PHILADELPHIA, PA – On Saturday, Jan. 17, Villanova men’s basketball was outpowered by St. John’s in an 86-79 defeat at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Villanova (14-4, 5-2, Big East) hosted St. John’s (13-5, 6-1, Big East) in South Philadelphia for the first time since the 2018 season. Despite losing the lead midway through the first half, the Wildcats attempted to use a number of scoring runs to keep it a competitive game. However, St. John’s size and physicality limited Villanova’s ability to create offensive possessions and get stops on defense.
“Some of the things that have hurt us in the past hurt us again tonight,” Villanova head coach Kevin Willard said. “We gotta continue to clean it up.”
The Wildcats were 25-for-54 (46%) from field goal range, 11-for-26 (42%) from beyond the arc and shot 18-for-24 (75%) from the foul line.
Junior guard Tyler Perkins led the Wildcats with a season-high 23 points along with five rebounds. Senior guard Devin Askew came off the bench with 21 points, marking his third consecutive game with double-digits. Askew is averaging 18 points over the last three games.
Willard faced off against former colleague Rick Pitino, the current head coach of St. John’s. Before Villanova, Willard worked under Pitino with the Boston Celtics as an associate head coach, as well as at the University of Louisville.
The student section was packed for the first South Philadelphia game of the season. Even the iconic Bananas from the 2024-25 season returned to make their first appearance in the Willard era.
Senior forward Duke Brennan opened up the game with a quick layup. He ended the night with nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Both teams went back and forth throughout the first ten minutes of play. Hodge added a three-pointer. Perkins sank one soon after, and Palmer added a third to go up 13-9, yet St. John’s remained close behind.
St. John’s began to fight back around the nine-minute mark. They scored 6 of 8 of their last baskets, whereas the Wildcats went 4:31 without a field goal.
Villanova’s scoring drought continued, and it shot 1-for-8 while St. John’s pulled ahead.
Askew got things going by hitting a three-pointer with three minutes remaining in the half. He sank another with 37 seconds to go, cutting St.John’s lead to just one point.
St. John’s missed a field goal with nine seconds to go, and Villanova was able to get the ball back but narrowly missed both the shot attempt and the second chance opportunity.
Villanova headed into the locker room down one point, trailing St. John’s, 36-35.
Askew led in scoring with 10 points in the first half. The team went 10-for-27 (37.0%) from field goal range and 5-for-14 (35.7%) from the three-point line.
St. John’s opened up the second half with a 14-2 run over 3:26. Villanova also committed three turnovers in a span of three minutes.
“To only be down one and then we come out the second half and have those two quick turnovers,” said Willard. “It kind of killed us.”
Sophomore guard Malachi Palmer and Perkins ended Villanova’s scoring drought, sinking back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to 13 points. Lindsay hit another three to put the Wildcats within 10, capping off a 6-0 scoring run over 45 seconds.
St. John’s quickly grabbed an and-one bucket to maintain a 13-point lead over Villanova.
The ‘Cats continued to fight, making five of their last seven field goals. With eight minutes left to play, Perkins drained a three-pointer to put Villanova within 7 points. However, St.John’s quickly answered back with a score of its own.
Both teams went back-and-forth as the Wildcats drew an and-one bucket, scoring on seven of their last nine attempts. Perkins scored on a mid-range jump-shot to put Villanova back in the game, cutting its deficit to five points. St.John’s was able to answer again with a quick score on the other end.
Villanova went on a three-minute scoring drought after Perkins’ field goal. St. John’s hit a three-pointer with four minutes to go to put them back up 11 points.
Fans slowly began to trickle out of the stands with minutes remaining, but the Wildcats continued to hang on. With just under two minutes left in regulation, Askew drained a three-pointer to put Villanova back within five points. Hodge grabbed a rebound on the next play off a missed three-point attempt from St. John’s to keep the ‘Cats alive.
Askew drove in for a layup and just barely missed. A Matt Hodge foul sent St. John’s to the free-throw line. It sank two foul shots, extending the Red Storm’s lead by seven points with one minute left to go.
A full court drive and a layup from Perkins put Villanova back within five points.
The game was sealed with a St.John’s layup and a missed three-pointer from Perkins. The final score was 86-79.
“This group, they have a great attitude, “ Willard said. “They work hard. We’re gonna have some bumps in the road.”
St.John’s was led by senior forward Bryce Hopkins, who had 20 points and six rebounds.
Villanova will now host Georgetown (9-9, 1-6 Big East) on Wednesday, Jan. 27 (7 p.m., Peacock/NCBSP). Last season, Villanova was swept by Georgetown in the regular season for the first time since.
