Jalen Brunson leads No. 5 Villanova to come from behind win over Tennessee to advance in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The fifth-ranked Villanova Wildcats outscored the Tennessee Volunteers 51-30 in the second half to earn an 85-76 victory on Thanksgiving Day at Paradise Island, Bahamas. With the win, the Wildcats (5-0) advance to the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship game.
Brunson, who surpassed the 1,000 point mark, pumped in 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. The junior point guard made 8-of-16 shots from the floor as well as all nine of his free throws. He also doled out six dimes.
Trailing 46-34 at halftime, Villanova opened the second half with 11 straight points. After knotting the game at 48 on a Donte DiVincenzo triple from the wing, the Wildcats used a 13-4 spurt to take a 61-52 lead with 11 minutes to go.
Tennessee (3-1) climbed back into the game with a 7-2 spurt over the next two minutes. But Brunson sank a couple of free throws and then knocked down a jumper one-and-a-half minutes later to give the Wildcats a 72-62 lead. The Volunteers then tallied the 14 of the next 21 points to cut the deficit to three (79-76) with 1:26 left. However, Nova tightened up its defense and UT never scored again.
“That was a great college basketball game,” said Nova head coach Jay Wright. “I told (UT coach) Rick Barnes before the game that his team reminds me of some of his teams at Providence and Clemson. They’re tough, scrappy and disciplined. I thought we were ready to play and got off to a good start. We got into foul trouble in the first half, though, and, when we did, they took it to us.
Villanova shot 52% from the floor in the second half to finish the game at 46.0% from the field. A major reason the Wildcats’ improved their shooting was that they got out in transition. The Wildcats forced the Vols into 12 second-half turnovers and shot 24 free throws over the final 20 minutes.
Mikal Bridges added 21 points as he made 7-of-9 shots from the field for the winners. In the meantime, Eric Paschall and DiVincenzo each contributed 13 points along with six rebounds.
Grant Williams, who scored 22 points against No. 18 Purdue in the opening round of the tournament, once again led the Vols in scoring with 20 points. Admiral Schofield chipped in 16 points while James Daniel III finished with 10.
Villanova will face off against Northern Iowa (5-1) in the championship game at noon on November 24. Northern Iowa has won five straight, coming off a 64-60 victory over NC State in the other Thursday semifinal. Tennessee and NC State (5-1) will battle for third place following the championship game.
Next: Butler vs. Texas: Game preview
This is Nova’s second time in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game. The Wildcats defeated Iowa 88-83 to win the title in 2013. Northern Iowa is also making its second appearance in the tournament, finishing in seventh place in 2012.