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Jay Wright announced today that junior guard Collin Gillespie is questionable for Saturday’s game against the Providence Friars due to a deep thigh bruise.
Villanova coach Jay Wright said after today's practice that Collin Gillespie has a deep thigh bruise and is questionable for tomorrow's game against Providence at Wells Fargo Center. Gillespie is the team's No. 2 scorer and floor leader, would be a big loss if he couldn't play.
— Joe Juliano (@JoeJulesinq) February 28, 2020
Gillespie was spotted limping on the sideline towards the end of Wednesday’s game against St. John’s and sat during the game’s closing minutes.
Gillespie is presently the team’s second leading scorer, having just recently been passed by red-hot Saddiq Bey. The 6’3 point guard is averaging 15.5 points and 4.6 assists per game but has recently been in a brutal slump. He is 4 for his last 23 from the field and has struggled to find a rhythm for the past two games, going 0-13 from deep against Xavier and St. John’s.
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It’s clear that Gillespie has not been “right” for a few games and this injury may help explain why. While Villanova will obviously feel his absence should he sit out, we are too late in the season to risk exacerbating injuries.
Given what we know about Jay, this injury is unlikely to expand the rotation. Wildcat fans can expect a heavy dose of Justin Moore sharing ball-handling duties with Saddiq Bey. My guess is that Swider will return to the starting line-up but, given that DCR has recently been playing better, it’s possible Jay could roll with some size. However, DCR only saw the floor for four minutes during January’s trip to the Dunkin Donuts Center. Providence has some athletes, and to be honest, neither Swider nor DCR is likely to offer much resistance there.
Here is the box score from the Wildcats’ last match-up with the Friars:
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