Breaking down No. 15 Delaware vs. No. 2 Villanova

Bill Hartlep
Thursday, March 17, 2022 2:58 p.m. | Thursday, March 17, 2022 2:58 p.m.

Go Ad-Free Today!

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Delaware’s Jyare Davis shots during practice for the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 17, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Villanova’s Collin Gillespie dribbles through his legs during practice for the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 17, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena.

No. 15 Delaware vs. No. 2 Villanova

2:45 p.m. Friday, PPG Paints Arena

TV: CBS

Winner plays: Winner of No. 7 Ohio State/No. 10 Loyola Chicago in second round Sunday

Series history: Villanova leads 14-0

Villanova Wildcats (26-7, 16-4 Big East)

Coach: Jay Wright

How they got here: Villanova won the Big East Tournament to earn an automatic bid.

Last NCAA appearance: 2021, lost to Baylor in Sweet 16

Leading scorer: Collin Gillespie (15.9 ppg, 3.3 apg)

Probable starting lineup

No., Player, Ht., Pos., Cl., PPG

2, Collin Gillespie, 6-3, G, Gr., 15.9

3, Brandon Slater, 6-7, F., S., 9.1

5, Justin Moore, 6-4, G, Jr., 15.0

23, Jermaine Samuels, 6-7, F, Gr., 10.4

43, Eric Dixon, 6-8, F, R-So., 9.1

Notable: The three-time national champion Wildcats (1985, 2016, ’18) won their fifth Big East Conference Tournament title in seven years. … Villanova has played in six Final Fours and 40 NCAA Tournaments (67-38). … Coach Jay Wright has led the team to 16 appearances in 22 seasons. … The Wildcats have won seven of their past eight games and 19 of 22. … They played 16 games against NCAA opponents. … Villanova averages 72.6 ppg behind six players who average at least 9.1 ppg. … Collin Gillespie is averaging 15.9 points and 3.3 assists for the Wildcats. The Archbishop Wood graduate earned the Most Outstanding Player Award at the Big East Tournament. He is the Wildcats’ all-time leader in games played (151) and has compiled 1,789 points, good for 13th in program history. … Justin Moore is averaging 15 points and 5.1 rebounds over the last 10 games for Villanova. … Villanova defeated Delaware, 78-70, in their most recent meeting in 2019-20. … Villanova is the nation’s top free throw shooting team (.823).

Quotable: “They worked all year. We’ve just seen them run through their conference tournament, and it wasn’t easy for them, but they battled through. They beat some of the top teams in their conference, and they’re battle-tested. They’re a great team. They have a lot of experience, and they have a lot of veteran guys who are ready to play and know how to play.”

— Villanova’s Jermaine Samuels on Delaware

Delaware Blue Hens (22-12, 10-8 CAA)

Coach: Martin Ingelsby

How they got here: Delaware won the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament to earn an automatic bid.

Last NCAA appearance: 2014, lost to Michigan State in opening round, 93-78

Leading scorer: Jameer Nelson Jr. (13.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg)

Probable starting lineup

No., Player, Ht., Pos., Cl., PPG

0, Jameer Nelson, 6-1, G, Jr., 13.7

1, Kevin Anderson, 6-5, G, Gr., 10.8

13, Jyare Davis, 6-7, F, R-Fr., 9.5

14, Ebby Asamoah, 6-4, G, Jr., 7.2

21, Andrew Carr, 6-9, F, So., 9.9

Notable: Delaware’s offense is built on balance, with six players who average about 10 points per game. … Jameer Nelson Jr. is scoring 13.7 points per game and averaging 5.0 rebounds. Nelson Jr. is the son of former St. Joseph’s star Jameer Nelson. … Kevin Anderson has 420 career assists, good for second in program history (Brian Pearl, 501 from 1991-95). … Jyare Davis was named the CAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. … Grad student guard Ryan Allen set Delaware’s career 3-pointers record (304) and has played in 132 career games. … Forward Dylan Painter began his career at Villanova before transferring to Delaware and was part of the 2018 national championship team. … Delaware lost its final three games of the regular season but then won three straight games to win the CAA Tournament. … Martin Ingelsby is in his sixth season at Delaware (95-86). He played in the NCAA Tournament for Notre Dame in the early 2000s. … The Blue Hens have lost their last five NCAA Tournament games. … The Blue Hens posted their ninth 20-win season.

Quotable: “Yeah, it’s definitely a different feeling coming in here as a Villanova basketball player. We were always one of the top seeds in the tournament. We were always expected to get out of this first weekend, but here I think everybody is expecting us to lose tomorrow, so we don’t really have anything to lose. We’re going to go out there and play hard and give it all we’ve got. Whatever happens out there, we’re going to be happy that we went out there and represented this school and this team.”

— Delaware’s Dylan Painter, who transferred from Villanova