Villanova thumps Providence, 71-56

Despite trailing early, Villanova triumphed over Providence on Saturday.

The Wildcats defeated the Friars 71-56 at Finneran Pavilion, improving to 10-1 in the process. They have yet to feel the heat in Big East play, as they are a perfect 5-0 and are rolling even after pausing due to COVID-19 issues.

‘Nova picked up four double-figure performances on the afternoon. Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore led with 15 points apiece, while Caleb Daniels and Jermaine Samuels chipped in 12 and 10. It was your standard, all-around good performance for Villanova, although their shooting was poorish. They shot just 44.7 percent on 2s and 28 percent on 3s. There’s plenty of reasons why that could be, but even without efficient shooting, they were still able to pick up the win.

They did that in large because of turnovers. Or, a lack thereof in their case. They committed nine to Providence’s 19, a ghastly mark for the visiting Friars to say the least. The Wildcats made them pay, scoring 17 points off those turnovers, while Providence could only amount to seven points off the nine turnovers committed.

Providence was led by Alyn Breed, who scored a game-high 18 points in the loss. Breed also had 11 rebounds, along with four assists and just one turnover. Nate Watson couldn’t follow up his dominant performance earlier in the week, as he scored just 10 points. David Duke scored 10 and, like Breed, had 11 rebounds on the afternoon.

Funnily enough, this game had a lighting delay. The Friars have certainly had their fair share of odd delays, and made light of as much during the game:

At this juncture, Providence is currently scheduled to face Marquette on Wednesday. Villanova, meanwhile, is currently scheduled to face UConn on Thursday.