Villanova Wildcats drop an overtime heartbreaker to unranked Creighton
After tying things up with nine seconds to go in regulation, the Villanova Wildcats fall to Creighton in overtime by a score of 89-83.
After Phil Booth returned from a month-long hand injury, it seemed like the Villanova Wildcats would have an easy ride to the NCAA Tournament, but apparently, no one told Creighton.
After coming out hot to a 40-38 lead in the first half of their February 24th game, Jay Wright’s squad had their hands full after halftime, trading the lead back and forth for much of the second half, down by as many as six points. However, after Mikal Bridges missed a go-ahead three-point shot with only 18 seconds to go in regulation, the Wildcats caught a break when fouled rebounder Khyri Thomas missed his free throw, and gave the team one final chance to score, and leave Omaha with their 26th victory of the season.
But it wasn’t going to be easy.
Related Story: With Phil Booth back, Jay Wright has some decisions to make
After sophomore sparkplug Donte DiVincenzo missed his own free throw, the team hauled in the offensive rebound and gave “The Michael Jordan of Delaware” one final chance to tie-up the game with only nine seconds to go, and this time he came through. A 70 percent three-point shooter, DiVincenzo dropped the basket and took the Wildcats to overtime.
But now five minutes away from a win, the wheels fell off for Villanova.
After trading shots for the first few minutes of OT, the Wildcats found themselves down by six with a minute left to go, a deficit the team ultimately wasn’t able to overcome.
While this loss won’t affect the teams chances of making the NCAA tournament, as they will probably still end up being a one or two seed when it’s all said and done, but it does open up the possibility that Villanova may not win Big East, as they now sit one game behind Xavier and their 13-3 conference record.
Even though Villanova has defeated Xavier twice this season, the team will have to hope that the Musketeers drop one of their final two games to secure the conference title for their fifth consecutive season under Wright.
Next: Second Wildcats win over Xavier was crucial for March
With two games left to play in the regular season against Seton Hall and Georgetown, the Villanova Wildcats season just got a bit more interesting.