Villanova's Sights Set On Third BIG EAST Tournament Title
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to BIGEAST.com
Josh Hart had an up-close look at Kris Jenkins’ potential go-ahead basket and he knew it wasn’t going in.
“Right when I saw him shoot it I knew when he shot it he put a little too much mustard on it,” Hart said. “And I was like, you know what, just go get it.”
So Hart did what Hart always seems to do – make a big play in a big moment on a big stage. Hart leaped as Jenkins’ shot caromed off the rim and as it landed perfectly in his hands he tossed it up and in for the put back as he was fouled by Seton Hall’s Desi Rodriguez with 9.6 seconds to play. Hart then converted the free throw, and when Angel Delgado couldn’t convert a short layup in the final seconds, top-seeded Villanova escaped with a thrilling 55-53 victory over the Pirates in the BIG EAST semifinals Friday night at the Garden.
The Wildcats will now aim for their third BIG EAST Tournament title (they won it in 1995 and 2015) in what will be their eighth appearance in the final. Villanova (30-3) is the first team to reach the championship game in three straight tournaments since Louisville did it in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Fifth-seeded Seton Hall, which led for the large majority of the game and once held an 11-point lead in the first half, exits the tournament with a 21-11 mark after coming thisclose to a return trip to the title game and a chance at defending their its crown.
“A lot of credit to Seton Hall. I think we got outplayed tonight,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “We just found ways at the end. Great players make great plays. Jalen (Brunson) and Josh individually made incredible plays. It’s just a great BIG EAST basketball game.”
The first half was all Seton Hall. Not that the Pirates were lighting up the scoreboard themselves offensively. But they were doing enough to lead from wire to wire in the half, holding leads as large as 11 points (25-14) before going off at halftime with a 27-20 advantage. The 20 points scored by Villanova marked their lowest first-half output of the season. The Wildcats previous low was 22 in the first half vs. Virginia, a game Villanova eventually rallied to win on a buzzer-beating dunk by Donte DiVincenzo.
But the Wildcats also played a part in digging their hole in the first half as they hit on just one of their first 11 shots from the field, missed on their first seven three-point attempts and didn’t crack double digits on the scoreboard until a three-ball by DiVincenzo pulled Nova within, 13-11, at the 10:16 mark of the first half. In the first 20 minutes Villanova shot just 7-for-26 (26.9%) from the field, were 3-of-13 on threes (23.1%) and had as many turnovers (seven) as field goals in the half.
A very un-Villanova-like performance indeed.
But champions always seem to find a way and Friday night the defending National Champions were able to outlast the defending BIG EAST Tournament champs.
The score was tied at 41-41 with 8:20 to play when things really started getting interesting. There would be eight lead changes from there, along with two ties, and all the while the sold-out Garden crowd of 19,812 was roaring with every possession, every basket, every extraordinary play.
A three-pointer by Seton Hall’s Khadeen Carrington gave the Pirates a 44-41 lead, a three-point lead which lasted all of 18 seconds before Hart sank a pair of free throws to pull the Wildcats back within a point. Villanova, which had not had a lead in the game until the 9:18 mark of the second half, then took its’ second lead with 5:15 left courtesy of two more Hart foul shots for a 45-44 Nova lead.
But The Hall returned serve when Madison Jones drove the lane and tossed in a layup with just one second left on the shot clock for a 46-45 Pirates lead and that’s pretty much how the final 4:20 went – lead changes, ties and lots of tension.
The game was tied for the final time at 50-50 after a short jump hook by Delgado pulled the Pirates even with 2:42 to play. But Brunson answered with a jumper of his own at the 2:21 mark for a 52-50 Nova lead and you were wondering if anyone was going to be able to come up with a key stop.
Villanova couldn’t on The Hall’s next possession as Carrington completed a three-point play when he was fouled by Hart on his layup. It gave the Pirates a 53-52 lead with 1:43 to go and from there not a single soul was remaining in their seats.
After Hart missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 1:16 to play, Seton Hall looked to have added to its lead after a layup by Delgado. But the basket was called off when he was whistled for traveling with 56.1 seconds to play and that’s what set the stage for the frantic final seconds and Hart’s latest brilliant moment. In total, Hart and Brunson accounted for Villanova’s final 20 points of the game.
“They got guts,” Wright said of Hart, Brunson and Co. “They have no fear of failure and I think that’s what you saw at the end.”
Hart, a four-year veteran of BIG EAST battles, knows how hard it is to win one tournament title. So how does it feel to be going to his third straight championship game?
“It’s amazing. You grow up watching the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden, all the battles,” Hart said. “There’s so much history in this league, this tournament and to be in three straight, it’s amazing. I guarantee in 20 or 30 years I’m going to be one guy that brags a lot. But right now we won’t think about all that. We only think about who we have tomorrow.”
After the game, Hart, as classy a star as there is, went over to a crestfallen Delgado to offer a little pick-me-up, one warrior to another.
“I have so much respect for that program,” Hart said of Seton Hall. “We’ve had some battles over the last four years (and) got all the respect for (Seton Hall) Coach (Kevin) Willard. He gets the most out of his guys. I told Angel you’re a heck of a player and just keep going. You’ve got a bright future.”