Big East Basketball: Villanova pounds Providence in key bubble battle

With the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament just two & a half weeks away, it’s now or never for the nation’s Bubble teams as Selection Sunday approaches. Before diving into today’s Bubble banter, let’s address the surging number of fans and others who are vehemently opposed to court-storming. Ever since the Duke Blue Devils’ leader, Kyle Filipowski, was caught in the middle of a court-storming scrum in LJVM Coliseum, the 7-foot center has proven he’s anything but injured; leading his Dukey’s to two straight 25-point wins over Louisville and Virginia. Against the Cavaliers in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Filipowski looked healthier than ever; slamming home a windmill dunk in the game’s opening half that he (later) reflected on fondly after dropping 21 points in the blowout victory.

Without further ado on that (non-) subject, the Villanova Wildcats and the reemergence of its backcourt star, Justin Moore, gave ‘Nova Nation a hell of a show on Saturday afternoon against Providence.

Trailing by a triple at halftime (34-37), the Wildcats refused to hang their heads; righting the ship with an 18-to-2 run in the opening minutes of the second-half. While it is true that the Bryce Hopkins’ less Friars have been facing an uphill battle since losing their best player (/him) to injury in January, the Friars are still a quality team; squarely on the Bubble just like the ‘Cats are. Unable to defend their own home-floor against the Philly suburbanites this weekend, however, could prove to be costly for Kim English’s aspiring (tournament-) team. With this loss, the 2023-‘24 Providence Friars fell to 0-2 against Villanova, but the Rhode Islanders (18-11) have one more win than the ‘Cats do (17-12) in the same number of games.

Even though the Friars’ top two-players, forward Josh Oduro and guard Devin Carter, combined for 29 points and 18 rebounds in their team’s 11-point defeat, they turned the ball over 4 times, had just 3 assists, and drained just 11 of their 27 shots. Unsurprisingly, Villanova’s defense came to play; especially in the initial stages of the second half. As is tradition with Providence’s fanbase, they were all standing to start the second half; refusing to sit down until their squad gets on the board in the second half. For the road team and its fans, watching the Friars’ faithful do nothing but wait to seek relief in their chairs was immensely satisfying; given they were standing until the 14:57 mark. By then, the ‘Cats had gone on a 9-0 run of their own; the same run that ultimately became 18-2.

Villanova’s fifth-year guard, Justin Moore, took his grand ole time coming back to life, but aren’t we glad he did? Before number 5 returned to us with 15 points, 4 assists, and no turnovers in Rhode Island this weekend, we first noticed the tide turning when the 23-year-old blitzed Georgetown’s defense for 14 first-half points less than a week ago. Moving well, shooting well, and appearing to have some added lift in his lower body, a strong Justin Moore equals a different, more dangerous Villanova team; one that not only has the potential to win more games but is more attractive in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament committee. Although this may not sound like the fairest method for selecting teams, the Tournament’s committee has a well-documented history of selecting teams that have (untapped) potential. If Justin Moore’s improved play continues, then the ‘Cats are an extremely compelling Bubble-team; especially when you compare them to a team like Providence. In other words, a strong case can be made that Providence’s ceiling (without Hopkins) has been reached and that the Friars have been getting the most out of themselves recently.

Still, I don’t think it’s fair to judge Providence on what they can’t be. Athletes in all sports are conditioned to think like winners; or in terms of what they can do. That being said, we know what Justin Moore is or has been. Two years ago, Moore was the best player on a Final Four team; a 2021-‘22 Villanova squad that was led by Jay Wright along with the likes of Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels.

Before you scoff, just know that Justin Moore was Villanova’s primary ball handler come tournament-time during that 2021-‘22 season. In other words, the ball was taken out of the current Denver Nuggets’ guard’s hands and placed in Moore’s. While Gillespie was and still is a phenomenal guard-&-player, he had his fair share of struggles bringing the ball up against the more physical, athletic teams alongside the defenders who pressured the ball at a high level. Given his weaknesses, the ball was placed in Moore’s hands, and Moore was the ultimate glue-guy; racking up the hockey assists and (on defense) preventing dribble-penetration from the nation’s top guards. Once ‘Nova lost Moore (for the rest of the season) to a no-contact, ACL injury during the closing stages of its Elite Eight win over Houston, the ‘Cats weren’t the same ball-club, and it showed when they fell behind 10-zip to the eventual national champions; the Kansas Jayhawks in the Final Four.

Moore has the game to take Villanova from a team that’s no better than Bubble consideration to a squad with realistic Sweet 16 aspirations. Oh, and I’m not talking about the same kinda team that Juwan Howard had at Michigan in 2021-‘22. In efforts to get brownie points for their highly controversial decision to reward the middling Wolverines with an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the Committee made sure that Michigan’s road to the Sweet 16 would be the most achievable for any 11 seed in recent memory. First, the 11th seeded Wolverines were given a golden opportunity to advance to the Round of 32 when the Committee pitted them against a very weak 6-seed; Colorado State. After beating Colorado State, the Wolverines were blessed with another lame-duck; the overrated, 3rd-seeded Tennessee Volunteers. Once the Wolverines got past them, they were throttled by none-other than Jay Wright and his Villanova Wildcats.

Typically, Villanova basketball begins to peak right about now.

Entering the Big East Tournament and the Big Dance, Jay Wright mastered the art of getting his team to perform at their best. Now, Kyle Neptune has hopes of replicating the success Wright had when it matters most.

To get there, he oughta lean on Justin Moore and Eric Dixon.
Go ‘Cats.