Villanova thwarts Rutgers
WHEN YOU'VE put yourself on the NCAA bubble, especially in a season in which you weren't necessarily supposed to, it's all about finishing. Because you never know for sure which game could get you in, or keep you out.
WHEN YOU'VE put yourself on the NCAA bubble, especially in a season in which you weren't necessarily supposed to, it's all about finishing. Because you never know for sure which game could get you in, or keep you out.
Each result could change that old bracketology profile.
Obviously, not all tests are created equal. Villanova, which was picked to finish 12th in the Big East coming off a 13-win season, still has moving-on-up opportunities left against three ranked teams: at home against Marquette (Saturday), with Georgetown in South Philly (regular-season finale on March 6) and at Pittsburgh (March 3). So a win or two in those would certainly go a long way toward getting the Wildcats back into the Madness for the eighth time in 9 years.
But the reality is you also can't afford to stumble against the usual suspects on the schedule that you're allegedly better than. Especially if you've already lost at home to Columbia, and been swept by Providence.
Monday night at the Pavilion was another such just-don't-screw-things up situation. Rutgers was the opponent. The same Rutgers that had lost seven of its last eight, with the win coming by two against Seton Hall, which has dropped seven in a row. And the Scarlet Knights just lost their leading scorer, Eli Carter, to a fractured fibula in his right leg.
Did we mention that they'd won only once in nine tries on the Main Line since joining the Big East in the mid-1990s?
Nonetheless, there were the Wildcats trailing by 10 at halftime, looking very much like the team that didn't have very much to play for.
It shouldn't happen, but it sometimes does. Good thing they were coming off Saturday's win at Connecticut, really their first RPI-worthy road "W." This was unlike their two games earlier this month against other Big East non-factors DePaul and South Florida, where they took care of business decisively. Not this time.
The Wildcats (17-10, 8-6), who came back from a double-digit deficit for the first time in a little more than a year, scored 50 in the second half, which was 29 more than they managed in the opening 20 minutes. And so they wound up avoiding the kind of hiccup that figures to put a major crimp in anyone's NCAA postseason plans, 71-63. It got over just in time to catch Jay Leno. Hey, if you want rhythm or flow, better start following another conference.
It was still a one-point game with 4 1/2 minutes left. The Wildcats wouldn't put it away until the final 1:27, after Rutgers got back to within four. The Knights wouldn't score again.
"Not a surprise [that it was close]," said Villanova coach Jay Wright. "Everyone struggles to score against them. Look at their scores. We just came out [in the second half] and gutted it out.
"It's hard for young guys to understand. They want to read about [how good they are]. It's human nature. It's hard to learn that. Usually the way you learn is by losing. So I think this is a good step for our guys. We just didn't panic."
It took them a little over 8 1/2 second-half minutes to get back in front for the first time since 14-12. After intermission they shot 13-for-23, 6-for-10 from the arc, after going through a 10-minute plus first-half stretch in which they went 0-for-11 to incite an 18-3 Rutgers run.
Three players finished with 14 points: Ryan Arcidiacono, JayVaughn Pinkston and Darrun Hilliard. Not shockingly, their top three scorers. James Bell had all 11 of his points in the second half. It was his three that put Villanova ahead for keeps at 50-47. Mouphtaou Yarou had 10, to go with a dozen rebounds. In the second half the Wildcats went 18-for-22 at the line, after a 7-for-14 first half. Don't ask.
The Wildcats had a season-low seven turnovers, none after intermission, which, if you've been watching these guys, seems almost impossible.
"We're going to stick together, do what we do, just try and play hard," said Arcidiacono, who didn't have a turnover. "It was going to be a grind till the end."
Villanova is now 14-0 when it makes at least six three-pointers.
"I wasn't worried about the outcome," said Bell, who went 4-for-5 (3-for-4 from three) in the second half. "I was just going to take my shots."
Rutgers got 24 points from its second-leading scorer, sophomore guard Myles Mack, who was coming off a 28-point effort at DePaul, where Carter was injured early. But 16 were in the first half. Kadeem Jack had 12 off the bench, and Jerome Seagears added 10. The Knights had 18 more points in the paint, 13 more on fastbreaks and 11 more off the bench. So much for stats.
As a wise man once said, just keep winning, baby. Nobody will be paying too much attention to the how part.
"We were tentative," Wright said. "We've got to go out and play. Everyone was afraid to be the one who made the mistake. All these experiences for us are big. We're getting mature enough now that we can win and learn. We don't have to lose and learn."
Pass that along to the Selection Committee.