Villanova Post Game Thread

[uconnbill]

These are the types of wins that help in March during tournament time

 

[HooperScooper]

Only 21? They fouled every possession.

Not as much as Seton Hall does.

 

[HooperScooper]

The announcer to you, Mcconnell the was dealing with jawboning as excuse to try to freeze Tristan Tristen by delaying giving him the ball

 

[Scot-e]

Remember when El-Amin got injured in the post season. Not saying we win that year, but we probably get closer.

Dyson was a killer injury.

 

[JohnnyJr]

SJ has exceeded expectations. He's simply not a big body so he's going to get out muscled with some matchups and will need some help in the post. They'll need to pick up a bigger bodied 5 in the Portal next sesson and SJ will improve and get a little stronger as well. We'll be fine.

I would agree he definitely exceeded expectations in the beginning of the season but he’s regressed against better competition. I don’t expect much on offense from him but the rebounding isn’t as good. We’ll need a starting 5 next year

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Not a valid comparison, Joey Cak and Alleyne were experienced upper classman with a lot of experience. Ball and Stewart are freshman and don't provide the shot making, yet, that those two gave us last season.

Agreed on not trying to compare them. Alleyne was pretty bad offensively all season until tournament time though. And he still had the greenest light. Joey started off hot and cooled down during Big East play because he just couldn’t cut it defensively.

I don't think Solo seeing less playing time has anything to do with his offensive performance though. Conference play started so the bench shortened, and Clingan + Castle are both healthy so there's less minutes available. Ball hasn't taken more than 1 shot in the last 5 games, and over that span he's averaging 6 mins a game, compared to the 25-30 he was getting during all of November and most of December.

The reality is that we're going to basically go 7 deep with some cameos from either Ball or Stewart depending on the matchup or the fouls. We only went 8 deep last year and that was with Clingan coming off the bench and a lot more upperclassmen with D1 experience

Agreed. There’s not many minutes for guys who aren’t making an impact in some way at this point. If Solo was better offensively he’d probably play more but right now all he does is defer to the upperclassmen. So there’s not much use for him.

 

[HooperScooper]

Two half-games from DC has raised our Kenpom Defense about 20 spots. His effect on the other team goes way beyond his own individual stats.

Up to 29. What was it before the Creighton game? Wast it 49? So a few more games and they could easily be top 10 again.

2022 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings

 

[Hunt for 7]

Agreed on not trying to compare them. Alleyne was pretty bad offensively all season until tournament time though. And he still had the greenest light. Joey started off hot and cooled down during Big East play because he just couldn’t cut it defensively.

Agreed. There’s not many minutes for guys who aren’t making an impact in some way at this point. If Solo was better offensively he’d probably play more but right now all he does is defer to the upperclassmen. So there’s not much use for him.

The reason Solo is not playing is because of defense. I know Moore was a tough cover tonight but Ball pretty much gave him a free run to the left side of the hoop. He has this issue were he gets the person off his strong hand then gets beat because he does not react quick when his man goes toward his weak side. Ball would be playing more if he was defending better. He will get there. We need his shooting. The reason Alleyne played was because he played good defense. With the role players in Hurleys system they have to be + defenders. If they don’t defend they better be great shooters. Even Joey C had to play better defense to get consistent minutes. He figured it out and Ball has more to work with physically. Not sure he will ever be the shooter Joey was but he will be a good defender. Hurley and staff will get him there.

 

[yungdowork]

Agreed. There’s not many minutes for guys who aren’t making an impact in some way at this point. If Solo was better offensively he’d probably play more but right now all he does is defer to the upperclassmen. So there’s not much use for him.

I think the bigger issue is that he played 3 minutes today and I can think of at least one instance of him getting blown by. He's just a guy who needs a little bit longer. You can see all the tools are there, he's just not at that point where he's playing instinctually at this level yet.

I think Castle is actually dealing with some of the same issues, but he's a 5-star talent for a reason, and really exceptional defensively for a freshman.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Clingan credited with 2 blocks. I swear, he always gets shorted on blocks.

They should count "deterreds".

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I think the bigger issue is that he played 3 minutes today and I can think of at least one instance of him getting blown by. He's just a guy who needs a little bit longer. You can see all the tools are there, he's just not at that point where he's playing instinctually at this level yet.

I think Castle is actually dealing with some of the same issues, but he's a 5-star talent for a reason, and really exceptional defensively for a freshman.

He’s far from the only guy on the team with that issue. If he could contribute offensively at all it may be something we could give him rope on like the others. But since he isn’t doing much on that end, there’s no room for it. His defense was a strength when he was playing often too.

I’m fully confident once he has the proper role next year he’ll blossom like we all know he could.

