Villanova’s last played game of 2020 was December 23rd against Marquette. The Wildcats won that game 85-68 thanks to Collin Gillespie scoring a game-high 22 points and sinking in 6 three’s. Their next scheduled game was against St. John’s but was postponed due to COVID issues inside the St. John’s program. The Head Coach for Villanova, Jay Wright, let his players go home for a couple of days for Christmas so they could see their families. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the Wildcats now were dealing with COVID issues inside their program. Jay Wright and another staff member tested positive for COVID, which shut down the program for two weeks. After the two weeks were over, Villanova came back for practice one day and then had to shut down for another two weeks. Multiple players had tested positive for COVID. After a month of no games being played, the Wildcats had their first game of the new year on January 19th against Seton Hall.
Villanova vs. Seton Hall has turned into a rivalry but a competitive one. Whenever these two teams play, it is usually a close contested ball game. You would think that the Wildcats would be rusty because of the layoff, but they came out ready to play. Jermaine Samuels had 20 points and nine rebounds off the bench, which was huge for Villanova. Collin Gillespie had a team-high 22 points and sunk two very important free throws at the end of the game. Cole Swider sank the winning free throws with 1.9 seconds left in the game. An excellent restart for the Wildcats, especially since they got the win.
Villanova vs. Providence was a tale of two halves. The first half for the Wildcats was shaky, thanks to the Friars defense. Villanova shot 27% from the field in the first half and were down 27-24 at the half. Before the second half started, there was a lighting issue inside the gym. A 15-minute delay to begin the last twenty minutes because of sunlight was not something anyone expected to happen. The second half was all Villanova. They hit 10 of their first 21 shots, and Jeremiah-Robinson Earl’s dunk from Justin Moore made the score 50-38 Wildcats. This was with 10:12 remaining. This capped off a 26-11 run after halftime. Justin Moore and Collin Gillespie both scored 15 points each to help Villanova come out on top. The final score was 71-56 in favor of the Wildcats.
Villanova’s next game was supposed to be against UConn but was postponed due to COVID issues because of the officials. Villanova then played Seton Hall again this past Saturday. This was another close game between these two teams. Jeremiah-Robinson Earl scored 23 points in 21 minutes. He was plagued by fouls, but that did not stop him for doing whatever it took to help his team win. Jermaine Samuels added 17 points, and Justin Moore had 16 points to contribute. Collin Gillespie had 11 points as well as a career-high 11 assists. The Wildcats were up at 16 in the second half, but Seton Hall went on a run but came up short. Villanova won 80-72 and now are 3-0 since their restart because of COVID. The Wildcats are 11-1 for the season and are ranked #3 in the nation. Villanova’s next game is tonight vs. St. John’s.
For more College Basketball coverage, click here.
