HARTFORD, Conn. – A drive to the basket by UConn's RJ Cole with 5.9 seconds left lifted No. 21 Connecticut to a 71-69 victory over No. 8 Villanova before a sellout crowd tonight here at the XL Center. UConn scored the last six points after the Wildcats built a 69-65 lead with 31.4 seconds left.
 
Collin Gillespie led Villanova (21-7 overall, 14-4 BIG EAST) with 17 points while Brandon Slater added 15 points. Adama Sanogo paced the Huskies (20-7 overall, 11-5 BIG EAST) with 20 points.
 
"That was a great college basketball game," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "That was an awesome environment. It was an honor to be a part of it. It just came down to a couple of plays down the stretch. There were two great teams battling and down the stretch they made plays. We didn't make the plays."
 
The Huskies Tyler Polley drained a deep 3-pointer off a set play with 25 second left to close a 69-65 gap to one point. UConn then trapped Gillespie and tied him up. The play was whistled as a jump ball and the possession arrow favored the Huskies. That set up Cole's game-winner.
 
"You've got to give them credit," said Wright. "Cole made a great play, Sanogo made two free throws. We missed a free throw and got a jump ball. That's what it came down to. That's what tough road games in the Big East come down to."
 
Connecticut opened the game with a dunk off a set play and followed that by dropping in four of its next five attempts, including two from beyond the 3-point arc, to build a 12-6 advantage four minutes into the first half. Baskets by Collin Gillespie and Brandon Slater helped VU shave the deficit to 14-13 after Caleb Daniels sank a corner 3-pointer nearly seven minutes into the period.
 
A 7-0 burst, capped by a Slater 3-pointer, gave Villanova its first lead of the night at 20-19 midway through the half. A Jalen Gaffney 3-pointer put UConn back into the lead and ended the spurt.
 
The hot shooting of the early moments cooled as both teams defenses settled in. The Huskies held a 24-23 lead at the 4:53 mark when UConn coach was whistled for two technical fouls and ejected. Gillespie converted three of the four free throws awarded to put the Wildcats up 26-24. Samuels then dropped in his second 3-pointer of the night, this one from the left corner, to extend the VU edge to 29-24 before UConn answered with a triple by RJ Cole. A putback basket by Isaiah Whaley for UConn tied the game at 29.
 
Points remained hard to come by over the final three minutes. Connecticut took a 33-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Samuels led a balanced Villanova attack with eight points over the first 20 minutes. The Wildcats connected on 11-of-22 first half field goal attempts and held a 16-12 edge on the glass but were on the wrong end of the turnover battle (eight for the Wildcats to one for UConn).
 
The Wildcats scored the first points of the second half on a pair of Eric Dixon free throws before Tyrese Martin dropped in 3-pointers on consecutive possessions for the Huskies to make it 39-34. When Whaley sank two free throws for UConn at the 17:21 mark the lead was 43-36. A Slater 3-pointer from the top of the key drew VU back to within 43-39.
 
Villanova chipped away and got to within 51-50 at the 11:38 mark after a Gillespie 3-pointer from the right wing. The Wildcats moved in front after a Gillespie 3-pointer off a pass from Samuels at 56-54 before RJ Cole's jumper tied the contest at 56 with just under seven minutes to play.
 
A Polley 3-pointer in transition put the Huskies up 59-56. Baskets by Daniels and Moore gave the 'Cats a 60-59 edge. Whaley then sank two free throws to give UConn the lead at 61-60 with 4:11 on the clock.
 
A huge 3-pointer by Samuels gave Villanova a 65-61 lead but the Huskies' Sanogo scored the next four points to tie the game at 65 with 1:47 left in regulation. Two Gillespie free throws gave Villanova a 67-65 lead and the Wildcats followed that with a defensive stop. Two Slater free throws with 47 seconds left pushed the lead to 69-65.
 
But Polley sank a 3-pointer after a timeout with 25 seconds and the Huskies forced a backcourt turnover with 17.5 seconds to go, giving them possession.
 
"They got a three off and Polley is a big-time shot maker," said Samuels.
 
A runner by RJ Cole gave UConn the lead at 70-69.
 
"We did what we were supposed to do on defense," added Samuels. "Cole made a great play."
 
The Wildcats could not convert on the ensuing possession and the Huskies got one more free throw with .2 seconds left to make the final count 71-69.
 
"It was a physical, tough battle," said Gillespie. "They made a couple of more plays down the stretch and that's what it came down to."
 
Villanova will get six days off before its next BIG EAST clash. The Wildcats are set to host BIG EAST leader No. 11 Providence at 6:30 p.m. on March 1 at Finneran Pavilion. Please note the game time change as this was originally listed as a 7 p.m. start. The game will air on FS1 and the Villanova IHeart Radio network.