02-15-2018, 08:49 AM
PROVIDENCE, R.I. â Providence surged to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes and went on to post a 76-71 victory over No. 3/2 Villanova at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Wednesday night. The Wildcats fall to 23-3 overall, 10-3 BIG EAST while the Friars upped their record to 17-9 overall, 8-5 in the BIG EAST.
Mikal Bridges scored 19 points to lead Villanova before fouling out late in the contest. Jalen Brunson added 14 points before he too went to the sidelines with his fifth foul with just over one minute remaining.
The Wildcats converted a season low three 3-point field goal attempts â in 20 attempts - and surrendered 49 points after intermission. It was the 14th time this season that Villanova had allowed 40 or more points in a half.
âThat was just a tough BIG EAST matchup,â stated VU head coach Jay Wright. âCredit to Providence. They outplayed us and out-toughed us. They out-rebounded us and got the foul line more than us.â
As it did on Saturday at home against Butler, Villanova found itself in an early hole after the Friars reeled off seven consecutive points to open the game. Providence converted 5-of-7 from the field in the first 4:33 and it allowed the Friars to grab an 11-6 advantage over VU in the gameâs early minutes.
Defense allowed Villanova to slow the Friarsâ early surge even as it battled to find its own groove at the offensive end. A driving dunk by redshirt freshman Omari Spellman gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 18-17 with just more than seven minutes to play before halftime.
But the Wildcats never did get their offense untracked in the first period and failed to score a field goal over the final 5:17 of the period. That allowed Providence to grab a 27-23 lead at halftime despite converting just 10-of-32 field goal attempts. However, the Friars did drain three from beyond the 3-point arc while the Wildcats were held scoreless (0-of-7) in that department in the first 20 minutes.
It resulted in Villanovaâs lowest scoring half of 2017-18. Six points from Brunson and Bridges led the âCats, who were 9-of-23 from the field in the half (.391).
After a Brunson runner in transition on the Wildcatsâ first possession of the second half got Villanova to within 27-25, Providence enjoyed a breakthrough from deep. It drained 3-of-4 in the first 3:48 of the half â including two after collecting offensive rebounds â to build its largest lead of the night, 39-31.
The Friarsâ offense continued to supply answers to each Villanova push. When the Wildcats closed to within 43-39 after sinking their first 3-pointer of the evening â by Mikal Bridges â Providence responded with a surge of its own. A steal by Isaiah Jackson led to a traditional 3-point play that pushed the Friars lead to 49-39.
Providence extended its margin to 67-58 after dropping in a pair of free throws with 3:34 left in the contest. Villanova rallied furiously â led by Collin Gillespie, who finished with 10 points â and got to within three points twice in the final minute. But Providence held off the charge and registered the 76-71 win that brought some of the sellout crowd of 12,887 charging on to the court at the final horn.
The Wildcats will be back on the road Saturday when they head to Cincinnati for a matchup of Top 5 teams. Villanova and Xavier will meet at the Cintas Center at 4:30 p.m. with the game airing nationally on Fox television. The radio broadcast can be heard on 610 Sports Radio with the pregame show kicking things off at 4 p.m.
http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl...18aaa.html
Mikal Bridges scored 19 points to lead Villanova before fouling out late in the contest. Jalen Brunson added 14 points before he too went to the sidelines with his fifth foul with just over one minute remaining.
The Wildcats converted a season low three 3-point field goal attempts â in 20 attempts - and surrendered 49 points after intermission. It was the 14th time this season that Villanova had allowed 40 or more points in a half.
âThat was just a tough BIG EAST matchup,â stated VU head coach Jay Wright. âCredit to Providence. They outplayed us and out-toughed us. They out-rebounded us and got the foul line more than us.â
As it did on Saturday at home against Butler, Villanova found itself in an early hole after the Friars reeled off seven consecutive points to open the game. Providence converted 5-of-7 from the field in the first 4:33 and it allowed the Friars to grab an 11-6 advantage over VU in the gameâs early minutes.
Defense allowed Villanova to slow the Friarsâ early surge even as it battled to find its own groove at the offensive end. A driving dunk by redshirt freshman Omari Spellman gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 18-17 with just more than seven minutes to play before halftime.
But the Wildcats never did get their offense untracked in the first period and failed to score a field goal over the final 5:17 of the period. That allowed Providence to grab a 27-23 lead at halftime despite converting just 10-of-32 field goal attempts. However, the Friars did drain three from beyond the 3-point arc while the Wildcats were held scoreless (0-of-7) in that department in the first 20 minutes.
It resulted in Villanovaâs lowest scoring half of 2017-18. Six points from Brunson and Bridges led the âCats, who were 9-of-23 from the field in the half (.391).
After a Brunson runner in transition on the Wildcatsâ first possession of the second half got Villanova to within 27-25, Providence enjoyed a breakthrough from deep. It drained 3-of-4 in the first 3:48 of the half â including two after collecting offensive rebounds â to build its largest lead of the night, 39-31.
The Friarsâ offense continued to supply answers to each Villanova push. When the Wildcats closed to within 43-39 after sinking their first 3-pointer of the evening â by Mikal Bridges â Providence responded with a surge of its own. A steal by Isaiah Jackson led to a traditional 3-point play that pushed the Friars lead to 49-39.
Providence extended its margin to 67-58 after dropping in a pair of free throws with 3:34 left in the contest. Villanova rallied furiously â led by Collin Gillespie, who finished with 10 points â and got to within three points twice in the final minute. But Providence held off the charge and registered the 76-71 win that brought some of the sellout crowd of 12,887 charging on to the court at the final horn.
The Wildcats will be back on the road Saturday when they head to Cincinnati for a matchup of Top 5 teams. Villanova and Xavier will meet at the Cintas Center at 4:30 p.m. with the game airing nationally on Fox television. The radio broadcast can be heard on 610 Sports Radio with the pregame show kicking things off at 4 p.m.
http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl...18aaa.html