By Brandon Walker for Urban Media Today
Villanova’s tournament hopes brightened in D.C. on Saturday as they secured a significant victory against Georgetown, ending the Hoyas’ four-game winning streak. Acaden Lewis led all scorers with 26 points, making many clutch shots that helped lead his team to an 80-73 win at the Capital One Arena. With this win, Villanova is likely to move into the top 25 rankings in the next installment of the AP and Coaches Poll.
Caleb Williams and KJ Lewis made two free throws each to start the game for Georgetown (13-11, 5-8 Big East), answered with a three-pointer by Lewis for Villanova (18-5, 9-3 Big East). Malik Mack and Lewis exchanged baskets as there were a lot of whistles being blown at the onset of the matchup between the two conference rivals. Julius Halaifonua and Lewis made three-point plays for the Hoyas to gain a slight advantage. However, Braden Pierce made a couple of baskets to keep Villanova within striking distance at the first media timeout, with Georgetown leading 17-15.
Vince Iwuchukwu and Jayden Fort made consecutive tough baskets, but it was followed by a basket by Chris Jeffrey. The action started to slow down as the lead changed hands with baskets by Duke Brennan and Lewis, with Georgetown leading by one at 28-27 at the Under-8 media timeout. Lewis made a three-pointer to break the field goal drought for both teams. Iwuchukwu made back-to-back baskets to put Georgetown up six at 37-31 with three minutes left in the half. After free throws inched Villanova closer, Kayvan Mulready made a three-point basket to help maintain a slight advantage at halftime.
End of the first half: Georgetown 40, Villanova 37
Matt Hodge and Tyler Perkins began the second half with three-pointers for Villanova, followed by a three-pointer by Caleb Williams. The crowd sensed a shift as the lead see-sawed between the teams. Mack hit a three-pointer to swing the momentum to the home team before the first media timeout of the second half.
After the timeout, the air grew tense. Malachi Palmer for Villanova made back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game, fueling the excitement. Villanova took the lead with another three-point basket by Perkins, and the game became a classic defensive struggle, a trademark of a Big East rivalry game.
Villanova maintained its advantage by making its free throws and playing tight defense. Malik Mack tied the game at 64 with a three-pointer that sent the crowd into an uproar, but Lewis took the lead back for the Wildcats with a reverse layup. Both teams’ players with the last name Lewis were making clutch baskets as the game remained at a two-point advantage heading into the Under-4 media timeout. After a back-and-forth exchange of sloppy basketball, Lewis hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Wildcats up eight and effectively ice the game. An analysis after this surge showed that Villanova’s win probability jumped to 78%, underlining just how pivotal those threes were in securing their victory.
A significant theme in the game was the turnover margin: Villanova capitalized on Georgetown’s mistakes, scoring 23 points off turnovers, while Georgetown managed only 3. To put this in perspective, Villanova’s average points off turnovers this season is around 15, which highlights their exceptional performance in this game. Meanwhile, Georgetown typically averages about 10 points off turnovers, suggesting that their performance in this match was notably below their usual standard.
Perkins scored 15 for Villanova, and Brennan added 13 points. Mack led Georgetown with 21 points, while Lewis and Iwuchukwu scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, and the latter added a game-high 12 rebounds.
Georgetown will play at UConn on Sat., Feb. 14, while Villanova will stay on the road for a game at Xavier.
You can follow Brandon on all social media platforms: @bwalkerdadon
