City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
--

The Villanova crowd was stunned, almost silent.

After several years of watching their Wildcats blow out opponent after opponent at home, they expected more of the same against Big 5 rival Saint Joseph’s, a young squad which came into the annual Holy War on a three-game losing streak.

And yet, midway through the first half, not only was St. Joe’s hanging with ‘Nova -- the Hawks were winning, albeit by only three points. Those in attendance weren’t sure how to react.

Luckily for them, however, the team they were there to support certainly did.

A massive push to close out the first half got No. 2 Villanova back on track, and the home crowd was sent home happy after witnessing a 88-57 win in the 2016 edition of the long-running rivalry.

Six Wildcats scored in double figures, led by senior Kris Jenkins’ 20 points, though it was his classmate Josh Hart who had easily the best game -- 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, for the first triple-double of his career and first by a ‘Nova player since 1986.

“The guy is so complete,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said of the 6-foot-5 wing out of Sidwell Friends (D.C.), who passed up the NBA to return to ‘Nova for his senior year. “I just believe he’s gonna be a great player at the next level because of that, and sometimes they don’t look at that, they look at ‘What’s your one skill?’ I think this guy is as complete a player as there is in the country.”

It’s now 16 wins in a row in Big 5 play for Villanova (8-0, 2-0 Big 5), which is looking to capture the city title for the fourth consecutive season, a feat none of the other four programs have pulled off in the series’ 60-plus year history.

And it’s been blowout after blowout in the series of late for the Wildcats; their last Big 5 game that was within single digits was a 65-61 win over St. Joe’s in 2012. The 31-point margin of victory on Saturday was their largest against any city team during the current run.

Those who look only at the final score, however, wouldn’t know that the outcome was anything but decided through the game’s opening 15 minutes.

Saint Joseph’s (3-4) certainly didn’t play like a team starting two freshmen and two sophomores against the defending national champions out of the gate, matching ‘Nova almost blow-for-blow for the opening 10 minutes. The Villanova faithful grew quieter and quieter with every Hawks bucket, relapsing into loud moments at a Wildcat 3-pointer or dunk -- but otherwise, there was a nervous feeling in the Pavilion.

When SJU sophomore Lamarr Kimble (team-high 15 points) dropped back-to-back buckets just past the seven-minute mark, it was a 27-24 Hawks lead.

“I think St. Joe’s started with better intensity,” Wright said. “They’re a good young team...I think after time, older guys like [seniors] Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds and Josh Hart, just having older guys makes a big difference in this game. But I think their young guys are gonna be really good.”

That senior leadership kicked in at that point, as Villanova absolutely dominated the closing 24 minutes of the contest.

A 14-0 run at that point established the Wildcats’ first double-digit advantage, and it was a 20-4 spurt in total to close out the first half with a 44-31 lead. That momentum continued straight through the break; it was a 20-point lead three minutes into the second half, and St. Joe’s never got closer than 18 the rest of the way.

“They came out and they had a lot of energy, but we were able to wear them out over the course of 40 minutes, and we know that’s what it’s going to take,” Jenkins said. “We’re not always going to come out and jump on a team right away, but as long as we stick to our core values and continue to grind it out for 40 minutes, that’s gonna give us the best chance.”

Reynolds, the team’s starting forward, added 13 points and six rebounds. Villanova won the rebounding battle 42-34, with an advantage in second-chance points (15-12) and points in the paint (28-20) as well.

The Wildcats also tied a season high with 16 made 3-pointers on 34 attempts, a nifty 47.1 percent conversation rate from beyond the arc.

“They did a good job taking away the 3, but as awe started breaking down the defense and making the extra pass, I think that really contributed,” Wright said. “If we pass the ball well -- most teams, you shoot the ball well. You get good shots.”

With the win and a loss by No. 1 Kentucky (to UCLA), Villanova looks primed to rise to the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll for the second season in a row.

Even though the Wildcats are already the defending national champions, Wright acknowledged that having that number back next to their name was still “something to deal with.”

“Thank God we’ve experienced that already,” he said. “Last year we didn’t know what to do about it. I thought it was great last year, we got out of town right away, but when we got back I thought it affected us a little bit. Not too bad, but you have to deal with it. Hopefully if it happens we’ll be better, if it doesn’t happen we’ll be fine.”