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Villanova's Phil Booth out indefinitely with fractured bone in hand

Phil Booth, a redshirt junior who had started all 20 games this season for the top-ranked Wildcats, missed all but three games last season with a knee injury.

Phil Booth, right, driving against Paul Scruggs of Xavier earlier this month, will be sidelined indefinitely.
Phil Booth, right, driving against Paul Scruggs of Xavier earlier this month, will be sidelined indefinitely.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Villanova guard Phil Booth suffered a fractured bone in his right (shooting) hand late in Tuesday night's win over Providence and will be sidelined indefinitely, coach Jay Wright announced Wednesday.

Booth, a redshirt junior who missed all but the first three games of last season with a knee injury, had started all 20 games this season. He averaged 11.6 points and shot 43 percent from three-point range, and his 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio was second in the Big East, behind teammate Jalen Brunson.

"All of us are disappointed for Phil," Wright said in a statement. "He is one of our captains, and the respect for him among his teammates is off the charts. Phil is as mentally tough a player as we have had in our program. We know he'll come back better and stronger from this."

The 6-foot-3 Booth, of Baltimore, was the Wildcats' high scorer in the 2016 national championship game, posting a then-career-best 20 points in the 77-74 win over North Carolina.

Booth is the third Villanova player to be sidelined with a broken bone in his hand or wrist this season. Freshman Collin Gillespie broke a bone in his left wrist and missed nine games before returning to the lineup last Wednesday against Georgetown. Freshman Jermaine Samuels broke a bone in his left hand on Dec. 27 against DePaul and hasn't played since.