Nova’s Moore on crutches after win, set for MRI
Villanova guard Justin Moore had to be helped off the court after he suffered an injury to his right leg late…
SAN ANTONIO — Villanova guard Justin Moore suffered a right lower-leg injury in the final minute of Saturday’s Elite Eight win over Houston.
Coach Jay Wright said X-rays revealed no broken bones but added that Moore will undergo further tests when the Wildcats return home.
“It’s probably not good for Justin,” Wright said. “We’re going to get an MRI when we get back. But it’s probably not good.”
Moore slipped while driving to the lane with 35 seconds left in Saturday’s game and had to be helped off the court. He did not take part in the postgame celebrations, with all of his teammates coming to see him at the end of the bench after the final buzzer sounded.
Moore went to the locker room on crutches during the trophy ceremony.
“I’ve been in that position before,” Villanova star guard Collin Gillespie said. “I know what it feels like. We don’t know what the injury is yet. He still has to get checked. I don’t ever want to see him by himself. He’s done so much for his team, always guards the best player, is one of our best offensive players and will do anything for any one of our guys on either end of the floor.
“A lot of our guys ran right over to him because we’re not in the position that we are without him. So we just wanted to go over to him and just appreciate what he does for us and know that we got his back.”
Wildcats senior forward Jermaine Samuels said he recollected the injury to Gillespie, who tore a ligament in his knee last March.
“I still don’t know what’s necessarily going on, but I knew something wasn’t right,” Samuels said of Moore. “It kind of gave me a flashback to when the same thing happened to Collin last year, where it was like a numb type of feeling.”
Moore, a 6-foot-4 junior, had eight points and two rebounds in 37 minutes against Houston. He ranks second on the team in points and assists and third in rebounds, averaging 15.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
If Moore misses the Final Four, senior guard Caleb Daniels will step into the starting lineup. The Wildcats’ sixth man, Daniels had 12 points in 35 minutes against Houston. He averages 10.2 points and 3.7 rebounds his season, shooting 38.2% from 3-point range.
The biggest impact will be felt on Villanova’s bench. Reserves Chris Arcidiacono and Bryan Antoine will see an increase in minutes. Arcidiacono has played six minutes in the past three games, while Antoine didn’t play against Houston but saw a combined eight minutes of action against Michigan and Ohio State.
About The Author
