Samuels’ finger issue points at possible trouble for Villanova
Villanova could be without one of its top players when the 12th-ranked Wildcats take on No. 17 Texas Sunday in Austin (1 p.m., ESPN).
Jermaine Samuels, a 6-7 senior forward, is listed as questionable with a sprained finger on his right (shooting) hand, Villanova coach Jay Wright said Friday.
Wright said Samuels played with the injury but the team did not discover it until the Wildcats returned to campus from Uncasville, Conn. Samuels has not practiced since the team got back and is not expected to work out Saturday before the Wildcats leave for Texas, Wright said. However, he will make the trip.
“We have it splinted and then (we’ll) see what he feels like on Sunday,” Wright said. “Everybody else is good.”
Samuels is averaging 6.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Wildcats (3-1), and is shooting 45 percent from the field overall (9for-20), 28.6 percent from 3-point range (2-for-7) and 55.6 percent from the free throw line (5-for-9).
If Samuels does not play, Wright could start 6-9 junior forward Cole Swider, 6-6 junior swingman Brandon Slater or even 6-8 redshirt freshman Eric Dixon from Abington against the undefeated Longhorns (40). That trio came up big off the bench in Tuesday’s 87-53 victory over Hartford.
Dixon had career highs in points (14) and rebounds(10). Slater also scored a career-high 13 points and was 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Swider also tallied 13 points in the victory. He is the only one of the three with starting experience. Swider started in 15 games as a sophomore last season.
The loss of Samuels, a solid defender and rebounder, could be troubling against a Texas team that features a front line rotation with five players between 6-8 and 6-11. The Longhorns start 6-11 sophomore
Kai Jones and 6-9 freshman Greg Brown, and bring 6-8 junior Gerald Liddell, 6-9 senior Royce Hamm Jr. and 6-10 senior Jericho Sims off the bench. All average double-digit minutes and a combined 20 points and 26 rebounds per game.
The Longhorns are coming off of a 69-67 victory over No. 14 North Carolina in the championship game of the Maui Invitational, which was played in Asheville, N.C., due to the coronavirus pandemic. Senior guard Matt Coleman III hit a jumper from the foul line with 0.01 seconds left to win it.
“(Texas has) veteran guards that are outstanding,” Wright said. “Coleman, (Courtney) Ramey
and (Andrew) Jones, they’ve been around, have played in a lot of big games and they’re really good.”
Wright added the Longhorns also “have a great
deal of depth and athleticism up front … that could wear us down so we have to be smart about using our depth and staying out of foul trouble.”