Booth latest ’Cat handed injury setback

Another Villanova Wildcat has been bitten by the hand injury bug.

Redshirt junior guard Phil Booth suffered a fractured bone in his right (shooting) hand in the second half of Tuesday’s 89-69 victory over Providence and will be out indefinitely, the team announced Wednesday.

Booth is the third Wildcat to be sidelined with a broken hand. Freshman guard Collin Gillespie missed nine games after fracturing a bone in his left hand Dec. 19. He returned to action in last Wednesday’s win over Georgetown. Freshman forward Jermaine Samuels has been out since he broke a bone in his left hand against DePaul Dec. 27.

Booth has started all 20 games for the top-ranked Wildcats (19-1, 6-1 Big East) after missing all but of three games in the 2016-17 season. He is fourth on the team in scoring (11.6), second in assists (3.2), and shooting 49 percent from the field overall and 43 percent from 3-point range. He also is second in the Big East to teammate Jalen Brunson in assist-turnover ratio (2.5). As a sophomore, Booth scored a team-high 20 points in Villanova’s 77-74 victory over North Carolina in the national championship game.

“All of us are disappointed for Phil,” Villanova coach Jay 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.”

Redshirt sophomore guard Donte DiVincenzo most likely will replace Booth in the starting lineup. DiVincenzo has been a valuable contributor off the bench, averaging 13.2 points and shooting 49 percent overall and 43 percent from 3-point range.

The injury also leaves Villanova short on the bench heading into Sunday’s showdown with Marquette in Milwaukee. Gillespie and fellow freshman Dhamir CosbyRountree are the only other players outside of the top six averaging double-digit minutes per game.