'Nova struggles to score in loss
The Wildcats were beaten, 65-51, as South Florida completed a season sweep.
TAMPA - Villanova's offense disappeared for 39 minutes Wednesday night as the slumping Wildcats threatened to challenge their scoring low in 11 seasons under coach Jay Wright, falling to surging South Florida, 65-51, at Tampa Bay Times Forum to finish a season sweep.
"I thought it was just a real impressive performance by USF," Wright said after his team's fourth loss in five games. "I love their team. I love their toughness, their unselfishness. It's hard to prepare for them because they have so many weapons."
Villanova (11-14, 4-9 in Big East) had salvaged a 20-20 tie in an ugly first half, but only the surprising Bulls (16-10, 9-4) broke out of the drought, doing so in convincing fashion. Wright was called for a technical foul for arguing a call with 12 minutes, 1 seconds left in the game, and USF hit all four free throws to build a 10-point lead; Villanova couldn't get any closer the rest of the way.
The Wildcats again played without leading scorer Maalik Wayns, sidelined by a knee injury, and his replacement, freshman JayVaughn Pinkston, struggled even by Wednesday's standards, going 1 for 13 from the field. The lowest scoring total under Wright was 40 points, and Villanova didn't score its 40th point until 1:36 remained in the game.
"Overall they did a great job. They're a great team," said Villanova's Maurice Sutton, who led the Wildcats with 10 points off the bench. "Maalik is our leader, and we're waiting for him to get back. . . . We need him. But without him, we have to play."
Rebounding has been a strength for the Wildcats, but with forward Mouphtaou Yarou on the bench much of the second half after picking up his fourth foul with 17:55 left, USF outrebounded Villanova by a 33-30 margin. The Bulls also outshot the Wildcats on free throws, hitting their last 17 attempts to keep a double-digit lead.
It took a late surge - 10 points in the final 1:05 - for the Wildcats to finish shooting 30 percent from the field for the game. Villanova's previous scoring low this season had been 57 points. Only by two three-pointers in the final 24 seconds did they avoid missing 50 points for the first time in six years.
A year ago, Villanova had never lost to South Florida. Now, counting an upset in the Big East tournament in March, the Wildcats have dropped three straight to the Bulls, who also earned a 74-57 win in Philadelphia last month.