 

[formerlurker]

Did I miss the postgame presser videos?

 

[Tyler2Rings]

How they lost all of their Big 5 games to Philly teams I will never understand.

Villanova has owned the Big 5 for a decade. This year was some Philadelphia voodoo karma

 

[navery12]

I don't think Solo seeing less playing time has anything to do with his offensive performance though. Conference play started so the bench shortened, and Clingan + Castle are both healthy so there's less minutes available. Ball hasn't taken more than 1 shot in the last 5 games, and over that span he's averaging 6 mins a game, compared to the 25-30 he was getting during all of November and most of December.

The reality is that we're going to basically go 7 deep with some cameos from either Ball or Stewart depending on the matchup or the fouls. We only went 8 deep last year and that was with Clingan coming off the bench and a lot more upperclassmen with D1 experience

Don't even waste your time, nothing is ever good enough for him. He's far smarter than Hurley could ever dream of being

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Last year, Neptune reminded me a lot of Lappas. Good X's and O's coach that knew what he was doing, but just not a winner. I am coming around a bit on Neptune, but he has a Sweet 16 caliber team and anything less than a Sweet 16 appearance is a disappointment.

 

[NJHusky]

Villanova is good. Neptune is much more poised and impressive on the sidelines than he was last year. Villanova may actually do some damage this season.

How did they lose all their local games?

 

[freshler40]

Yea, I agree on a few head scratching plays by Newton. But, I am not sure we get the "clutch" Newton, without the "crazy" Newton baggage that comes along with it. It is a risk reward that is working out nicely for us.

The glass is much more than half full with Newton on the court. He is Clutch. Who else can wade in with a good defensive player on his back and make something happen????

 

[REB1094]

Couldn’t watch yesterday so just caught a replay. Why is that what I was doing at 6am? No idea

Congrats to Dan Hurley for ANOTHER close Q1 win

Newton MVP. He had an answer for all of Nova’s second half runs. Yeah he had some questionable shots, but 25 on 47% shooting means he did his job excellently

I said it last game too but Clingan really changes a game. Nova’s guards would stop in their tracks the second they saw him in the paint

Castle is elite at pretty much everything except shooting. Every shot looks different so there’s no consistency. This feels like something that could be ironed out with reps, which makes me think it’s more a confidence issue than an ability issue. Lockdown defense again, as always

If Jay Wright was coaching, that’d be 2 no calls on Moore and 4 points for Villanova. Their reputation is not what it used to be..

Credit Villanova, they fought hard and almost stole one after going down 11-0. But we kept composure down the stretch and closed it out. Rough ending for the people who took -1.5

 

[Eleven]

DC definitely a game changer. We lose last night without his presence in the paint.
Wish he could get his FT% to 70+ to give us another weapon down the stretch. As is, at 50%, can‘t risk having him hacked and missing clutch FT.

 

[freshler40]

I called it out when he was jacking all those 3s instead of driving to the rim that it was going to come back to bite him and here we are. Still not a big threat from 3 and not really comfortable attacking the basket so he has nothing he can go to.

I’m also not sure just how much time Stewart is going to get for the rest of the season now that DC is back. He played 3 minutes this game and 7 last game. Solo has played 3 minutes in his last 2 games too.

I really just don’t think the opportunity is going to be there for them to end up being impactful like a Joey or Alleyne later on. They might have to follow the Hawkins plan and just wait until they have more responsibility to show off their talent next season.

Both of the above-mentioned players have gotten in game minutes on a championship team with experience ahead of them. The get to practice against the best! They are growing within the brand.

 

[KembaRunner]

Newton’s look to karaban on the clutch 3 was a thing of beauty. Threw it to the open spot

Loved this pass so much. Rewound to watch it a few extra times.

 

[rich1122]

Or the free throw shooting yikes

75% . Need 80%+ in this league

 

[navery12]

75% . Need 80%+ in this league

What happens if you don't shoot 80%? Because 10 of the 11 teams shoot below 80%

 

[dingaling]

If SJ is our starting 5 next season, I can't see how that's a good thing at this point. Is anyone else seeing "wall potential"?

A lot of complaints about SJ today but if he transferred, we would be in much worse position right now if we had to rely on Singare instead.

 

[REB1094]

What happens if you don't shoot 80%? Because 10 of the 11 teams shoot below 80%

Not to pile on, but… there are exactly two teams in D1 that shoot 80% as a team. Villanova 81.8% and Stetson 81.1%. Maybe we can round up and include Wake Forest at 79.9%

Recent champions -
UConn 76.1%
Kansas 71.7%
Baylor 70.8%
Virginia 74.4%
Villanova 77.9%