Villanova silences Providence, moves a step closer to the NCAA Tournament field

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — They stand at Amica Mutual Pavilion at the beginning of each half, waiting for the home team to score.

So they stood at the start of the second half Saturday afternoon, Providence holding a three-point lead coming out of the break over Villanova in what essentially was a tournament game between teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

They stood. And stood. And stood. The place they call The AMP was amped all day, but it kept getting a little quieter with each passing empty possession.

A media timeout came and went. More than five minutes of play went by before Devin Carter gave the crowd permission to sit.

Meanwhile, Villanova was making its push. The Wildcats scored the first nine points out of halftime, 18 of the first 20, and grabbed a 13-point lead they never relinquished in a pivotal 71-60 win over Providence.

The crowd-silencing moments came in all shapes and sizes. Mark Armstrong, who missed a layup at the first-half horn, hit two pull-up jump shots to open the second half, giving Villanova a lead and forcing Providence coach Kim English to call timeout, his team having just taken its third shot-clock violation of the game. Brendan Hausen made one of his three three-pointers after Carter briefly got the crowd back into it with the Friars’ first basket of the half. Then Jordan Longino hit one from the corner in front of Villanova’s bench before the Wildcats freed up Hausen for another.

The lead had swelled to 13, and English wanted another timeout.

» READ MORE: Villanova firmly drops Georgetown in the first game of a crucial stretch to snag an at-large bid

You didn’t think Providence was going down easy, did you? The Friars cut the deficit to eight before Tyler Burton, a Massachusetts native who came to Providence games as a kid, sent it back to 11 with 4 minutes, 22 seconds to go on a corner triple. Again, Providence made a push and the home crowd got into it. But, again, Villanova had an answer, the final silencer coming on a Justin Moore corner three in front of the Villanova bench to turn a six-point lead into a nine-point lead with 1:53 to play.

“We weathered a bunch of storms from them,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “The crowd put a lot of game pressure on us, but these guys here were really resilient, did everything we asked them to do and more.

“Our guys were saying in the locker room it was going to take 40 minutes. We had to take a couple punches and just kept going.”

The win was a huge one. Villanova entered the day two spots out of ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s NCAA Tournament field. Providence was the last team the field of 68. When the horn sounded, it was safe to flip-flop, the Wildcats earning a Quadrant 1 road victory and picking up their sixth win in their last eight — a season-saving stretch of games that started with a 68-50 win over Providence at home.

Seven Villanova players scored at least six points in Saturday’s win, Moore leading the way with 15 points and four assists. The Wildcats made 13 of their 23 three-point attempts and had 14 assists on their 25 total makes. At the other end, Villanova held Providence stars Josh Oduro and Carter to 11 of 27 shooting. They combined for 29 points but rarely seemed in rhythm, and Oduro finished minus-17 in his 36-plus minutes.

Villanova outscored Providence, 37-23, in the second half.

Moore helped Villanova weather the early Providence blitz and crowd energy with nine first-half points. Saturday marked the fourth time in the last five games the fifth-year guard scored in double figures, a sign he’s getting more comfortable playing and scoring on a right leg that has endured a ruptured Achilles and a sprained knee in the last 24 months.

“I’m just cherishing every moment and every day with this team and coaching staff, knowing it’s coming to an end,” he said.

The win Saturday might have pushed the end further into the distance.

» READ MORE: In a blowout loss at UConn, Villanova gets an up-close look at the new class of the Big East

Villanova has another Quad 1 opportunity Wednesday night at Seton Hall (6:30 p.m., FS1). A win likely would firm up its NCAA Tournament case heading into a season finale Saturday at home vs. No. 12 Creighton before the Big East tournament.

The Wildcats have been fighting for their tournament lives for the last four weeks. Their experience — Moore and Eric Dixon (11 points) especially — is starting to show.

“We have multiple guys who have been through a lot in their careers,” Neptune said. “We’ve been through a lot together as a unit, and I think it’s kind of really hardened us over this year. Our goal has always been to be the best by the end, and I think we’re trending that way.”

Saturday afternoon was always going to show that trend, one way or the other. If you can win with the season on the line at the AMP, arguably the Big East’s best environment, the trend is where you want it.

“I was thinking about it this morning,” English said. “I felt like Friartown was stretching, getting ready, like they were going to play in a game today. They were incredible.”

They were. But the Wildcats held a figurative finger to their mouths in every big moment. Then they jogged off the court, an NCAA Tournament bid still easily in sight.