The Winthrop men’s basketball team came up short in its upset attempt last Friday, losing 73-63 against Villanova in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64.
Entering the contest, the 12th-seeded Eagles were viewed as a team capable of beating a higher-seeded team, especially once they were paired with the 5th-seeded Villanova. The Wildcats, without their top guard Collin Gillespie (torn MCL), had lost their previous two games, including a first-round loss in the Big East Conference Tournament against eventual champion Georgetown.
Earlier on Friday, several teams pulled off surprise wins, including 12th-seeded Oregon State (over 5th-seeded Tennessee), 15th-seeded Oral Roberts (over 2nd-seeded Ohio State), and just before Winthrop and Villanova tipped off at 10:10 p.m., 13th-seeded North Texas (over 4th-seeded Purdue).
North Texas’ victory gave Winthrop fans even more hope for their team, because if the Eagles could get past Villanova, they’d be favored to beat the Mean Green in their next matchup and have a strong chance of making the Sweet 16.
However, the focus quickly shifted back to the Wildcats who jumped out to a 13-4 lead over the Eagles and held a 16-6 advantage with 13:46 to go in the first half.
The Eagles rallied back with a 16-5 run, including seven points from DJ Burns and 3-pointers from Kyle Zunic, Russell Jones Jr. and Adonis Arms, to take a 22-21 lead with 6:00 left before halftime.
The score remained tight for the remainder of the half as the teams exchanged leads and combined to make nine of their last 15 shot attempts of the period. As a halfcourt heave from Winthrop’s Josh Corbin clanked off the front of the rim, the buzzer sounded, and Villanova took a 34-33 lead into the locker room.
While Winthrop managed to keep the score close, it never recaptured the lead in the second half, shooting just 27.6% from the field compared to the Wildcats’ stellar 45%.
The Eagles also found themselves in foul trouble early, including Burns, who was disqualified after recording his fifth foul with 4:39 remaining and Winthrop trailing 60-52.
Despite not having Gillespie, Villanova’s offense appeared just fine, often running through big-man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.
Winthrop’s Burns, Kelton Talford and Chase Claxton all took turns attempting to guard Robinson-Earl, but containing him proved to be a challenge. He truly did it all for the Wildcats, leading his team in points (22), rebounds (11), and assists (six) while also recording three blocks and one steal.
Winthrop’s Chandler Vaudrin led the Eagles in rebounds (11) and assists (seven), and his nine points once again put him near a triple-double. However, his five turnovers and 2-of-10 shooting performance were not enough to lead Winthrop to victory.
After the loss, several Winthrop players took to Twitter to express their emotions.
“Gave it all I had for my guys. Appreciate the support from everybody all season! This [is] only the beginning though, stay tuned,” sophomore Chase Claxton tweeted.
“Thank you God for everything! Back to work,” sophomore Russell Jones Jr. wrote.
“I’m not done. Trust me,” tweeted redshirt senior Adonis Arms, leaving room for speculation about a potential return to Winthrop next year given that the NCAA has granted all rostered players this year an additional season of eligibility.
Winthrop finishes the season with a record of 23-2 and maintains just five losses in its last 48 games.
Graphic by Micheal Yelton
