Villanova's Brandon Slater goes up for a shot towards Greg Williams throughout St. John's 73-62 loss.
AP
VILLANOVA, Pa. — The constructive vibes lasted all of 10 minutes for St. John’s on Saturday. Then, actuality hit within the type of an avalanche of 3-pointers and an aimless half-court offense.
All of the optimism from the blowout victory Monday over Seton Corridor rapidly dissolved. St. John’s wasn’t going to tug off one other upset. As a substitute, the frustration that had preceded the win over the Pirates returned in a 73-62 loss to Villanova.
The No. 14 Wildcats rode a 16-0, first-half run to the straightforward victory at jammed Finneran Pavilion. Julian Champagnie’s capturing struggles continued, Posh Alexander was ineffective, and the press, which labored so properly towards Seton Corridor, was sliced aside by the sharpshooting Wildcats.
“We allowed their guys to actually use the 3-point line as a weapon, which we all know that’s the power of their basketball crew,” St. John’s coach Mike Anderson stated. “When it comes to staying with their folks, we didn’t do a very good job of that. We did a a lot better job of that within the second half.”
By then, with the offense unable to get again on observe, it was too late.
Villanova (16-5, 9-2 Huge East) made it a half-court recreation, and St. John’s (11-8, 3-5) struggled mightily on the offensive finish. The Pink Storm had been stagnant, settling for poor photographs. They had been unable to get into the paint. Possessions often lacked route and cohesion, ending in desperation drives because the shot clock wound down.
Champagnie’s droop continued within the type of a nine-point efficiency, his third straight recreation in single digits after 47 in a row scoring a minimum of 10 factors. He was 0-for-4 from 3-point vary and is 4-for-23 from deep in his final 5 video games.
“He’s getting photographs. He’s simply received to have the ability to knock them down,” Anderson stated after his crew fell to 1-6 in Quad 1 video games. “I [have] received all the religion in him. It’ll come to him. … Clearly, we'd like that scoring punch he offers us.”
The junior wasn’t alone. The Pink Storm had been 4-for-21 from 3-point vary. They shot a worse share from the free-throw line (47.1 p.c) than Villanova did from 3-point vary (47.8). Solely Montez Mathis scored in double figures, ending with 14 factors.
“We didn’t make ours, and so they made theirs,” Anderson stated. “Folks don’t speak about their protection [enough]. Their protection is fairly good.”
Villanova shot simply 30 p.c from the sector within the second half, and it didn’t matter. St. John’s couldn’t get nearer than 9 till the ultimate minutes, and by no means threatened.
Afterward, Anderson stated he was inspired by the end, nevertheless it was beauty. The Wildcats had been on cruise management.
St. John’s did begin properly, holding Villanova to 4 factors and 1-for-9 capturing over the primary 7:20. The Pink Storm held a six-point lead. Then, every little thing went mistaken.
Villanova received sizzling from deep. St. John’s threw the ball away. The Wildcats beat the strain and used it towards the Pink Storm, working the ball across the perimeter for wide-open seems. The lead didn’t simply vanish, Villanova almost ran away with it and hid. The Wildcats ripped off that 16-0 run and led by as many as 18, torching St. John’s from past the arc. The lead was 14 on the half, and the end result was all however decided.
“With [their] strain, you must [make them pay] to be good towards them,” stated Villanova’s star guard, Collin Gillespie, who scored a game-high 17 factors.
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