Nova or UConn

[ConnHuskBask]

We beat Butler by 30 and Nova lost to them recently by 8. Thinking we are better than Nova doesn't make anyone uppity.

Counterpoint!

Nova just beat St. John's by 8 and we just lost to them by 11.

 

[nadav]

Counterpoint!

Nova just beat St. John's by 8 and we just lost to them by 11.

True...But 30!!

 

[Zissou]

The question I have for Nova fans is whether you have confidence the Neptune is the guy. I honestly found it to be a WTF hire when announced, a guy with one mediocre year as HC at a lower level. It made no sense to me, and puts Villanova in danger of becoming Indiana.

Confidence? No. Good hire? Maybe. Maybe not. Choosing succession is uncertain and it will take a few years to play out. No choice would have been a certainty.

We are underperforming this year for the talent we have.

 

[Zissou]

And now Nova is still 4-5 in conference and UConn is 5-6.

This is no victory lap for Nova to be in the middle of the pack with UConn under .500.

Unless Nova takes that next step up, Nova should realistically lose its NEXT 3 games. The hope is, the possibility is, that we realize the potential of our talent and we do step up a level and win some of these games.

 

[nadav]

We are tied in conference record almost half way through conference play. Both have probably 2-3 more losses than expected. Who has the better outlook for the rest of conference play and post season?

How’s this aging Zissou?

 

[HuskyHawk]

I have no hate for Nova. How could I after that initial win over Georgetown? The most crazy, lucky NC of all time. Neptune is a turd. How he was hired I have no idea. Villanova needs to correct that right now or face a lingering decline.

 

[Zissou]

How’s this aging Zissou?

Look one post above yours…

“This is no victory lap for Nova to be in the middle of the pack with UConn under .500.

Unless Nova takes that next step up, Nova should realistically lose its NEXT 3 games. The hope is, the possibility is, that we realize the potential of our talent and we do step up a level and win some of these games”

So about as expected, and slower to get to that next step than we would have hoped for. We did lose the next three games against the top of the conference, and then a win vs the bottom of the conference. We have a lot of high talent but have not proved anything yet in stepping up to another level.

I have not given up hope on the BET and another title with the auto bud.

 

[Scottobot]

Villanova is 0-7 in quad 1. Their outlook has been disappointing all season long. They have 0 impressive wins. UConn on the other hand looked fantastic at the start of the season, so even during their January slump, the outlook was always more positive for them vs Villanova because the team had already demonstrated its potential.

 

[willie99]

Nova should be better. Jay Wright would not be 5-8 / 11-13. Their season beginning to look like the bad KO years

I know they started the season ranked higher than us, so there's that too.

Since I want the BEAST to be strong, I want Nova to turn it around. I like playing good teams, even if it means you lose more often.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Not sure why this is even still being discussed. We know that as much as any sport the HC in college basketball is very important. How many 5 star recruits does Duke have on their roster and how is that going minus coach k. It will take time for Nova to recover from Wrights retirement. But geez now I am caught up in adding to this thread. I guess that is the BY effect. We will debate anything……

 

[husky429]

Neptune isn't a good coach. He was given the keys to a ferrari with a full tank of gas and crashed the thing into a ditch. More than enough talent to have 15+ wins.

He better know how to recruit or his career is going to be short.

 

[Zissou]

More than enough talent to have 15+ wins.

Very True

 

[Huskybass]

A quick look at the conference standings as of 2-9-23.

 

[Huskybass]

Look one post above yours…

“This is no victory lap for Nova to be in the middle of the pack with UConn under .500.

Unless Nova takes that next step up, Nova should realistically lose its NEXT 3 games. The hope is, the possibility is, that we realize the potential of our talent and we do step up a level and win some of these games”

So about as expected, and slower to get to that next step than we would have hoped for. We did lose the next three games against the top of the conference, and then a win vs the bottom of the conference. We have a lot of high talent but have not proved anything yet in stepping up to another level.

I have not given up hope on the BET and another title with the auto bud.

