Villanova hangs on stunning No. 9 St. John’s, quit the Red Storm’s dominant run in the Big East

Rick Pitino’s Big East victory is over.

Villanova held down the stretch after almost blowing a double-digit lead at Finneran Pavilion to pull a fantastic 73-71 disturbance victory over No. 9 St. John’s. This victory, which is Wildcats’ best for the year after what has been a largely disappointing race in Big East, broke Red Storm’s 10-match victory and opened the race in the conference on its way into the last month.

Wildcats ran almost away with the game twice on Wednesday night. They jumped up with 10 points just before the break, but the red storm gathered and cut it back within a single possession with a quick run before the break. Villanova also opened an 11-point lead midway through the second half, but then let St. John’s right back in it with a long 14-0 race.

St. John’s had several chances in the final minutes to reinstate control of the game, but it repeatedly stumbled and let wildcats hang in it, give up several widely open rebounds and commit bad revenue. They finally took the lead from a clutch Simeon Wilcher 3-Pointer just within the 30-second brand, but Tyler Perkins replied at the other end with a deep 3-pointer of his own. Wildcats put it up with two points with only nine seconds left.

Wilcher looked one last look at a game winner for the red storm, from almost the same place he hit the previous one, but he was away from the brand at the buzzer. It sealed the two-point disturbed victory for wildcats.

Aaron Scott led St. John’s with 22 points in the loss, which dropped the red storm to 21-4 on the season. They had lost only one single conference game before Wednesday night and climbed into the top 10 at National Rankings for the first time in decades. Kadary Richmond added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Wilcher finished with 12 points.

Wooga Poplar led Villanova Witih 22 points and six rebounds after shooting 9-of-14 from the field. Eric Dizon added 17 points and Jordan Longino ended with 13 points. Villanova, after losing Fie by six, has now won three equal. Wildcats have a 15-10 record and are fighting for the final of the Big East Conference Tournament next month.

While Pitino’s group should be perfectly fine – and still hold the edge of the conference that goes into Sunday’s Matchup with No. 24 Creighton – Wednesday’s game had to give Wildcats a massive boost on their search to earn a place in the NCAA tournament for the first time Under trainer Kyle Neptune. If they can end strongly over the next few weeks, a tournament space is absolutely within easy reach.