Villanova plays the rest of his season without his asterisk. The school announced Thursday that senior Collin Gillespie tore the MCL in his left knee during Thursday night’s 72-60 victory over Creighton.
“We are all devastated for Collin,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said in a statement. “He’s the heart and soul of our program. We know we can not replace him. We all just want to act and play so we honor him. Collin is as mentally tough and resilient as any player we have had here. I knows he will go through it and it will have a positive effect on his career. ‘
Gillespie clashed with Damien Jefferson of Creighton in the first half of the no. 10 Villanova’s home win over the Bluejays in 14th place entangled in Senior Night. He had to be helped off the floor and later returned to the sideline with his left knee in heavy bond.
Villanova strengthened offensively without Gillespie going on an eight-minute drought in the second half, before finally straightening the ship and pulling away to win the Big East season for the seventh time in eight years. Villanova now has the most regular season championships in conference history with 11.
Gillespie averaged 14.0 points, 4.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds. He is the most important option of the team as a point guard, someone with 87 starts his name. His assistance rate is 25.7%, by far the highest in the team. There is no proven, clear backup to execute the point for VU.
Wright said his team was’ initially ‘crushed’ over Gillespie’s injury, but their ability to put themselves together was a sign of how well they tackled a challenge.
“There has probably not been a single player in a year who has had such an impact on a team as Collin has here,” Wright said Wednesday night. “He’s hard to replace. We’ll have to grow up fast.”
Villanova, projected as third in Jerry Palm’s latest bracketology, has lost its last three road races. The final season finale is Saturday at Providence. Villanova will be in first place in next week’s Big East tournament, with its quarter-final scheduled for Thursday.