Nova is at 5-8 in the conference and 11-13 overall without a single impressive win. The odds of Nova winning the Big East Tournament are incredibly low. Nova's only conference wins are against DePaul, St. John's and Georgetown. Those teams have a collective conference record of 8-34. Nova hasn't shown they can beat any quality teams, but they have kept many of their losses close, thus a Kenpom ranking of #68. Btw, UConn has a Kenpom ranking of #6.

 

[Billy Jack]

People are wildly overrating the talent on this team. Nova fans have been spoiled in recent years and are having a hard time accepting this fall from grace.

Nova lost their best players from last year’s Final Four team, including Justin Moore for most of the season. And they play in a tough conference where there’s not a lot of room fro a drop off. This figured to be a rebuilding year regardless of who was the coach. Before the season, I picked them to finish 6th in the conference this year, which is more or less where they are, middle of the pack.

Jay Wright wasn’t a miracle worker. 11 years ago he brought back the remnants of a tournament team, which included a great recruiting class from a few years before which had 3 top 25 recruits. He added 2 top 60 players to replace the 3 seniors he had lost. That team went 13-19. It happens.

 

[BIIIG]

I will say this, I want no part of Nova in the BET

 

[Zissou]

Nova is at 5-8 in the conference and 11-13 overall without a single impressive win. The odds of Nova winning the Big East Tournament are incredibly low. Nova's only conference wins are against DePaul, St. John's and Georgetown. Those teams have a collective conference record of 8-34. Nova hasn't shown they can beat any quality teams, but they have kept many of their losses close, thus a Kenpom ranking of #68. Btw, UConn has a Kenpom ranking of #6.

All true.

Does Nova have the talent to be top 20? Does Nova have the talent to win the BET?

With Cam getting game time, and Moore 3 games into shaking if the rust of the long lay-off, does to future look different than the results that yield the #68?

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

We're probably the best "5th" place in our conference team in the Country. So there's that.

 

[Zissou]

We're probably the best "5th" place in our conference team in the Country. So there's that.

*6th? SH has the head-to-head tie breaker?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Neptune isn't a good coach. He was given the keys to a ferrari with a full tank of gas and crashed the thing into a ditch. More than enough talent to have 15+ wins.

He better know how to recruit or his career is going to be short.

I don't watch Nova much this year, let alone Fordham last year, but I thought it was pretty risky to hand the keys to let's face the best current program in America to a guy with 1 year of HC experience. I know he was Wrights assistant and Wright likely had some say in the matter but the platform they built, the league, recruiting ground etc. they could have made a bigger splash.

 

[HuskyHawk]

*6th? SH has the head-to-head tie breaker?

That won't last long. That one point loss annoys me almost as much as the St. Johns loss. I fully expect Villanova to take care of Seton Hall on Saturday.

 

[UCLJ0211]

A quick look at the conference standings as of 2-9-23.


View attachment 83964

What jumps out is that our away record is not much worse than the teams ahead of us- it’s actually better than Creighton’s.

 

[HuskyHawk]

What jumps out is that our away record is not much worse than the teams ahead of us- it’s actually better than Creighton’s.

Creighton has had an easy schedule and we've had a very hard one.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

That won't last long. That one point loss annoys me almost as much as the St. Johns loss. I fully expect Villanova to take care of Seton Hall on Saturday.

And we will beat Seton Hall as well.

 

[Zissou]

I don't watch Nova much this year, let alone Fordham last year, but I thought it was pretty risky to hand the keys to let's face the best current program in America to a guy with 1 year of HC experience. I know he was Wrights assistant and Wright likely had some say in the matter but the platform they built, the league, recruiting ground etc. they could have made a bigger splash.

It’s true about the risk. The difficulty is who would have been the best candidates.

The BY this year has had threads on replacement candidates for DH. Setting aside that having those discussions is off the deep end to begin with, the candidates discussed all have their flaws. It’s not a very exciting list to me.

Who are your top 3 coaching candidates?