Villanova Basketball opened up the Big East regular season with a come-from-behind victory at Georgetown – and showed a lot in their resilient performance.
After trailing by 13 at halftime, Villanova Basketball clawed back to claim a 76-63 road win over the Georgetown Hoyas on Friday night. The win is valuable enough as the first Big East game of the season for the Wildcats – but even more importantly, despite some early struggles, Villanova – at least in the second half – looked the part of a team that could be the third-best team in the country.
This game was anything but pretty for Villanova in the first half, where they struggled to buy a bucket while the Hoyas put on an offensive clinic. After the Wildcats scored on the opening possession, Georgetown would lead for the rest of the first half – and by a substantial amount, as well, leading by as much as 18 with five minutes left (40-22).
A 5-0 run by the Wildcats at the end of the half would give Villanova all the energy they would need, despite the Hoyas maintaining a 46-33 edge. Jay Wright’s squad, behind a three-point barrage, stripped the lead away from Georgetown behind a 20-4 run to begin the second half, claiming a 53-50 advantage.
Both teams traded baskets for the ensuing ten minutes, with Georgetown taking its final lead with 5:54 left (61-60) – before Villanova went on another run, this time a 16-2 run, to claim the 76-63 victory.
Obviously, this is a heartbreaking loss for a Georgetown crew that had an optimistic showing against West Virginia just a few days ago. But contrarily, this was both a showing of brilliance – and some frustration – for Villanova. They needed this win after rebuilding their credibility after the Virginia Tech loss in Bubbleville – especially just days after their impressive win at Texas.
Collin Gillespie and Caleb Daniels were sensational in this game for Villanova, both pouring in 18 points apiece while drilling five three-pointers each – more on that shortly. Cole Swider provided a much-needed offensive boost off the bench, contributing 10 points in the win.
Again, this win is insanely important for Villanova, especially with the gauntlet of games coming up beginning next week. They will tip in two more Big East tilts in back-to-back Wednesdays – first with Butler on the 16th, followed by Marquette on the 23rd. But sandwiched in between is a showdown at Madison Square Garden with Virginia on the 19th.
There are a number of takeaways for the Wildcats from this game – and it is a bit difficult to decipher exactly who this team is, considering this game was a tale of two halves. However, I think there are more positives to take from this tilt – and that is where we will begin.