The Villanova Wildcats forward hid many tricks in his sleeves.
It was a standout performance for Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of Villanova as he registered a team-high 28 points and eight boards to spark an emphatic win against No. 18 Arizona State Sun Devils, 83-74, in the 2K Empire Classic Finals at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut.
The 6-foot-9 forward became the talk of the town after being hailed as the 2K Empire Classic MVP, which shocked the fans into the realization that the sophomore is now ready for the 2021 NBA Draft.
The third-seeded Wildcats crawled from a slow start until Justin Moore drained a triple, 8-7, for their first lead of the game. Their offense exposed weak spots at the rainbow territory after a 1-out-of-12 shooting going into halftime.
The Arizona State Devils looked to stretch the lead with their hot shooting, but the Wildcats cemented their strategy to sail to a 16-12 spread in the first half.
While the Wildcats relied on offensive touches for the scoring, they also leaned on the defensive line to thwart the Devils from getting buckets in-and-out. From the get-go, the Wildcats took care of business inside the court, ousting the latter in rebounds, 41-27.
Robinson-Earl carved an opportunity to shake the rim throughout the game. Three Wildcats guards also contributed double-digits to the team. Moore added a 16-and-12 double-double as Caleb Daniels chipped in 14 markers, five rebounds, and four dimes, and Collin Gillespie scored 11 points to go with four rebounds and four assists.
In a previous game, the Wildcats also contained four players in double-digit production against Boston College.
Remy Martin of the Arizona State Devils was expected to exceed the expectations of the crowd. He scored 26 points to go with six rebounds and five assists in an earlier showdown against Rhode Island. According to Vuhoops, the Wildcats broke Martin's efforts, limiting him to only five points for the whole regulation.
Moore praised Martin but stated that it's all about a team effort. "But I feel like it was a team effort. It's not just the person guarding him. It's all of us being able to communicate, talk about where he's at on the court." Later, he was recognized as a member of the All-Tournament Team.
Amid Arizona State's struggle, freshman Josh Christopher astounded the fans with 28 points on 11-17 shooting in 32 minutes of playing. Alonzo Verge Jr. also rose to the occasion after pulling 22 markers and seven rebounds on 50 percent shooting. Despite the efforts, it was not enough to save the Devils from drowning in the Wildcats' superiority.
In an interview with Arizona Sports, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley believed Christopher has so much room to grow.
"It was just a heck of a performance by a freshman, playing against one of the best teams in the country."
In the first game of the Wildcats against Boston College, the team nearly went haywire. They endured their soft defenses and cold shootings but surged late to regain what they had lost in the early quarter to hack out a 2-0 card.
"We worked on it a lot last year, and we got new players this year, so we've been really working hard in the practices that we've been able to have and we've just been really dialed in," Robinson commented.
The Wildcats are now preparing for another duel against Saint Joseph's Hawks on Monday.
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