Box Score NEW YORK, N.Y. – For the second time in as many nights, Jermaine Samuels overcame a balky back to help lead the No. 2 seed Villanova Wildcats past the No. 3 seed Connecticut Huskies 63-60 in a BIG EAST Tournament semifinal Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
 
The Wildcats (25-7 overall) will meet the No. 4 seed Creighton Bluejays at 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening.
 
Samuels finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds while logging 30:30 minutes. Brandon Slater added 15 points and a highlight reel blocked shot at a key point in the second half to help key the triumph. Collin Gillespie dished out 10 assists while attempting just five field goals.
 
"To get this win means a lot," said Gillespie. "It's one of the reasons why I came back. Not being able to experience in the last two years. It's just so much fun to be out there with my teammates and coaches. I really just enjoy it."
 
The Wildcats used a lineup devoid a traditional center for most of the night, leaning instead on quickness and Samuels ability to hold his own inside at the defensive end against UConn's substantial size inside.
 
"We try to play Villanova Basketball," said Slater. "We don't try to focus on what their strength is but on what we need to do."
 
The teams traded 3-pointers in the game's opening minutes, with Jermaine Samuels dropping in two for the Wildcats. The Huskies added three of their own to claim an 11-9 lead at the first official timeout of the night, 5:48 into the first half. The Wildcats' fourth triple – a corner shot from Jordan Longino – gave it back the lead at 12-11.
 
A 6-0 Husky spurt midway through the period allowed UConn to craft a 21-17 lead. Slater then sank Nova's first two-point basket of the night – its first five buckets came from distance – to close the gap to 21-19 with 7:13 left in the first half.
 
Two more deep balls – one each by Samuels and Slater – helped Villanova build a 30-25 edge with 3:28 on the first half clock. Eight of Villanova's first 10 field goals came from long distance.
UConn scored the next seven points before Samuels sank a driving layup and was fouled in the act of shooting. He made the free throw and that gave the Wildcats a 33-32 lead at halftime.
 
Samuels led the way with 12 points while Slater chipped in with 10 points in the first 20 minutes. Villanova was 8-of-19 from beyond the arc and none were made by the Wildcats leaders in that category, Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore.
 
Tyrese Martin paced the Huskies with 10 points. UConn enjoyed a 19-11 rebounding advantage in the first 20 minutes.
 
Moore came up with four points early in the second half and Slater came through with another 3-pointer, to help VU build a 42-40 advantage after 5:50 of the period was played. When Eric Dixon dropped in a 3-pointer off a nifty feed from Gillespie – his seventh assist of the night – the Wildcats had stretched their lead to 52-44.
 
The Huskies came right back, though, scoring five straight to close to within 52-49 as the contest neared the eight minute mark of the second half. Villanova then got four straight points from Samuels, the last on a fast break feed from Gillespie, to help establish a 56-49 lead before Adama Sanogo's short jumper narrowed the margin to 56-51 with 6:15 on the clock.
 
The Wildcats pushed their edge to 60-53 with just under three minutes left. UConn scored the next four points, however, closing to within 60-57 on a Sanogo putback with 54.5 seconds to play in the period. Samuels made two free throws with 15.4 seconds left after grabbing a huge offensive rebound earlier in the possession. After a UConn added a 3-pointer with 8.6 seconds left, Gillespie made one more free throw with 3.0 seconds remaining.
 
UConn was unable to get a shot off before time expired, giving the Wildcats their sixth appearance in a BIG EAST Tournament Final since 2015.
 
"It was one of those games where it felt like whoever had the ball last would win," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "We never felt like we had control. Sanogo was so tough inside but if you put too much pressure on him inside, Martin hits 3's. Cole was making plays. We had a good balance of playing tough inside as a team while also controlling their perimeter guys.
 
"They're an outstanding team. They took away Justin and Collin. If they had egos, and just wanted to get their points, they would have beaten us. But when they doubled Collin, he just found people. You've got to have other players make plays. Slate and Jermaine Samuels did that. Collin read what they were doing and found the open man. That's what makes us a good team and makes him a great player."