Quick Report: Villanova 70, St. John's 57

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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The last trip to the Garden didn’t go too well for No. 3 Villanova as the Big East heavyweights were upended by Seton Hall in the conference postseason tournament. The Wildcats’ biggest opponent was themselves on Saturday as they battled a rough shooting stretch and untimely turnovers to top St. John’s 70-57.

At first…
Jay Wright could not have been happy with his team’s play on the either side of the court coming out the gate. The Wildcats missed nine of their first 11 attempts from the field, meanwhile their counterparts jumped out to an impressive 5-for-5 start, including a pair of 3-pointers from Bashir Ahmed on back-to-back possessions, to take a 12-6 lead five minutes into the Big East showdown.

Villanova maintained its aggressive approach, pushing the Red Storm with relentless attacks on the basket and the rewards slowly but surely came in for the reigning national champions. Foul trouble plagued freshman standout Shamorie Ponds — he picked up his second whistle with 16:45 left in the half before taking an extended rest on the bench. Jalen Brunson’s dribble penetration began breaking down the Johnnies offense and the floodgates opened as Villanova hit seven of its last 13 shots after going 4-of-13 to open the game.

Turning Point…
Separation between these two teams was rare, which is a positive for the rebuilding St. John’s program. But 40 minutes proved to be too much time for the young Johnnies to hang with an experienced Villanova team. Ponds came alive in the second half, playing through foul trouble, and connected on a 3-pointer in front the St. John’s bench to cut what was once a double-digit lead to a 53-48 ball game with 6:58 to play.

The poised Wildcats remained calm down the stretch however, piecing a quick 6-0 run — courtesy of a slam by Eric Paschall, a floater from Hart then a step-in 3 by Jenkins — to quiet the storm and regain their double-digit lead. While St. John’s threw its full-court press on to stop the bleeding, Villanova had little trouble advancing the ball to find a wide open Divencenzo for a clinching dunk to take a 62-49 lead.

Standout Stars…
Donte Divencenzo continued his strong play as of late into Saturday’s contest and sparked the Wildcats’ strong finish to the first half with 10 points in the opening period. Kris Jenkins picked up two early fouls, which forced Jay Wright to his bench and Divencenzo rewarded his coach with 19 points on 7-of-10 (3-of-5 3-PT) in 31 minutes of play.

Noteworthy numbers…
28: These two teams entered the contest on opposite stages of their historic programs existence. Villanova is reloading following a national championship and St. John’s is facing a clear rebuild. That difference showed in productivity from the bench as the Wildcats received 28 points from Divencenzo and Paschall while Hart and Jenkins (a combined 5-of-23) struggled. St. John’s received just six points from the four non-starters that entered the contest.

Up Next:
Villanova (17-1, 5-1 Big East) vs. Seton Hall (12-5, 2-3), Monday, Jan. 16, 6:30 p.m.