In the final dress rehearsal before conference play, Villanova (9-2) got a much needed, resume-building win on a “neutral” floor in Milwaukee against Wisconsin. It is the first win above a Quad 3 for the Wildcats
this year.
This was a game of runs. Villanova got off to a great start, leading 35-22 at the half. Through the first 12 minutes of the second half, the Wildcats maintained a 12-point lead. From that point forward, Wisconsin went on an 18-6 run to force overtime. Luckily for Villanova the final run was theirs, outscoring the Badgers 20-10 in the extra period.
Leading the ‘Cats in scoring was Tyler Perkins, who contributed 19 points on the night. The shooting doesn’t jump out at first (6/17), but don’t let that fool you. Perkins was making timely plays all night. The other MVP on the night was Matt Hodge, who scored 15 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and had a season-high 3 blocks. Hodge was scoring at all three levels in this one.
Duke Brennan had his fourth double-double on the year, scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds on a team-high 39 minutes played. Braden Pierce had a solid 4-minute stretch in the first half though that should not be overlooked.
Overtime belonged to Bryce Lindsay, who scored 10 of his 12 points to help salt the game away for Villanova. Lindsay started off quickly with two three-pointers, which combined with a Hodge free throw helped the Wildcats score the first seven points of overtime. You could tell Wisconsin lost some of its spirit after the second deep shot.
The Badgers were led by 7’ Nolan Winter, who scored a season-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Coming into the game, Winter had a combined 3 threes on the season. Naturally, he went 4/6 from deep against Villanova. Wisconsin as a team went 10/23 from range (43.5%), so the ‘Cats are back to their old ways of struggling to defend the long ball. Winter, Nick Boyd, John Blackwell and Andrew Rohde combined to score all but 4 points for the Badgers.
Chris Jeffrey missed the game for the Wildcats, and unfortunately will be missing for the foreseeable future after having orthopedic surgery on his knee. Despite this, Zion Stanford continued to not look like he was going to potentially enter the game. Villanova is likely looking at a tight 8-9 man rotation going forward.
Conference play starts on Tuesday, December 23 at Seton Hall. This will be Kevin Willard’s first return trip since leaving to coach Maryland. The Pirates are a surprise at 11-1 to start the season.
