When Josh Hart has a bad game, Kris Jenkins inevitably has a good game. When Jenkins is off, you know Hart is going to take over.
When they both play well?
Forget about it.
Hart and Jenkins, Villanova’s two senior superstars, combined to score 44 points on 61 percent shooting to go with 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals in No. 1 Villanova’s 78-68 win over an undermanned but gritty Providence team (see Instant Replay).
This was the first time in at least nine years – as far back as available records go – that two Villanova players scored at least 19 points on 50 percent shooting, and both also had four assists and four rebounds in the same game.
Villanova is a Division I-best 116-14 over the past four years -- Hart and Jenkins' time as Wildcats -- with an NCAA championship last year.
And on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center, with Providence throwing everything it had at the Wildcats, Hart and Jenkins were at their best.
“Those dudes have been in some high-level games, so they don’t get rattled,” said Providence coach Ed Cooley, whose Friar teams have averaged 23 wins in three years.
“They’ve been there before, done that. They have two game-changers in Jenkins and Hart. When you have two of the better players on the floor, every game you’re going to have a chance to win, and those two guys played great today.”
Hart made 10 of 16 shots including both his threes and was 3 for 3 from the foul line for 25 points. He added six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Jenkins made seven of 12 shots, including 3-for-6 from 3 and a couple foul shots for 19 points. He added four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
With the Wildcats dealing with some foul trouble, the bench contributing only two points and Providence bombing away on 13-for-26 from 3, Villanova needed Hart and Jenkins to be great.
And they were. Of course.
“They’re, I think, two of the best players in college baskeball,” Jay Wright said. “Because they can do everything. They defend, they rebound, they’re leaders, they score, they pass.
“They’re just complete players and we’re very, very fortunate to have them.”
Providence came in having lost six of seven road games, but every time ‘Nova built a sizeable lead, the Friars bombed their way back into it.
Villanova didn’t put Providence away until a 8-0 run build the lead up to 17 with 2 1/2 minutes left.
Sophomores Mikal Bridges (15 points, three rebounds, four assists) and Jalen Brunson (13 points, three rebounds, six assists) also filled the stat line, while Darryl Reynolds had 10 rebounds and a couple blocks.
But this was a game where ‘Nova needed Hart and Jenkins to be superstars, and they were.
It can be a delicate thing when a team has two legitimate All-America type players. But Hart and Jenkins, who have known each other since high school in the Washington area, are so close there’s never been any jealousy or friction or unhealthy competition between the two.
“And Darryl Reynolds is a big part of that, too,” Wright said. “They’re all really close. Since the day they came in. We all noticed it when they were freshmen. Sometimes you see a class like that, sometimes you don’t, but right away as freshmen, it was actually something the upper classmen had to deal with.
“Those three are a unit. If one of them is down, all three of them are down. So now it’s become just an incredible force for us. They’d do anthing for each other. You have two All-America and they get excited for each other. It just works.”
Jenkins hit the buzzer-beating game-winning 3-pointer in an NCAA championship game. Hart is a legit Player of the Year candidate.
But it works.
“He’s a great player and when he’s competing and you see him play hard, especially defensively, it wears off on you and makes you play just as hard,” Jenkins said of Hart. “He elevates everybody.”
Hart was equally effusive in his praise of Jenkins.
“What you have in Kris is rare in the sense of obviously he’s a gifted scorer, a gifted basketball player, but he gets more excited on other peoples’ success than his own,” Hart said.
“To have (one of your senior leaders) more excited about someone else scoring or someone else making a huge play, other than himself, that shows a lot about his character and that’s someone you want to strive to be like.”
Villanova improved to 19-1 with its fifth straight win since a loss at Butler. The Wildcats are 7-1 in the Big East. Providence fell to 13-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference.
This isn’t the first time Villanova has had two hotshot teammates. But Wright said it’s unique.
“We had guys before,” he said. “We had Randy Foye and Allen Ray, they were very competitive. They liked each other, but that was different.
“These two, they’re just boys. They’re DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia), they love all that stuff, all the D.C. stuff together. They really do care about each other.
“Even to the point where … the pass Kris made (to Hart) at the end of the game, he should have shot the ball. But he’ll do that for Josh. That’s a good thing. It was stupid on that play, but that’s how much they do care about each other. It’s really cool.”