Villanova Knocks Off Georgetown In Quarterfinals
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to BIGEAST.com
NEW YORK -- A couple of things we learned about the Villanova Wildcats Thursday afternoon: they love playing in the EAST Tournament, they love shooting their three-pointers in bulk and Josh Hart hates New York.
Maybe Josh, the Wildcats’ junior gem who hails from Silver Spring, Maryland, needs to try the Big Apple’s unparalleled pizza. If that doesn’t change his mind, perhaps he needs to sample the authentic and legendary bagels for breakfast Friday morning. If all else fails, maybe he can somehow score a couple of tickets to “Hamilton” and that might change his tune about the City That Never Sleeps. (Good luck with that last one, though, Josh).
But whatever his reasons for disliking the home of the BIG EAST Tournament, it does not extend to the tournament itself. Josh likes the tournament. Josh was even named the tournament Most Valuable Player when Villanova won the tournament title last year. And if Thursday’s performance was any indication, Josh has his sights set on another title and perhaps some more MVP hardware this time around.
Hart scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and Ryan Arcidiacono hit three huge three-pointers in a four-minute span in the second half, the last of which gave the top-seeded Wildcats a 12-point lead with 5:31 to play, as Villanova took the first step in defending its BIG EAST Tournament title with an 81-67 victory over Georgetown in the quarterfinal opener of the BIG EAST Tournament Presented by Jeep Brand.
Villanova will now face the winner of Providence vs. Butler in Friday night’s semifinals at 7 p.m.
“A very good win for us. I’m pleased with our team,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “That Georgetown team is a very good team. They have not quit on (Hoyas coach) John (Thompson III) all year and they’ve had tons of injuries. That is going to be a good team next year.”
“Next year” being the key phrase as the Hoyas season is done at 15-18. But for the entire first half and the start of the second the Hoyas were playing like they had no intention of riding off quietly into the off-season. Georgetown led at several differ points of the first half and even opened its largest lead of the game with 16:53 to play when D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, playing in what turned out to be his final college game, nailed a jumper for a 37-31 Hoyas lead. Georgetown held its’ last lead of the game at 47-46 after a three-pointer by L.J. Peak with 10:31 to play.
But that’s when Arcidicono and Hart began to work their collective magic.
A layup by Hart with 10:15 to play gave Villanova the lead for good at 48-47 and Arcidiacono tossed in the first of his three clutch three-balls and the Wildcats began to pull away. In fact, by the time Arcidiacono hit his third three-pointer of the half with 5:31 to play, the Villanova lead had grown to 65-53 and Georgetown never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“Coach (Jay Wright) always tells me to be aggressive,” said Arcidiacono, who finished with 19 points. “If I’m out in transition I’m pretty much the only ones who pulls up. That was just a product of us getting out (on the break). A couple of good blitzes.”
It was the three-point shooting that kept Villanova close in the first half before allowing them to secure the win in the second half. For the game the Wildcats sank 13 three-balls while shooting almost 62% from behind the arc.
“Our threes kept us in it in the first half,” Wright said. “We were struggling finishing at the rim and, you know, that’s why we shoot threes. We have the balance we where can shoot them and there are going to be some nights where you can’t finish at the rim and you have to rely on them. You can lose that way but it gives you a hell of a chance to win. Thank God for the threes tonight.”
So Villanova has taken the first step toward a repeat as BIG EAST Tournament champs. And as long as they have Hart and his friends, the sky is the limit for the Wildcats, playing in the tournament many of the current players grew up watching and hoping to one day play in.
“Obviously as players we love it,” Hart said. “We grew up watching the BIG EAST. We grew up watching the crazy games. I remember the ’09 Syracuse-Connecticut six-overtime game. It’s something that we grew up watching. We dream of playing in it. Just to play in it is just a great feeling. It’s humbling. It’s surreal. And I love it. I hate New York but I love playing in the tournament.”
Before leaving the postgame interview session Wright made a point of talking into the microphone and saying, “Josh Hart didn’t really mean he hates New York. He didn’t mean that,” all to laughter.
But if Hart keeps playing like he did in Thursday’s quarterfinal, Villanova’s opponents will be the ones who will really hate New York, coming to the Garden to get victimized by Hart and Co.
Villanova is now two wins away from another BIG EAST Tournament title and a semifinal win would provide two more opportunities for Hart to warm up to New York on his way to another haul of championship hardware.
Just try the pizza, Josh, or the bagels. We would never steer you wrong.