big East Clash.
The Villanova Wildcats [19-1, 7-1 BE] reeled off another win against the Providence Friars [13-8, 3-5BE] 78-68 as the number one team in the nation rolls on. Providence put up a fight but they had no answer for Josh Hart who ended the day with a game-high 25 points. This marks five straight wins for the Wildcats, all by double digits.
In a rematch of the infamous snow game from last January in which the Providence Friars downed the Villanova Wildcats in overtime, two familiar foes were looking to get a crucial conference win. These teams know everything about each other having met six times in the past two seasons and it showed in the early going as both teams were slow to get their offenses going.
While Villanova got out to an early 6-2 lead both teams were stagnant in the first four minutes of this one. Providence was 1-5 from the field while the Wildcats went 2-6. The major difference? The two Wildcats buckets were threes. After a 7-0 run, it looked like Villanova would be able to get out to one of their early leads but Providence had other ideas, ripping off an 8-0 run of their own.
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The Wildcats responded with a 12-2 run in which Providence missed five shots and also committed a few turnovers but the Fiars were able to close the half with a run of their own to draw within four and regain their momentum. The friars were only a few missed shots away from being ahead of the Wildcats and they have to be happy with the defensive effort that they put in but they’ve gotta cut down on turnovers to upset the number one team in the country.
By the numbers, neither team was great offensively in the first half but strong runs to close the half by each makes them look a little better. Providence shot 45 percent from the field while Villanova only shot 42 percent from the field but they did make four of their nine threes en route to a 35-31 halftime advantage. Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins both had 10 points for the wildcats to lead all scorers while Emmitt Holt and Kyron Cartwright led the way for the Friars with eight apiece.
The defense wasn’t great overall as Jay Wright noted saying,
"“We’ve gotta get a consistency defensively. At times we were really good defensively and we had times when we broke down but we’re still a work in progress defensively.”"
The second half started off with more of the same for the Villanova Wildcats as a Providence turnover led tot their first points. The Wildcats then reeled off an 8-0 run capped off by a beautiful Josh Hart lay in to grow their lead to 12 in this one. The Friars tried to fight back but the Wildcats reeled off another 8-0 run capped by threes from Jaylen Brunson and Kris Jenkins to push the lead to 17, the Wildcats largest lead of the game.
Providence’s Head coach, Ed Cooley was candid in his postgame presser saying,
"“This game was lost in the first five possessions of the second half. We had wide open shots missed layups and turnovers and they capitalized on it. Earlier on it was their second shots that were getting us and we turned it over and it got away from us.”"
Immediately after Mikal Bridges had a huge breakaway dunk and the Wells Fargo Center started rocking as both the Villanova Wildcats and their fans could smell blood in the water as their lead ballooned to 20. Another day when the Wildcats efficiency has blown a competitive game open to make it not too much of a contest. It’s clear that whatever words Jay Wright had for the team at half are making a difference in this one.
The biggest thing at this point is for the Villanova Wildcats to avoid becoming complacent in this one as they allowed the Friars to break off a 12-0 run to trim the deficit to nine. After a timeout, things calmed down as Villanova responded with a 6-0 run to increase the lead to 15. The Wildcats would go on to close this one out but Providence didn’t go away easily as Villanova couldn’t close them out at the end.
Next: Wildcats Roll to Victory over Marquette
Four Wildcats hit double digits and Rodney Bullock ended up being the leading scorer for the Friars with 17 thanks to hitting three of his five three-point attempts. It’s tough for anyone to beat Villanova at home be it at the Pavillion or the Wells Fargo Center and that’s a lesson that Providence was taught today. Next up for the Wildcats is an away matchup with Marquette on the 24th after they’ve already downed the Golden Eagles at home. This will set the stage for a huge clash with the Virginia Cavaliers here at the Wells Fargo Center on the 29th.