The Villanova Wildcats shook off some early cobwebs to get past the Providence Friars and advance to the semi-finals of the Big East Tournament.
The story of the game is the appearance of an aggressive Villanova defense that has not been seen much this year. The Wildcats’ defense, for the most part, was sharp, turning the Friars over 19 times. Jermaine Samuels had a strong defensive performance, tallying 4 steals, while finishing the day with 0 personal fouls.
The Wildcats rode this defensive efforts, and the transition points yielded as a result, to a 31-24 halftime lead.