Providence snaps Villanova’s five-game win streak

A flash of optimism came Villanova’s way before the start of Saturday’s game against Providence. Point guard Collin Gillespie decided he was well enough to play three days after suffering a deep thigh bruise against St. John’s.

But the flash burned out quickly. The 12th-ranked Wildcats were unable to consistently make shots for much of the game. While they found their offensive stride late in the second half rallying from a 14-point deficit, they came up short, 58-54, to the Friars before a crowd of 15,516 at Wells Fargo Center.

The Cats (22-7, 11-5 Big East) saw their five-game winning streak snapped while losing their third consecutive game at the big arena in South Philadelphia.

The Friars (17-12, 10-6) locked in their defense right away, holding Villanova without a basket on the game’s first nine possessions. They led 30-18 at halftime and scored the first two points of the second half but made just 4 of their first 18 shots in the period, and the Cats began to chip away.

Providence was held to one field goal for almost 11 minutes, and an 11-3 Villanova run capped by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl’s three-point basket cut the deficit to two, 46-44, with 3:51 remaining. Two minutes later, Robinson-Earl dunked the tip of Gillespie’s missed shot to make it 48-46.

But the comeback would stop there. The Friars scored six of the next seven points to make it a seven-point lead with 28 seconds to play, and they were home free.

Gillespie, who was considered to be questionable for the game, could be seen wincing at times but gutted out almost 37 minutes and led the Wildcats with 13 points. Saddiq Bey, the team’s leading scorer, saw his day end with 6:51 to play when he was called for pushing off and fouled out with 11 points. Robinson-Earl posted his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Luwane Pipkins was outstanding for Providence with 27 points, including four of his team’s five three-point baskets. He scored 11 of the Friars’ last 15.

Leading the Big East in free-throw percentage at 77.7%, the Wildcats had a horrific day at the line, sinking just 2 of their first 9 and finishing 9 of 18. They also were a season-low 16.7% (5 of 30) on three-point attempts.

The bench for Providence played a significant role. Guard Maliek White scored 15 points in 29 minutes. Center Kalif Young had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, mostly while starter Nate Watson sat with foul trouble.

Gillespie: “I felt good. I worked early before the game getting treatment. I felt fine.”

Villanova coach Jay Wright, on playing a complete game: “A real experienced team is going to find ways. When you get a couple of possessions in a row, you find a way to stop the bleeding if you’ve got a lot of veteran guys out there. That’s part of us being a young team. Young isn’t good any more, because everybody is young, but it’s just inexperience. We didn’t handle that first half well and then we didn’t handle plays down the stretch in the second half well.”

Providence coach Ed Cooley, on limiting three-point baskets: “We hang our hat on defense. I always tell our guys, defense travels, it’s not going to be perfect. But if you can limit guys to what they really want to do … we’re heavy on scouting, on personnel. It’s not cryptic what Villanova has done in their recipe of success. They have tough kids, well-coached, they’re organized, and man, can they shoot the ball. So we’re just trying to make it a tough ‘twos’ game."

So how crazy is this game of basketball? In back-to-back wins over Temple and DePaul, Villanova made 35 of 62 (56.5%) three-point baskets. In the Wildcats’ last three games, victories over Xavier and St. John’s and Saturday’s loss to Providence, they have hit 23 of 90 (25.6%). The length of the Friars was particularly bothersome.

The Wildcats are 29 games into the season and Wright is still calling on his players to be tougher. He liked the way they stepped up to a physical Xavier team on the road a week ago, but not so much in home games versus St. John’s and Providence. “It’s just not something we’ve handled well, this group, all year,” he said.