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Mikal Bridges’ career high leads Villanova past Gonzaga: 3 key takeaways

By Chris Stone

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 14: Mikal Bridges #25 of the Villanova Wildcats takes a foul shot during a college basketball game against the Nicholls State Colonels at the Wells Fargo Arena on November 14, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Wildcats won 113-77. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 14: Mikal Bridges #25 of the Villanova Wildcats takes a foul shot during a college basketball game against the Nicholls State Colonels at the Wells Fargo Arena on November 14, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Wildcats won 113-77. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Mikal Bridges helped Villanova topple Gonzaga at the Jimmy V Classic

The Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night gave us a top 25 matchup between the Villanova Wildcats and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Behind a career night for Mikal Bridges, the Wildcats emerged with an 88-72 win at Madison Square Garden.

Here’s a look at the most important takeaways from their victory.

1. The Mikal Bridges hype train has arrived

One season after being a low usage 3-and-D role-player alongside Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges is emerging as a national superstar. On Tuesday night, he scored a career-high 28 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field with five 3-point makes.

As a junior, Bridges has managed to maintain the same level of scoring efficiency at a higher usage rate. Although he still primarily operates as a spot up 3-point shooter relying on Brunson to create offense, Bridges showed flashes of a more developed creation ability out of pick-and-roll against the Bulldogs, including this insane dunk over three Gonzaga defenders:

Bridges’ defense, his original calling card, was also on display in the above clip as it was all game. At various times, the junior defended both Gonzaga point guard Josh Perkins and 6-foot-11 big man Killian Tillie.

At this point, it’s time to start talking about Bridges as both a potential All-American and future NBA lottery pick. There are few defenders in college basketball with his versatility and few better shooters from the outside. If Bridges can continue to develop as an individual creator, the sky’s the limit.

2. Villanova opened its lead by taking Gonzaga out of its game

The Wildcats opened up a 13-point lead in the first half by forcing Gonzaga into plenty of bad decisions. At one point late in the half, the Zags had turned it over on 41.4 percent of their offensive possessions. For a team that came into the game with a 17.4 percent turnover rate, that’s pretty awful. This isn’t uncommon for Villanova. The Wildcats switch frequently, and Bridges’ ability to show up in surprising spots can complicate opposing offenses pretty easily.

What’s more impressive, though, is that Villanova built its lead without some of its best players. Brunson played just eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, for example. This Wildcats’ roster showed it’s deep enough to weather those situations. That’s a scary thought.

3. The Bulldogs shouldn’t worry too much

Everyone has off nights. This was Gonzaga’s. The Bulldogs, a 39.7 percent 3-point shooting team, made just six of their 20 attempts in New York City; Johnathan Williams played what will almost certainly be his worst game of the season; and Josh Perkins struggled to put the ball in the basket efficiently.

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The good news is Gonzaga didn’t need this one to shore up its NCAA Tournament resume in case it loses out on the West Coast Conference tournament title. The Bulldogs already own wins over Creighton and Texas, two teams that should make the Big Dance. There were also some bright spots for the Zags. Zach Norvell continues to emerge as another scoring option, and Jacob Larsen gave the team good minutes in the post.

My advice? Give the film a watch, figure out what went wrong in the first half and move on. Off nights like this one won’t happen often.