The Wildcats Made Their Three-Pointers in an 80 – 60 Win Over Delaware Blue Hens
March 18, 2022 –
This is the NCAA Tournament. The objective is to win and advance. Second seeded Villanova does that defeating the #15 seed Delaware Blue Hens 80 – 60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh. They did so by making three-pointers. Five Wildcats players would score in double figures, and four having at least two.
Both teams are very familiar with one another, and Delaware had the better of it early in the game going out to a seven-point lead. Then Nova settled in and went on a 15 – 2 run to halftime to take a 35 – 25 lead. The Wildcats began the second half scoring the first eight points to take full command.
“We knew a lot about them because we followed them and they’re well coached.” said Villanova Coach Jay Wright. “And at the start of the game it took us some time to just adjust to their speed and their intelligence offensively, try to figure out what they were doing. We knew what they were doing, we just couldn’t guard it. And then I thought even their defense was very intelligent too, took us some time to figure that out. I think our guys did. And I think that was the difference.”
Three-Point Shooting Differential
The three-ball was the friend to the Cats sinking 13 of 28 from beyond the arc. In a critical stretch of the game, Nova drained 10 of 12 from three-point land. However, the Wildcats did show balance by getting 15 baskets from inside the arc.
“We were reading the ball screen coverage and if they were coming to help, who was helping,” said Villanova guard Justin Moore about how the Wildcats got settled on offense. “Once we figured that out, we were able to figure out when we could take our open shots, make that extra pass, and find the bigs posting up.”
“They made thirteen three’s and that was the difference in the game,” said Delaware Coach Martin Ingelsby.
Scoring Recap
Wildcat forward Jermaine Samuels effectively filled the stat sheet getting a plus-24.
Moore topped Villanova in scoring 21 points on 7 of 13 shooting, 3 of 5 from distance. Samuels had 15 points including 2 three-pointers. Collin Gillespie contributed 14 points and a game-high 4 three’s. Caleb Daniels got 13 points and Eric Dixon scored 12 points. A balanced scoring load.
Delaware made 22 of 50 from the field, but only 3 of 20 from the three-point line. Jyare Davis led the Blue Hens with 17 points making 7 of his 10 shots. Andrew Carr added 13, perfect in field goal attempts (5), three-point baskets (1) and foul shots (2). Villanova limited Jameer Nelson, Jr. to 8 points while Kevin Anderson added 9 points.
“The finality of this always stings,” Ingelsby said. “We battled, we got after it, we got off to a really good start in the first half and put a little scare in them. At the end of the first half and the early part of the second half they were able to extend that lead and we were battling uphill from there.”
Moving On
Villanova takes on #7 Ohio State in the second round on Sunday.
“I think we played against a smart defensive team,” Wright said. “We’re going to play against another smart defensive team in Ohio State and a much more physical team. So I think we can learn from some things they did to us defensively.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
Blue Hens were a tough, well coached team…Nova did well to dominate as game progressed. Next game vs Ohio St will be tough.