Villanova

“That’s the way you do it,” Booth said.

They may be rookies, but the freshmen are expected to be ready when called upon, and Gillespie, Omari Spellman, Dahmir “Dada” Cosby-Roundtree and Jermaine Samuels answered the bell for the Wildcats (314) in their first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

The quartet combined for 30 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals and shot 10-17 overall and 3-7 from 3-point range. The 30 points were the most by a freshman class (including redshirts) in an NCAA tournament game under Villanova coach Jay Wright.

They’ll be counted on again when the top-seeded Wildcats take on ninthseeded Alabama (20-15) in the second round Saturday (12:10 p.m., CBS) for a berth in the Sweet 16.

“I expect the best out of all of them every time they step on the court, whether it’s a practice or a game,” Brunson said.

If the freshmen were nervous in their NCAA tournament debut, they didn’t show it. Spellman had 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists. He also was one of the six Wildcats with multiple 3-point field goals, a first in NCAA tournament history.

“We don’t get nervous because nothing changes for us,” said Spellman, who broke Ed Pinckney’s record for rebounds in a season by a freshman. “We just want to defend, rebound, play hard, play together, run and execute. We do that every game so this was nothing different.”

Not really. The spotlight is a lot brighter this time of year than it is for a regular-season game in February or even the Big East tournament.

“The NCAA tournament is a different animal,” redshirt junior Eric Paschall said. “I remember my first time in 2016. I was sitting out (as a redshirt after transferring from Fordham), but I made my own way down to Houston for the Final Four. I was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ There are a lot of distractions and it’s easy to get caught up in it. I thought the freshmen handled it well.”

The freshmen have good teachers in Brunson, Booth, fellow captain Mikal Bridges, as well as Paschall and guard Donte DiVincenzo. They’ve been down this road and they’re just passing on the knowledge they received from the likes of Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins, Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu.

“When you’re a freshman and you step on the floor with those guys, you’re in good shape,” Wright said. “We have a saying, ‘One man with courage makes a majority.’ We always try to make sure that Jalen, Mikal or Phil are out there, one of them at least and it gives everybody else confidence.

“They have a great relationship, great respect for one another. I think Jalen, Phil and Mikal know that Collin, Dada and those guys are going to be the ones to carry on their tradition and legacy and they take pride in their responsibility to teach those guys. That’s what’s great about our three captains.”

The captains, though, can only lead so much. There’s a lot of personal responsibility, and knowing the scouting report is at the top of the list, not just for freshmen, but every player.

“Being locked into the scouting report is always huge for the freshmen,” Gillespie said. “If you know that it gives you an advantage in just knowing where to be. You may not be as athletic as everyone else on the court because they’re older and more experienced, but knowing the scouting report puts you in a position to be successful.”

Knowing the scouting report is one thing, but executing it is another matter and overall, the freshmen did a good job. Wright would have liked it if Spellman grabbed a few rebounds earlier in the game, but overall, Wright was happy with the performance of all four of his rookies.

Spellman played 24 minutes, Gillespie 19, CosbyRoundtree 15 and Jermaine Samuels seven.

“You just have to get them in there and get over those first jitters and then you’re good,” Wright said. “It could be your first game. You get a little jittery and loose and you don’t benefit from that. I think we’re in a good spot.”