Josh Hart leads Villanova past Georgetown in Big East quarterfinals

The things you learn. Even this late in the season and even for a team that has been at or near the top of the national polls for months, there still is time for discovery. Villanova coach Jay Wright, for instance, found out that some of his players aren’t as enthralled as he is about a trip to Manhattan.

“I thought everyone got as excited as me,” he said after the Wildcats finished a tough but satisfying 81-67 win over Georgetown Thursday afternoon in a Big East quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden.

He wasn’t offended. He recognized that, regardless of their feelings about Broadway, his players are in no rush to leave.

Villanova had much more to lose than gain against a big- name opponent that was desperate to redeem a mediocre season. Still, Villanova (28-4) was as excited about this game as it could be. You could tell by the way Ryan Arcidiacono crashed over two tables, one on each side of the court, during his 19-point, six-assist effort. And you could see it in the passion Josh Hart showed in scoring 20 of his 25 points in the second half.

“I hate New York, but I love playing in this tournament,” Hart said with a trace of a grin.

He explained that this trip is more than a formality or a chance to secure a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Big East championship means plenty all on its own.

“We grew up watching the Big East. We grew up watching the crazy games,” he said. “I remember the [2009] Syracuse and Connecticut six-overtime game. We dream of playing in it. It’s humbling. It’s surreal.”

Hart, Arcidiacono and their teammates were all too real for Georgetown (15-18) during a 14-1 run that erased a one-point second-half deficit and turned the game for good. Hart, a junior shooting guard from Silver Spring, Maryland, made a layup to start that burst and a three-point play (off a feed from Arcidiacono) to finish it.

In between, Arcidiacono, a senior point guard from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, made a pair of three-point shots (the Wildcats were 13-for-21 overall from long distance) that got the Villanova fans fired up — just like the old days.

“I was a ’Nova fan my whole life,” Arcidiacono said. “So I think of the [2009] buzzer beater that Dwayne Anderson hit on the back cut against Marquette. It’s special to represent Villanova here in New York.”

This one was extra special in that it was Villanova’s first Big East Tournament win over Georgetown, which couldn’t extend its season despite 18 points from L.J. Peak. “This year has not gone the way we would have hoped or what was expected,” coach John Thompson III said.

Villanova, which will play Providence on Friday night in the semifinals, has its own issues with underachievement, having repeatedly failed to get to the second weekend of The Big Dance. “We really concentrate on enjoying this moment. We really do. I know it sounds corny,” Wright said.

The coach paused on his way out of the news conference to say in a stage whisper, “Josh Hart didn’t mean he hates New York.”

But Hart said, “I don’t like crowds.”