Providence makes another case for NCAA tournament with upset of No. 12 Villanova
PHILADELPHIA – The defense rests.
Providence College’s run through the Big East continued with a major step forward Saturday as the Friars sent their strongest message yet to the NCAA selection committee that they should be a team that dances in a few weeks.
Sparked by a tenacious defense, the Friars grabbed their fifth win over a Top 25 team in February. This time it was a 58-54 victory at No. 12 Villanova. The five wins over Top 25 teams are the most for PC since the 1991 season.
“We hang our hat on defense,” said coach Ed Cooley. “I always tell our guys `defense travels.′ If you can limit teams from what they really want to do, and we’re heavy on scouting, it’s not cryptic. We just wanted to make it a tough twos game.”
It didn’t matter if Villanova (22-7, 11-5) looked to make twos or threes in this one. The Wildcats started slowly and only found an offensive groove for a limited set of minutes as they finished shooting 35 percent and just 16 percent (5-of-30) from the 3-point line.
“They’re really committed defensively and are great on the glass,” ’Nova coach Jay Wright said. “That’s something that’s been consistent with them and I just think they’ve kind of gelled offensively a little bit more. The defense has continued to improve over the course of the season.”
The Friars were hardly polished on offense either, but they had Luwane Pipkins on their team and Villanova didn’t. The senior guard continued his late-season push by carrying the Friars with 27 points. He hit big shots at critical times, knocked down four of PC’s five 3-pointers and helped seal the game late by hitting 9-of-10 free throws.
PC is now 17-12 overall and 10-6 in the Big East with two home games remaining. A team that looked like it was going nowhere during an ugly 6-6 start is now winning games that NCAA tourney teams need to win.
“We’re not a pretty team. I don’t coach pretty teams, that’s not our style,” Cooley said. “We’re gritty, we’re nasty, we’re ugly. We’re not trying to go to the prom and become prom kings. We want to be the ugliest but we want to be the most successful.”
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The Friars put the defensive clamps on the Wildcats right from the game’s opening tip. That led to a quick lead of 10-1 as ’Nova’s first field goal didn’t come until 6:03 into the contest. The Wildcats cooperated by missing some easy shots, clanking free throws (2-of-9 in the half) and not coming close very often from downtown. They finished the half 2-of-14 from deep and shooting 27 percent from the floor.
Villanova offered one nice counter-punch midway through the half as a 12-2 run was ably assisted by some shaky PC turnovers. The Wildcats grabbed a quick 15-14 lead on a 3-pointer by Saddiq Bey but that didn’t last very long. Providence strung together a long stretch of defensive stops as ’Nova went over six minutes without scoring and that opened the door for a 9-0 run capped off by a Pipkins 3-pointer and a three-point play from David Duke. When Pipkins canned another trey and then Kalif Young rolled in a layup, the Friars went to the locker room with a 30-18 lead.
“We were dialed in,” Cooley said. “It’s late in the season and we’re playing for our lives. We’re as desperate as anybody.”
That desperation kept showing up at critical times, or as Wright said “give them credit. They were tougher and made more intelligent plays down the stretch.”
Villanova came out with more pop in its step offensively but long stretches of the second half were dominated by feeble offense from both teams. When Bey picked up his fourth foul with 11:55 left, Villanova trailed 41-29 and was in a heap of trouble.
But the Friar offense went cold and allowed the Wildcats to claw their way back into things. PC led 43-33 with 9:04 left but getting any field goals the rest of the way was a challenge. In fact the Friars didn’t register another bucket for nearly six minutes. Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl knocked in a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 46-44 with 3:51 to play but Pipkins answered with a big jumper.
Villanova closed to two again at 48-46 with 1:56 left but Pipkins again answered, this time with a short jumper with only two seconds on the shot clock. Two Pipkins free throws and two more by Maliek White (15 points) gave PC a 54-47 lead with 28 seconds left and the Friars were home free.
“I’ve been proud of our guys,” Cooley said. “I think we’ve been playing together, purposeful and we’re just trying to win as many games as we can to be in the conversation to be an at-large team if we’re not fortunate enough to win the Big East Tournament championship. I’m proud of our guys and proud of their tenacity.”
