UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Sometimes, a few words from an old friend, can serve as a helpful reminder.
 
"We actually watched something before the game where Mikal Bridges was saying, 'if I'm playing that hard, the younger guys are see me do it and they have to do it as well," stated Villanova graduate student Collin Gillespie. "So it's myself and Jermaine just trying to set the tone of playing hard, defending and rebounding."
 
On Saturday, it added up to one of the 'Cats most impressive defensive efforts in recent memory as they clamped down on No. 17 Tennessee to notch a 71-53 victory in the opening game of the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic held at Mohegan Sun Arena. Villanova limited the Volunteers to .333 shooting from the field on the day and forced 18 turnovers.
 
"We learned that from guys like Jalen (Brunson), Mikal, Phil (Booth), Eric (Paschall), Omari (Spellman) and Donte (DiVincenzo)."
 
Gillespie, Samuels and Brandon Slater each scored 14 points for the Wildcats, who never trailed.
 
"I thought we started off really well," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "We had a great first half. Of course, they weren't going to go away so we hung on for the second half. We'll take it. Whatever happens in these early season games, you have to learn from it. We'll learn a lot from this one.
 
"I'm proud of our first half."
 
Both teams grappled to find an offensive flow in the game's opening five minutes. There were a combined eight turnovers in the first 4:37 but the Wildcats came up with three made field goals and grabbed a 6-0 lead at the first official timeout. A Slater 3-pointer after the timeout pushed the 'Cats edge to 9-0.
 
Villanova's defense helped it build a 17-5 advantage midway through the first half, as it helped force eight Volunteers turnovers in that span. Tennessee (2-1 overall) shaved the gap to 17-9 before VU clamped down again at the defensive end. That resulted in a 12-0 spurt that included five Volunteers turnovers and the Wildcats had moved out to 31-11 lead with 3:26 to play in the first period.
 
The Wildcats closed the half with a Justin Moore fastbreak dunk off a feed from Jordan Longino. That gave them a 35-15 lead at halftime.
 
Villanova limited Tennessee to 5-of-22 shooting from the field over the first 20 minutes (.227), including 1-of-11 from beyond the 3-point arc (.091). The Wildcats connected on just 13-of-33 (.391) themselves but enjoyed an 11-2 edge in points off of turnovers.
 
Gillespie led Villanova with 10 first half points while Jermaine Samuels added nine.
 
Tennessee switched to a zone defense late in the first period and employed it again to open the second half. It helped power a 7-2 surge to start the second half that drew the Volunteers to within 37-22. Villanova, meanwhile, connected on 2-of-13 attempts from the field over the first seven minutes of the period before a Chris Arcidiacono 3-pointer from the wing pushed the advantage back to 42-24 at the 11:54 mark.
 
The Wildcats' lead never dipped below 15 the rest of the way.
 
Villanova got important contributions from reserves Caleb Daniels (seven points, four rebounds) and Arcidiacono (three points and two assists). The Wildcats also out-rebounded Tennessee 41-28, led by Samuels (11 boards) and Justin Moore (seven caroms).
 
"When you watched film of Tennessee," said Wright, "you know they're very good. This wasn't easy, trust me. The score might look that way but that was a very tough team. And we know the team we are going to get Sunday will be a tough, physical team.
 
"It's a hard thing to do. That's the challenge each night, to play at that level."
 
Villanova will play in the title game of the Naismith Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic against the winner of Saturday's second game between No. 6 ranked Purdue and No. 18 North Carolina. That contest is set for 1 p.m. and will air on ABC nationally – 6ABC in Philadelphia – and can be heard on the VU Radio Network (Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby).