No win for Winthrop: Villanova victory sends Eagles home early from NCAAs
Villanova ended Winthrop’s March Madness rise before it really got off the ground.
With a 73-63 loss, Winthrop (23-2), despite putting together a record-setting year in more ways than one, ended 2020-21 just as the team had begun its last 13 seasons — winless in the NCAA tournament.
The 12th-seeded Eagles put together a valiant comeback attempt in the game played in Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, but the No. 5 seed Wildcats (17-6) proved too much. And they did so by the finesse of their own conference player of the year, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (who appeared unguardable) — and despite having to play without key senior Collin Gillespie, who suffered a season-ending injury earlier this month.
Winthrop’s last, and only, NCAA tournament win remains against Notre Dame in 2007.
It was clear the Eagles belonged on Friday night (as well as in the wee hours of Saturday morning): Winthrop fell behind by as much as 10 in the first half but clawed its way back by virtue of its prized big man. DJ Burns (who finished with 12 points) had nine points and three rebounds and made dozens of plays in the first half — including one assist that found Russell Jones Jr. for a corner three with 7:49 remaining in the half to pull the game’s margin to four.
That shot was part of a 10-0 run put on that delivered Winthrop its first of two leads in the game with six minutes left in the first. The Eagles entered the break down, 34-33.
But in the second half, Winthrop lost its rhythm and couldn’t rekindle it. The prospects of advancing in the tournament felt on the verge of being out of reach when Villanova went on a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 13 with 6:58 remaining in the game.
And then, with just over nine minutes to play, Burns was called for a charge and was sidelined with his fourth foul. The end of Winthrop’s season then felt inevitable.
In the final minute, Winthrop traded layups for Villanova free throws, but the Wildcats — who have accumulated two national champions in the last five years — proved worthy of the moment and didn’t bend.
Villanova will move on and play 13-seeded North Texas on Sunday. Winthrop’s season is over.
NCAA box score: Villanova 73, Winthrop 63
WINTHROP (0-1): Burns 5-8 2-4 12, Anumba 3-4 0-0 7, Falden 3-7 2-2 9, Vaudrin 2-10 5-8 9, Zunic 2-6 2-2 8, Claxton 2-3 1-1 5, Arms 3-8 2-2 10, Corbin 0-5 0-0 0, Jones 1-3 0-0 3, Talford 0-3 0-0 0, King 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 14-19 63.
VILLANOVA (1-0): Robinson-Earl 7-15 8-11 22, Samuels 4-9 3-4 11, Arcidiacono 0-0 0-0 0, Daniels 3-8 2-3 10, Moore 5-13 3-4 15, Antoine 2-2 2-2 8, Slater 0-2 1-2 1, Swider 2-3 0-0 6, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 19-26 73.
Halftime—Villanova 34-33. 3-Point Goals—Winthrop 7-22 (Zunic 2-4, Arms 2-5, Anumba 1-1, Jones 1-2, Falden 1-4, King 0-1, Corbin 0-5), Villanova 8-26 (Antoine 2-2, Swider 2-3, Daniels 2-6, Moore 2-8, Samuels 0-2, Slater 0-2, Robinson-Earl 0-3). Fouled Out—Burns, Claxton. Rebounds—Winthrop 34 (Vaudrin 11), Villanova 31 (Robinson-Earl 12). Assists—Winthrop 13 (Vaudrin 7), Villanova 11 (Robinson-Earl 7). Total Fouls—Winthrop 23, Villanova 21.
Check below for the updates posted throughout the game.
Real-time reactions from The Herald’s sports editor Alex Zietlow
Second half
▪ At the last media timeout (3:33 remaining), Villanova leads Winthrop, 61-52: DJ Burns is on the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 4:39 to go in the game. The Eagles are struggling offensively without him.
▪ 11:32 remaining in second half, Villanova leads, 48-42: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is having himself a day. He has 13 points and nine rebounds and five assists. The player with Big East Player of the Year honors, with his last field goal, ended a two-plus minute scoreless stretch in the game.
▪ 15:35 to play; 43-39, Villanova: Winthrop’s Adonis Arms comes alive. The redshirt transfer from the Division II ranks now has eight points, including an important 3-pointer which stunts a Villanova run. A television announcer said Winthrop considers Arms one of its most talented offensive players. No argument here — particularly tonight.
First half/pregame
▪ At the half, Villanova leads Winthrop, 34-33. The Wildcats are led by Justin Moore, who’s fresh off an ankle injury, with 10 points and Robinson-Earl with eight. The Eagles, after a slow start and despite an imperfect half from offensive key weapon Chandler Vaudrin (four points, four rebounds, two assists), have proven they belong.
▪ Last media timeout, 26-26: DJ Burns continues to establish he belongs: He has nine points — 4-for-6 from the field — in 11 minutes. He also showed off his interior passing skills, finding Russell Jones Jr. in the corner for a big three. The Eagles obtained their first lead of the game at the 6:00 mark with a Burns jumper.
▪ Second to last media timeout of half; 18-9, Villanova leads: Chase Claxton lets out a rare sign of emotion after taking a charge right before the last media timeout of the first half — a roar to his team’s bench. It’s the sophomore’s bread and butter.
▪ Second to last media timeout of half; 18-9, Villanova leads: Burns is awake and engaged. The redshirt sophomore, at the second media timeout (about halfway through the first half), leads the team with five points and two rebounds. Chase Claxton has two and Micheal Anumba has two.
▪ First minute: Villanova appears to have gladly inherited the underdog role. Scrappy. Bench is loud. Leading in the offensive rebounding battle. The Wildcats are also bothering Vaudrin, who has created three good, back-to-basket looks for himself to no avail.
▪ Pregame: You’ve heard it all week: Winthrop is this year’s “trendy” NCAA tournament upset. DraftKings said so. And so did a whole bunch of national sports personalities (even when Vegas has not). But don’t let the buzz distract you from the history Winthrop would have to make in order to earn this win: Winthrop only has three wins over ranked opponents in its history — No. 18 Saint Mary’s (2019-20 season), No. 19 Miami (2007-08) and No. 17 Notre Dame in the 2007 NCAA tournament — and has only won one March Madness game in its 10 March Madness trips.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 9:50 PM with the headline "No win for Winthrop: Villanova victory sends Eagles home early from NCAAs."
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