Gillespie, ‘Nova ready for battle with Seton Hall
Collin Gillespie has never had a stat line like the one he produced in Wednesday’s 72-69 victory over St. John’s in Madison Square Garden.
The 6-3 point guard had no points, no assists, no turnovers, 10 rebounds (all defensive) and two steals in 25 minutes.
It’s the first time Gillespie has been held scoreless since he moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore in 2018-19.
Ordinarily, those numbers would be cause for concern for a player of Gillespie’s caliber, but actually were quite remarkable when you consider that Gillespie wasn’t expected to play after severely spraining his right ankle in last Saturday’s victory over Connecticut.
It wasn’t until pre-game warmups that Gillespie was given the green light to play by trainer Dan Erickson, Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
“He kind of played like a power forward, defended and rebounded and got 10 defensive rebounds,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said with a smile after practice Friday. “It was really impressive, a lot of courage.”
There was a point in the first half where Gillespie fell down in transition and Wright wasn’t sure if Gillespie would be able to continue. Wright decided to stick with him anyway.
“I just figured we would use him for ball handling against the press,” Wright said. “I didn’t realize it was going to turn into a Moses Malone evening.”
Gillespie has not practiced since that game. Neither has junior guard Justin Moore, who is nursing a sprained left ankle. Both are expected to be in the lineup when the 15thranked Wildcats (18-6, 11-3 Big East) take on resurgent Seton Hall Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center (1 p.m., FOX29).
“I’m feeling better,” Gillespie said. “It’s just day-byday, trying to get healthy, doing a lot of treatment for it.”
Gillespie said he’s about “75-80” percent.
“No excuses, just trying to go out there and help the guys in whatever way possible,” Gillespie said. “But there’s no different approach to the game, still be aggressive, take what’s there and play off my jump shot and try to do all the little things.”
Seton Hall (15-7, 6-6) began the season 9-1 and was ranked as high as 15th in the Associated Press poll and 13th in the USA Today Coaches rankings before dropping six of its next nine games. The Pirates have bounced back with three straight wins including a 73-71 victory over No. 25 Xavier on Wednesday night.
“They had guys out for a while and still have guys out who may or may not play, but we know how great a team they are. They’re tough and physical,” Gillespie said. “We know how great Coach (Kevin) Willard is. Those guys are going to be ready to play. It’s going to be a battle like every other Big East game. They’re coming together at the right time right now. They’ve got a lot of key pieces playing well and they’re playing good as a team.”
One piece that is missing is second-leading scorer Bryce Aiken. The 6-0 graduate point guard has missed the last six games with a concussion and is not expected to play Saturday.
Aiken had 22 points in the Hall’s 73-67 loss to the Wildcats at the Prudential Center.
“I don’t expect him back anytime soon,” Willard said after the win over Xavier.
Two players the Pirates will have are 7-2 center Ike Obiagu and 6-10 forward Tyrese Samuel. Both missed the first Villanova game due to COVID protocols. Obiagu ranks fifth in the country in blocked shots (3.42). Samuel averages 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
“They’ve got great length and great athleticism and they’re also very tough,” forward Eric Dixon said, an Abington graduate. “Those guys are super tough, as is their whole team. We just have to be tough and physical and not force any shots up.” NOTES » Seniors Caleb Daniels and Brandon Slater have regained the scoring touch. Daniels is averaging just under 15 points in his last four games. Slater is averaging 14.3 points over the last three games … Seton Hall’s last win in the series was a 70-64 victory at the Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 8, 2020. The Wildcats are 16-5 against the Pirates since the Big East was reconfigured in 2013.