The Huskies toppled the Cats with a last-second bucket.
RJ Cole sunk the Villanova Wildcats on a bucket with five seconds and change to play. The UConn Huskies would then celebrate a 71-69 victory over the Top 10-ranked Wildcats, their first in the regular season since January 17, 2011.
Corey Fisher and Kemba Walker were the team’s leading scorers the last time UConn beat a Top-10 ranked Wildcat team. This time around, that honor goes to Collin Gillespie and Adama Sanogo. Sanogo led all scorers with 20 points on the evening. He went 8-for-14 from the field and shot 4-for-5 on free throws. Sanogo also chipped in six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, a steal, and zero turnovers in 34 minutes.
Gillespie’s 17 points were a terrific contribution. Just not enough for victory. Three others got into double figures for the Cats; Brandon Slater (15), Jermaine Samuels (13), Justin Moore (12). Caleb Daniels fell two points shy, scoring eight.
Only two other Huskies joined Sanogo in double figures. Hero RJ Cole dropped 12 points in while Isaiah Whaley chipped 13 points in. Tyler Polley and Tyrese Martin each scored nine points on the night as well.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 20-7 on the year. They’ve now won four games in a row against four teams ranked no worse than 62nd as of writing on KenPom. It could be argued this is the biggest win of the season for the Huskies since the 2OT win in Atlantis against Auburn. I think the Huskies were NCAA Tournament bound anyway, but this solidified their place no matter the result in the Big East Tourney.
‘Nova is obviously in no danger but now that game next Tuesday grows even more important. They host the Providence Friars and the Wildcats will be watching intently Tuesday night when PC takes on Xavier. The Wildcats are two games behind the Friars and that game could mean a whole lot with the way things are going.