Villanova playmaker Justin Moore is in doubt for the Big East men’s basketball tournament after suffering a severe ankle sprain over the weekend, coach Jay Wright announced on Twitter on Monday.
Moore fell in the first half of Saturday’s loss to Providence and needed to be helped off the court. He ended up going to the locker room and was discarded for the game.
The second year of 1.8m has been a top scorer for Villanova for the past two seasons, averaging 11.3 points as a freshman and 12.7 points this season. He has averaged 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists this season.
Moore’s injury exacerbates Villanova’s defense problems as he enters the postseason. Initial point guard Collin Gillespie was lost this season after suffering a break in the ACL against Creighton on Wednesday. Gillespie was one of the five finalists for the Bob Cousy Prize, awarded to the best shipowner in the country. He started for the Wildcats for the past three years, after leaving the bench for Villanova’s 2018 national championship team as a freshman.
After Gillespie suffered an injury against Creighton, Moore assumed the role of point guard and ended with 24 points, five rebounds and five assists.
With Gillespie and Moore out, look for Wright to trust Bryan Antoine and Brandon Slater more on the perimeter. Chris Arcidiacono, the younger brother of the former Villanova Ryan star, also played 25 minutes against Providence, after playing just 17 minutes in the entire season before entering the game.
The best placed Villanova, No. 14 in this week’s AP vote, will face the winner of Georgetown-Marquette in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.