Philadelphia: We have reached the end of the regular season and there are those teams who think they have done enough to make the NCAA tournament. For Villanova, they needed a win to get them over the hump as they went to battle against Number 10 Creighton on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. Villanova needed this game to help increase their chances of making the NCAA tournament.
Lineup:
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) March 9, 2024
How the game went:
Creighton would come out and land the first major blow of the game with a 12-0 run before the Wildcats got on the board and there were plenty of BOOOOOs from the crowd. Creighton would be shooting the lights out as the lead got up to 24 with 9:46 left. The Wildcats would not go away and got the lead d0wn to to 34-20 with four minutes left in the 1st half. Mark Armstrong’s layup got the lead to 10 and Creighton responded with 3 3-pointers.
Creighton would take a 40-29 lead into halftime.
That was one of the worst halves of basketball that Villanova could have shown knowing that they needed this game to help their chances to make the NCAA Tournament.
Going into the second half, what could Villanova do to attempt to make a comeback?
Well, they got off to a fast start and their shots started to fall. Two separate times the lead got down to 10 and then the Wildcats would break through when Mark Armstrong made a basket and a foul, which gave everyone in the building the feeling that the Wildcats can pull off the comeback.
.@markarmstr0ng1 and-one💪 pic.twitter.com/oA53o5R4Yx
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) March 9, 2024
It would be a 12-0 run which saw the Wildcats get the lead down to just one.
ONE. POINT. GAME. @NovaMBB pic.twitter.com/UwtlpdouLp
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 9, 2024
Villanova’s Eric Dixon would get fouled from 3 PT tange and made all three foul shots with 23 seconds left. However, Creighton would come down and Trey Alexander would hit an impossible shot with 0.2 left for the 69-67 lead and Villanova would have one final chance.
It was no good as Creighton held on for a 69-67 win. Now the Wildcats are in deep water to have whatever chance of making the NCAA Tournament.
Overall, there were chances but Villanova just had very costly mistakes which saw them go down by 24 in the first half and have to fight their way back.
Postgame:
Villanova Coach Kyle Neptune:
Creighton Coach Greg McDermott:
Final Numbers:
What is Next:
Villanova will now head to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament to help their resume with a possible appearance in the NCAA Tournament on the line – or a return trip to the NIT.
