NEW YORK — It was over, or at least Villanova floundered in deep Big East tournament waters Thursday night, down 17 points to St. John’s, early in the second half, with Madison Square Garden in full frenzy. That “shoot ‘em up or sleep in the streets” mantra the Wildcats like to use, it had them heading toward the Lincoln Tunnel, night one.
Then a fast and furious comeback changed the whole scene, the frenzy switching allegiances. In the end, Villanova got a whistle, a foul call. Brandon Slater, who had gotten to a loose ball after a Jermaine Samuels miss, went to the line, 2.8 seconds left. Make. Timeout. Swish.
Villanova players looked for Slater, engulfed him, as Villanova advanced with a 66-65 Big East quarterfinal classic.
Easy to think, “Hey, Villanova is never out of games.” This was still something to see, an 18-2 run had torn the Wildcats back into it, St. John’s adding turnovers, Villanova taking the lead in a ferocious New York minute.
The whole thing hurdled toward the last minute, the lead trading hands. St. John’s did not give this away. There was a Slater block, then a Samuels steal up top. What would decide things? A drive and three-point play by St. John’s guard Stef Smith put St. John’s up a point, two minutes left. A couple of Villanova misses followed.
A Julian Champagnie 3-pointer could have been the dagger, 30 seconds left. Air-ball. Timeout, Villanova. Wildcats down a point. Then that last play.
It really looked over …
When St. John’s pulled ahead by 44-27 early in the second half. Then Villanova jumpers began finding the net. Justin Moore hit a 3, Caleb Daniels a 2, Gillespie a 3. Timeout St. John’s, 44-35, just over 13 minutes left.
Villanova drew closer, Moore scoring inside, Daniels hitting a corner 3. St. John’s missed connections, the ball bouncing out of bounds. The Johnnie’s lead was down to 46-40, all of it up for grabs.
No first-half rhythm for Villanova
Villanova made just 7 of 30 first-half shots, spacing out their misses evenly throughout. With Caleb Daniels making three of them from beyond the arc, two on consecutive possessions, that was kind of all that kept the Wildcats within range. As St. John’s clogged off the inside effectively, those 3-point looks were plentiful, contested or not.
All this was the pattern from the start. Villanova made just 2 of its first 13 shots, Moore and Eric Dixon both scoring inside. No jumpers. Six missed 3s before Daniels hit one, drawing Villanova even at 9-9 with 13:18 left. Then Villanova started missing again.
One factor …
Samuels did not start for Villanova because of back spasms. Villanova’s early offensive struggles were a reminder that Samuels offers a release valve with his drives to the basket. Jordan Longino got some early run off Villanova’s bench but picked up two immediate fouls in his first minute on the court. Samuels eventually got out there when Villanova trailed by 19-10.
As Moore goes …
If opponents can keep Moore from going off, it goes a long way from keeping Villanova in check. If they keep Moore and Gillespie in check, it’s a game-changer. In the first half, Moore combined to make 4 of 16 shots. After Moore and Gillespie each had missed their first three 3-pointers, they hit on consecutive trips to cut a 28-16 St. John’s lead in half with 3 1/2 minutes left before halftime.
St John’s answered with a 3, then trapped Gillespie in the press, got it, scored on a Champagnie put-back of his own miss, pushing the margin back out.
Garden crowds are the best …
A St. John’s fan stayed on the refs about Gillespie. “Watch Gillespie’s chicken arm, c’mon. He hooks everybody.”
A Villanova fan complained about the complaint.
The St. John’s fan: “It’s a basketball game. We’re not at the opera.”
