Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Approaching tourney, it’s like Villanova is starting oh-ver
RADNOR » Villanova practiced for nearly 2½ hours Friday, a rare lengthy workout for the day before a game. However, these are not normal times on the Main Line.
The rash of hand injuries that forced Phil Booth, Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels to miss a combined 25 games, and the concussion that kept Eric Paschall out for two contests, has created a bit of a chemistry issue for the fourth-ranked Wildcats.
Saturday’s regular-season finale against Georgetown at the Wells Fargo Center will only be the fourth game since the win over Gonzaga in December that the Wildcats (26-4 overall, 13-4 Big East) have their full nine-man rotation available.
And so, in many ways, the Wildcats have had to get to know one another all over again, hence the longer practices.
“We’re doing things now that we should have done in November,” coach Jay Wright said.
It’s not that the concepts the Wildcats are teaching weren’t taught four months ago. It’s more of a refresher course to get everyone back on the same page.
“Phil Booth lost a lot when he was out,” Wright said. “We’re going over things in practice that I know he knew before he was out, he just doesn’t have the habits right now. But he’s getting them and he wants to work on them. … You still have guys like Omari (Spellman) who’s a freshman and Gillespie’s playing as a freshman and Dada (freshman Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree). We’re counting on those guys. That’s unusual for us.
“I’m not saying that as an excuse because everybody deals with this. That’s what we have to deal with. No one should feel sorry for us and no one does. That’s where we are and we’re enjoying it.”
The point of emphasis Friday was being able to count on the defense on nights when shots, especially from 3-point range, are not falling, which has been a concern lately. Villanova’s 3-point field goal percentage has dropped 2½ points over the last seven games and the Wildcats are 4-3 in that span.
Yet that has not led them to seek alternative ways to put points on the board. The 3-pointer is a huge part of their game and that is not about to change any time soon.
“Shoot ‘em up, sleep in the streets, is always our motto,” redshirt freshman Omai Spellman said. “We don’t have a confidence issue at all. Shots are going to fall sometimes, and when they don’t, you still have to find a way to win.” That’s where the defense comes in. “(The defense) almost (won it) at Creighton,” Wright said of Villanova’s defensive effort in the overtime loss to the Blue Jays. “We’re not happy with the result, but there were some good things. There were some tough breaks down the stretch. Against Seton Hall, I thought defensively we did a pretty good job. Rebounding, we got beat by two, which is pretty good for us, so we’re getting better. We’re not playing great, but we’re going in a good direction.”
The Wildcats held Seton Hall to 38.5 percent shooting overall and just 20 percent from 3-point range. That was the second time in February that the Wildcats held an opponent under 40 percent from the field.
“For us, defending is the only thing,” forward Mikal Bridges said. “At Creighton, we didn’t defend. We were making shots, but the last game we took a step up and we just want to get better and better.”
*** Barring a Xavier loss to DePaul, the Wildcats will see their streak of four straight Big East regular-season championships come to an end. Villanova is a likely No. 2 seed in