VIDENCE, R. I. – A shutdown defensive display that limited Providence to 23 percent shooting after halftime helped carry the No. 9/11 Villanova Wildcats to a 64-60 BIG EAST victory over the Friars before a sold out crowd at Dunkin Donuts Center Saturday.
 
Collin Gillespie led the Wildcats with 18 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 17 points – including three clutch free throws in the final minutes. Nova held off the Friars despite both of its primary ballhandlers, Gillespie and Justin Moore, having to play with four fouls in the second half and largely without Jermaine Samuels, who suffered a first half foot injury and returned only briefly in the second half.
 
"That's the Big East this year," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "That's what every one of our Big East games has been like. It's what makes this league great. That was one of the best college basketball environments in the country. You've got to play against them, you've got to play against the crowd, you've got to play against adversity.
 
"I'm so proud of young people handling adversity – missed free throws, foul trouble, we lose Jermaine to injury. Just difficult situations. If they learn that kind of stuff they're going to be really successful and happy. I love seeing that for them. The win is really nice too."
 
Wright said he wasn't sure what the exact injury was to Samuels.
 
"He tried to come back to start the second half but he couldn't jump. He was trying to play."
 
In spite of his foul trouble Gillespie again made critical plays at the offensive end when Nova needed him most. No shot may have been larger than the 3-pointer he dropped in after Providence had taken its first lead of the day at 49-48 on the strength of an 11-0 run midway through the second half.
 
"I just love being in situations with guys like this," noted Wright. "You never fear losing. You just fear if they're not going to respond, if it's going to crack them. It just doesn't crack these guys."
 
The Wildcats (16-3 overall, 6-1 BIG EAST) scored the game's first five points before the Friars responded with a 12-6 burst over the next seven minutes to grab a 12-11 lead at the 11:17 mark of the first half. A pair of 3-pointers from David Duke helped Providence get the lead while the Wildcats misfired on their first three attempts from beyond the arc.
 
Sophomore Saddiq Bey heated up midway through the period, draining two 3-pointers as part of a 10-point burst that helped Villanova claim a 24-18 advantage with 5:49 to go until halftime. Moore backed that up with 10 points of his own to help Villanova retain the lead at 29-25 as the contest dipped below three minutes to play in the first half.
 
A transition slam by Rhode Island native Cole Swider off a Wildcats' steal helped Villanova stretch its margin to 37-27. The Friars got the last three points of the period to close to within 37-30 at intermission. Bey and Moore paced the 'Cats with 10 points each. Providence outrebounded Nova 21-14 but VU offset that with 52 percent accuracy from the field (13-of-25).
 
Samuels limped to the sideline with 2:57 to play in the period. Though he did return to the game before halftime and again to begin the second half, he did not return to the game after being removed early in the second half.
 
The Wildcats limited Providence (11-10 overall, 4-4 BIG EAST) to 4-of-16 shooting from the field over the first 9:33 of the period, which helped them nudge their lead to 48-38. But Nova was just 4-of-12 in that same sequence and was also hurt by the Friars prowess on the offensive glass. The lead was 48-42 at the midpoint of the half.
 
When Luwane Pipkins sank a pair of free throws, Providence was back to within 48-47. A Nate Watson tip-in of a Pipkins miss gave the Friars their first lead of the day at 49-48. A Gillespie 3-pointer snapped Nova's scoring drought, though, and pushed the 'Cats back in front at 51-49 with 7:56 to play.
 
With the crowd of better than 12,000 on its feet, Villanova answered every challenge and emerged with its 12^th win in its last 13 outings.
 
Villanova's next test will come Tuesday night, when it meets St. John's at New York's Madison Square Garden (6:30 p.m./FS1 and 610 ESPN Radio).
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.