"Right after, it's painful," said coach Jay Wright, whose team is 11-16, 4-11 in the Big East. "But it's part of the process of earning it. It's what sports is all about.
"At this point, it's tough on our guys. Hopefully, we'll learn from this, and there will come a time when it's something we draw upon.
"Really good teams make up for [their mistakes]. Really inexperienced teams can't recover . . . There's no sense in reliving the hurt. But the results hit you right now."
The Wildcats, who overcame an 18-point, first-half hole against Providence on Feb. 7 to claim their lone win in this stretch, actually led by two late in regulation. But UConn (17-10, 7-8), which is still playing without Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun (back issues), tied it at 60 with 23.8 seconds left on a putback by Alex Oriakhi. Villanova then got the ball to freshman JayVaughn Pinkston, who got off a one-handed, off-balance shot from the right side that didn't really come close. There was a scamble for the rebound, but the Wildcats never could get off a follow.
In the extra 5 minutes, it was mostly Jeremy Lamb. He scored the Huskies' first 10 points of OT, en route to a career-best 32. But Villanova drew even at 70, when freshman Ty Johnson drove down the left side for a lay-in. But UConn had enough time to get it in to Shabazz Napier, who dribbled to within a few feet of the NBA three-point line and let fly. It splashed through with less than a second showing.
Napier, who had questioned his teammates' heart after their last loss, had been 3-for-his-last-20 from the arc coming into the game. But that was his second make of the game, in four attempts. Not bad for someone who has been nursing a foot injury and wasn't even sure he would play until just before tipoff.
