No. 2 Villanova ousts No. 15 Delaware in NCAA Tournament
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Delaware gave fans at PPG Paints Arena an early thrill Friday afternoon, but Villanova’s talent, experience and pinpoint perimeter shooting proved too much to overcome.
The No. 2-seeded Wildcats used a strong inside-outside game to finish the first half and were solid at both ends of the floor in the second en route to an 80-60 victory over No. 15 Delaware in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.
“It took us some time to just adjust to their speed and their intelligence offensively, try to figure out what they were doing. We knew what they were doing. We just couldn’t guard it,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said of an early seven-point deficit.
“And then I thought even their defense was very intelligent, too. Took us some time to figure that out. I think our guys did. And I think that was the difference. They’re a really well-coached team, and we give them a lot of credit.”
Villanova (27-7) advances to play No. 7 Ohio State (20-11) — a 54-41 winner over No. 10 Loyola Chicago — in the second round Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. A start time is to be determined.
The Blue Hens, who were looking for their first NCAA Tournament victory in their sixth appearance, finish the season at 22-13.
A day after East Region No. 2 seed Kentucky was upset by No. 15 Saint Peter’s, three-time national champion Villanova made sure it wouldn’t face the same fate.
“We purposely didn’t talk about it so we could just say we’re concentrating on our game. We’re concentrating on us,” Wright said of the upset. “But we all watched it. And I don’t think I had to say it to anybody. No, no. And Delaware is a very similar type of team to St. Peter’s, and they’re really smart and quick and great offensively at all five spots. I think our guys saw that.”
Delaware got off to a strong start and led by as many as seven in the first half. Former Villanova forward Dylan Painter, now a grad student with the Blue Hens, gave Delaware a 15-8 lead on a contested lay-in with 11 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first half. Villanova chipped away from there, closing the half on a 27-10 run for a 35-25 lead at intermission.
“I thought we got off to a really, really good start in the first half and put a little scare in them,” Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby said. “I think the end of first half and early part of the second half they were able to really extend that lead, and we were batting uphill from there.”
The run was fueled by Villanova’s veteran leaders. Grad student forward Jermaine Samuels had nine points, many around the rim, and grad student guard Collin Gillespie drained two 3-pointers.
“Stay the course, keep doing what we’re supposed to do. No matter what was going on, we were getting up and down, just making sure we were continuing to play Villanova basketball,” Gillespie said.
“We knew that was the possibility, just trying to figure out what they were doing, how they were guarding defensively and how they were attacking us offensively. So we were just telling each other stick together, 40-minute game, and that’s what we were going to do.”
Junior guard Justin Moore finished with 21 points to lead the Wildcats. Samuels finished with 15 points, and Gillespie had 14, including 4-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. Redshirt senior guard Cale Daniels tallied 13 points, and redshirt sophomore forward Eric Dixon scored 12.
Villanova caught fire from the perimeter, making 13 of 28 shots from behind the 3-point line.
“I think that was the difference in the game,” Ingelsby said of five Wildcats making 3-pointers.
Delaware’s leading scorer, junior guard Jameer Nelson Jr., couldn’t get on track in the first half, shooting 0 for 7 from the field. He had more success in the second half but managed just eight points, six below his average.
“He’s a great guard and really quick,” Moore said of defending Nelson. “That’s something that we’re not really used to, but I think it’s not just the person guarding the basketball. It’s the other four guys that help loading and making sure he doesn’t see a lot of space so he’s able to get where he wants.”
Freshman forward Jyare Davis led the Blue Hens with 17 points. Sophomore forward Andrew Carr added 13.
“So we go into every game to compete, and I think we did that today,” Davis said. “We have good teams in our conference. There’s good teams in those Power Five conferences, too. And I believe our group can compete with teams like that, and I think we showed that in different parts the game today even though we came up short.”