Simeon Wilcher may not have shot well, but he contributed in other ways.
With starting point guard Deivon Smith missing almost the entire second half due to a left shoulder injury, Wilcher was called upon to log heavy minutes and the sophomore sixth man came through when it mattered.
Wilcher made two very big plays in the Johnnies’ come-from-behind, 80-68 win over Villanova at the Garden on Saturday night.
His strip of Wildcats star Eric Dixon and layup pushed the St. John’s lead to three with 3:30 to go and he also sank a big pull-up jumper with 2:05 to go after Villanova had gotten within one.
“Sim’ gave us big minutes, made big steals, did all the right things,” coach Rick Pitino said. “It may not show in the stat sheet, but he played tremendous. I’m very, very proud of Sim’.”
Wilcher only made 3-of-10 shots from the field, but he didn’t let it get him down.
He defended well and came through in the clutch.
Without Smith, the Johnnies’ motor, Wilcher didn’t leave the floor in the second half until fouling out with a half-minute left.
He wasn’t allowed to be tired.
“I would say thank God for the media timeouts,” Wilcher said jokingly. “And free throws, for sure. We were a little bit tired, but in the situation, in the heat of the moment, you kind of zone out from that and just have to worry about the task going on at hand.”
Freshman Jaiden Glover (right wrist) appeared in the final half-minute of the first half.
He’s still feeling discomfort shooting, but the wrist is improving.
Pitino believes he will be available on Tuesday against Georgetown.
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright and former Villanova star and Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson were among the 18,178 in attendance.
the action during St. John’s win over Villanova. Robert Sabo for New York Post
It marked the second-largest crowd for a St. John’s home game since Pitino arrived.
The largest was last year’s sellout against Connecticut at the Garden.
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