Villanova Basketball: Phil Booth key to Wildcats sucess in 2019

Villanova Basketball is currently sitting atop the Big East conference standings. They’re led by senior guard Phil Booth, who’s 4th in the Big East in scoring.

Phil Booth has been in the Villanova Basketball program during the best years in school history. Winning is something that can be learned, and Booth may have more winning experience than anyone in the country.

Villanova’s winning percentage when Phil Booth is healthy is a remarkable 89%. They’re 126-15 when he’s been on the court in the last four seasons. Booth led all scorers by pouring in 20 points in the 2016 national championship game against North Carolina. The senior has suffered several injuries during his career that has kept him sidelined for extended periods of time, but it wasn’t the end of the world for Villanova because of the talented and experienced players around him.

Villanova is really a two star show. Phil Booth and Eric Paschall are the seasoned vets and go-to-guys late in games, while Collin Gillespie, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Saddiq Bey, Joe Cremo, Jahvon Quinerly, and Jermaine Samuels fill their respective rolls that keep the team in position to win.

Phil Booth is the main guy Villanova looks to in a tight contest down the stretch. Booth often finds himself with the ball in his hands late in games when the Wildcats needs a bucket. Booth leads Villanova in scoring with18.3 points, and assists with 3.8 per game. He’s also shooting 44% from the field and 37.6% from three.

Villanova is most likely the best team in the Big East, but recent close losses to Marquette and St. John’s might say otherwise. They’re still a strong team expecting to play well in the NCAA tournament, with most likely a four or five seed coming in the future. This team will only go as far as their star senior will take them, but as history shows, that can be all the way to the national championship game.