Villanova’s 72-60 win over Big East rival Creighton on Wednesday was a bittersweet one to say the least. Star point guard Collin Gillespie left the game with an injury, and the team just revealed that it’s a serious one.
Per ESPN college basketball insider Jeff Borzello, Villanova has announced that Gillespie suffered a torn MCL. He is expected to miss the rest of the basketball season.
Gillespie was a freshman during Villanova’s 2018 national championship run. He made the starting lineup the following year and started 64 of 67 games for the Wildcats as a sophomore and junior.
In 2020, Gillespie earned All-Big East honors after averaging 15.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. This year he was giving Jay Wright and the Wildcats similar numbers with 14.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
Villanova’s Collin Gillespie suffered a torn MCL and is expected to miss the rest of the season, per the school.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 4, 2021
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It’s a crushing blow to Collin Gillespie in what may be the end of his college basketball career. But the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Wildcats.
The Big East Tournament starts in one week with Villanova as the No. 1 seed taking on the No. 8 or 9 seed. They’re the favorites to win conference title and are basically locks to make the NCAA Tournament.
But making a deep run in the tournament is about to get a lot more difficult without Collin Gillespie.
How deep of a run can Villanova make after losing him? Are they candidates for an early elimination?