PHILADELPIA, Pa. – On a day when it welcomed back some of its most notable legends – and retired the jerseys of Jim Washington and Allan Ray – Villanova delivered a new memory for a sellout crowd of 20,706 at the Wells Fargo Center.
 
The Wildcats used a late rally to knock off No. 1 Kansas 56-55.
 
Junior Jermaine Samuels dropped in the game-winning 3-pointer with 20 seconds left and the 'Cats then got two defensive stops to seal the win. A critical steal and bucket by Collin Gillespie with Villanova trailing 53-49 and 1:11 on the clock also aided the effort. Samuels finished with 15 points while Gillespie ended the day with 12 points and a pair of assists.
 
The Wildcats were just 22-of-63 (.349) from the field on the day but held a team that arrived here averaging 85 points per game 30 points below its average.
 
"Just a great college basketball game," said Villanova head coach Jay Wright, on a day when the Wildcats improved to 9-2 overall. "They deserve so much credit for coming into this environment, to play like they did and execute down the stretch like they did. That's why they're the No. 1 team in the country. We have the greatest respect for them.
 
"We were fortunate. Sometimes we've played well enough and lost a late one. There were two great defensive plays by Collin and Saddiq (Bey) in the last few minutes that allowed us to get a win."
 
Gritty defense was the order of the day early in this one. The Jayhawks (9-2 overall, 0-0 Big Twelve) led 4-2 at the first official timeout and after 8:25 the Kansas lead was 11-7. The Wildcats limited KU to 5-of-13 shooting from the floor in that stretch but faced their own challenges at the other end, sinking 3-of-11 to open the game.
 
An 8-0 burst midway through the period after the Jayhawks had stretched their margin to 14-7 pushed Nova back in front, 15-14. Made 3-pointers from Cole Swider and Justin Moore fueled the burst that led to a called Kansas timeout with 7:51 left in the first period.
 
Nearly eight minutes later, the game was still deadlocked, this time at 23.
 
Villanova used another 8-0 run to regain the lead at 37-31 with 13:02 to play in the second half. But the Jayhawks scored six straight points and the contest was even at 37.
 
It would remain nip and tuck the rest of the way. The Wildcats held a 48-44 lead with 7:42 left but Kansas responded. At the final official timeout of the afternoon, the contest was tied at 51.
 
Baskets by Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun gave the Jayhawks a 55-51 lead with 1:49 to play. Then came the Gillespie steal. The junior knocked the basketball away from Kansas guard Devon Dotson, collected it, and dribbled to the other end to finish with a basket with 1:11 left.
 
That set the stage for Samuels' heroics.
 
"We were running a play for me and Collin," explained Samuels of the sequence. "I saw Collin starting to go to attack. Coach tells us to be ready to catch to shoot. If there's a three there you've got to be ready to take it. I stepped into it and shot if confidently."
 
Villanova got one stop and regained possession. However, Kansas had yet to reach the foul limit and the Wildcats were forced to make three consecutive in-bounds passes against full court pressure. The Jayhawks forced a turnover on the third one, near mid-court, giving KU possession with 11.2 seconds left.
 
A Dotson attempt bounced off the rim just before the horn sounded and the Wildcats had another epic win to go with so many that have preceded it.
 
"We would have learned a lot from this game, whether it had been a win or a loss," stated Wright. "But it was nice to be able to do this on Alumni Day."
 
Eighty one former Wildcats, spanning the years from 1956-2018, were on hand to watch this one.
 
The Wildcats will hit the pause button for a short holiday break before resuming action on Monday, Dec. 30 when Xavier will be at Finneran Pavilion for the BIG EAST regular season opener. Tipoff is set for 6:31 p.m. (FS1 and 610 ESPN Radio).  For those interested in attending the Men's Basketball game vs Xavier please visit Vivid Seats, our Official Resale marketplace. Tickets are available here.
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.