On Saturday, Feb. 21, shades of white filled the Xfinity Mobile Arena as thousands of fans poured into the sold-out stadium to ultimately watch Villanova fall to the No.5 University of Connecticut, 73-63, after a shortcoming second half.
The loss ends Villanova’s (21-6, 12-4 Big East) six game win-streak and restarts UConn’s (25-3, 15-2 Big East) winning streak after its most recent loss to unranked Creighton (14-14, 8-9 Big East) on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
“On the road we have such a different mentality. We’ve really struggled at home at times,” Head Coach Kevin Willard said. “This is really only our second time in this building. The crowd was unbelievable…We didn’t take advantage of [it] when the crowd was going early. But sometimes guys don’t have it going, or they [UConn] got into us pretty well, we missed a couple of layups, we missed a couple of free throws and it just snowballs.”
In their previous battle on Jan. 24, the Wildcats fell short in overtime, 75-67.
Junior guard Tyler Perkins led the Wildcats, scoring 15 points. Redshirt freshman forward Matt Hodge followed, with 13 points and freshman guard Acaden Lewis totaled 11 points.
Three Huskies totaled double-digit points. Alex Karaban scored 12, senior center Tarris Reed Jr. scored 11 points and freshman guard Braylon Mullins added 10 points.
Villanova went 24-for-59 (41%) on field goal attempts, 6-for-24 on three-pointers (25%) and 9-for-14 (64%) at the free throw line. In comparison, UConn went 28-for-51 (55%) on field goal attempts, 6-for-19 on three-pointers (32%) and 11-for-13 (85%) at the free throw line.
Following tip-off, Perkins took control, scoring the Wildcat’s first eight points.
The teams traded points and neither managed to pull away from the other with a lead larger than four points in the game’s opening ten minutes.
Mid-way through the first half, UConn found the largest lead of the half, 23-18.
Shortly after, Villanova called a timeout.
Lewis rediscovered momentum for the ‘Cats, immediately scoring five of his 11 first-half points.
With just over six minutes left in the half, important plays from the ‘Cats including a Perkins dunk and Hodge rebound generated energy from the crowd before Villanova took the lead 30-27.
In response, the Huskies went on a six point run, giving them the 34-32 advantage at halftime.
“I thought we had good opportunities [in the first half] to open up a lead, but we couldn’t take advantage of them,” Willard said. “We had a couple of shots…that you have to make against UConn.”
Following the intermission, UConn pulled a 10-0 scoring run over 3:57, making the score 47-34.
“The same thing happened against St. John’s, so it was very deflating,” Willard said about the change of pace following halftime. “But you have to give them [UConn] credit. They’re an older team that will oppose your will at times.”
Villanova struggled with turnovers in the half’s early minutes, committing three over a period of 3:11.
“We didn’t come out with enough urgency,” Perkins said. “I feel like they set the tone at the half.”
Sophomore guard Malachi Palmer and redshirt freshman center Braden Pierce helped Villanova end their scoring drought. However, not long after, the Huskies responded with a 7-0 scoring run over 1:28, giving UConn a 15-point advantage with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
Reed, Karaban and junior forward Jaylin Steward rallied the Husky offense, extending their margin of victory to the largest of the game, 21 points.
In the game’s closing minutes, the Wildcats managed to cut down their deficit, ending the game, 73-63.
“Every once in a while you get your a** kicked,” Willard said. “You have to bounce back. It’s not the end of the world.”
The Wildcats are now scheduled to host Butler University (15-13, 10-6 Big East) at home on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The game is the second to last of the season at the Finneran Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on FS1.
