As always, Arcidiacono does what’s necessary for ’Nova
RADNOR >> Ryan Arcidiacono had a pretty good idea early Thursday morning that the final Big East opener of his illustrious career would be different than the previous three.
The 6-3 senior guard and reigning Big East co-Player of the Year woke up around 4 a.m. to find his roommate, Jalen Brunson, battling a stomach virus that would limit the freshman guard to season-low 17 minutes in Villanova’s surprising 95-64 romp over sixthranked and previously undefeated Xavier at the Pavilion.
Brunson’s condition was serious enough that he needed an intravenous treatment before the game to replace the fluids he lost. However, Arcidiacono did not realize just how ill Brunson was until the two went to the team’s breakfast a few hours later.
“He said, ‘I can’t go in there,’” Arcidiacono said. “I said, ‘All right, just stay out here and I’ll tell the coaches.’ The next thing I know he’s running to the bathroom.”
At that moment, Arcidiacono knew Brunson was a question mark and that he would have to shoulder much of the offensive load against the Musketeers, which he did.
Arcidiano responded with one of the best performances of his career. He scored 27 points, the second-best total in his time at Villanova. Arcidiacono shot 10-for-19 from the field and that included a 7-for-14 performance from 3-point range, which equaled his career best for triples in a game.
Arcidiacono scored 17 of his points in the first half as the Wildcats (11-2 overall, 1-0 Big East) opened up a 48-30 lead. He also threw in eight assists to move into 12th place in program history with 427 career helpers.
“I knew I had to come out aggressive and make plays for everyone, not just for myself,” Arcidiacono said. “I got a couple of great screens and after I hit a couple (of 3s) I did take a couple of crazy ones … but after that point I was like, ‘If I’m feeling it, if this is my day, it’s going to go in for me.’”
The shots did fall and none of the Wildcats were surprised. They’ve seen Arcidiacono come up big before so this was just Arch, as he is affectionately called, being Arch.
“I’ve said this many times, I just always know with him, whatever we need that night, that game, that possession, whatever we need, he always knows,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “I didn’t say a word to him when we found out we had to take Jalen to the hospital. I didn’t say a word to him. I didn’t have to. I knew he was going to step up like that and that’s what makes him special.”
Special is the right word to describe Arcidiacono. He is the 10th player in Villanova history to score at least 1,250 points and hand out more than 400 assists. Villanova is 93-23 since he arrived on campus in 2012.
It was the 10th time Arcidiacono has scored at least 20 points in a game. The Wildcats are 9-1 when he scores 20.
“The great ones, when they feel it and get it going, they know how to keep it going,” Wright said. “It’s not easy to score 27 points. A lot of guys get hot and then get a little lazy or they get their buckets and they’re afraid to be great. He’s never afraid to do that.”
And Arcidiacono was great, especially early. He hit six of his first seven shots from the field including all five from 3-point land as the Wildcats turned what was expected to be a down-to-the-wire thriller into a lopsided affair.
“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Arcidiacono said. “(Brunson is) the point guard and when he’s in, he handles the ball, but once I knew he was out I knew that this was my game. That really didn’t affect my approach to the game. I’m always the first guy on the court to warm up, but my mindset was to set the tone defensively and get some good looks offensively. I was just more aggressive.”
You really had to look hard to notice.
“It wasn’t a surprise to anyone in our program,” senior center Daniel Ochefu said of Arcidiacono’s performance. “It was Arch. I didn’t see any difference at all, even when he hit the first five (3-pointers), it was just regular Arch.”