Villanova Post Game Thread

[TheHorde]

He got hit on the hand..we got a foul finally called and the guy u figured game over..I'd rather lose by 20..

He definitely got fouled hard on the forearm. It might have affected his free throws.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I know it just happened and is raw. We are going to have to battle in most league games. Hurley said we have to find ways to win. Alex at the line 3.1 seconds down one with two shots. He clanks both I mean they were not really close. This is one of those games that we did find a way to win and the one guy that cannot let the team down did so in grand fashion. Hope he has a short memory. He has looked lost tonight. His kryptonite is being the primary focus of the defense and being covered by athletes that are as big but also much quicker and can jump higher.

But all of us would have taken those odds with him at the line.

I think we will continue to get better and Hass is a pure dog.

There were some good things. Stewie may have found his confidence. Ball is one of the best pure shooters we have ever had. Ok maybe that’s it……

Most surprising two misses since Donyell IMO…..

 

[uconngb]

Don’t even care about the FTs. That game was lost when DH went brain dead and forgot that he had Jaylin Stewart and trotted out that awful AM/JR lineup when we had just taken the lead abd had all the momentum. He was out coached by a potato tonight.

 

[superjohn]

I'd argue the fact that we had three chances and blew all of them points to not having anyone to rely on in those situations....

Because we went to AK twice and he got swatted twice. I wanted Solo to get the ball all three times and he never touched it.

 

[Bomber36]

Just too streaky offensively without Liam. He creates and draws defenders unlike anyone else on this team. Reality is we’re a mediocre team without him but so are a lot of teams without their best player.

He’ll be back…and we’ll be fine. It’s a long season.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I hate doing the holier than thou thing, but some of you need to remember who you're talking about here. Alex has made more big and clutch shots than most players in our history, tough shots to miss, but let's not lose perspective.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

I would have rather seen Diarra just taken that open 3 off the inbound when it was like 18 secs left, if you missed and they got the rebound still plenty of time to play the foul game

Yea I agree. Though I’m not upset with his drive. Got to the hoop and honestly there coulda/shoulda been a foul called

 

[TheHorde]

Donny can be very annoying, but he did make a good point that we played at Villanova’s pace when we should have been trying to speed things up and play less of a halfcourt slowdown game.

 

[SwingDog]

All ima say is ball don’t lie, can’t even be mad Alex brick them 2 free throws cause he ain’t get fouled in the first place

He got hit on the arm.

 

[JMick]

Shot 4 free throws the entire game, 2 were Alex's at the end. Road reffing continues to be a problem for us.

Teams hold us off the ball all game and it pretty much never gets called. We should be in the bonus halfway through each half if the refs would call all the offball stuff other teams do to us. They have no problem calling on ball flops but refuse to call things away from the play.

 

[Mike Honcho]

If you watching UConn last two games it’s a cause for concern. That team was 178 in Kenpom D and we struggled.

I mean, yes and no. We shot 54% for the game (and I think it was approaching 70% for the second half). Unfortunately, we didn't put much pressure on their defense and barely drew any fouls. Diarra was really the only one dribble-penetrating. Without Liam, we really just create through our schemes... hockey assists. It would be nice to have a little more balance, especially in late game situations when it gets harder to run stuff because refs swallow their whistles.

 

[UCfor3]

he’s not that guy to create. He s pick and pop, slip to rim player. Can’t believe we went to him both times.

Yep. Perfectly said.

 

[JMick]

Because we went to AK twice and he got swatted twice. I wanted Solo to get the ball all three times and he never touched it.

Solo doesn't go to the hoop well enough to demand the ball at end of clock/end of game situations. He gets lost in the air a lot and doesn't finish great. Although I wouldn't have minded him chucking a three since it was better odds than whatever else we were trying to do

 

[WhereistheDove?]

He’ll be back…and we’ll be fine. It’s a long season.

Totally agree. As long as we can have a respectable record while he’s out, him healthy at tourney time is most important. And the silver lining is guys like Stewart get games like this to develop and build their confidence.

 

[AntG168]

I hate doing the holier than thou thing, but some of you need to remember who you're talking about here. Alex has made more big and clutch shots than most players in our history, tough shots to miss, but let's not lose perspective.

I don’t see anyone doing that.

 

[B1GEast]

Didn't care for the play calling in the last 16 seconds. Two consecutive drives to the hoop. Would have preferred a kick out to anyone on the edge.

AK misses two in a row, unfortunate.

They kept it close on the road in the Big East.

I ain't mad. On to Georgetown

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

he’s not that guy to create. He s pick and pop, slip to rim player. Can’t believe we went to him both times.

Yeah… he’s the best 3 and D guy in the country. He’s great if you have those expectations for him. If you expect him to be the best player and All-American though you’ll be disappointed. And it’ll be nobody’s fault but your own.

 

[3rdbass]

We lost to a Kyle Neptune coached team

We almost lost to them last year @Nova. Things happen. Diarra should of taken that wide open 3 point shot instead of bringing back out and driving for a wild 2. AK just a horrible game but he will bounce back. Shouts out to Stew for an all around great game. His D on Dixon was great. Solo had a great 2nd half mixing in drives with mid range and 3s was sweet. I was hoping he would take the last shot.

 

[Icehawk]

I'm bummed, that was totally winnable with just a bit more concentration IMO. Too many sloppy turnovers combined with going to a player having an off night at the end totals up to a loss. Would have preferred to see Diarra or secondarily Ball in the paint trying for that last bucket, I didn't like how they pushed it out to the 3pt line - eats up time and a layup at the hoop is all you need.

I love Alex but I'm disappointed by him just standing there watching that 2nd miss. Not gonna beat him up over it and looking for a strong bounce back.

Solo and Stewart had good nights and I think in general there was some better defense played by Solo and Mahaney too. Reffing was pretty relaxed most of the night, a few times I thought the guys were trying to see who could hug the other more

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

If you watching UConn last two games it’s a cause for concern. That team was 178 in Kenpom D and we struggled.

They shot 55% from the field. The offense was fine. It's the other end.

That was my first time watching Villanova for extended minutes. They're . . . fine. Dixon is a load and they've got guys who can knock down shots but they do enough goofy things to keep teams around. This was a pretty winnable game but you can't make that many unforced errors and expect to win.

I would hope that the Ross experiment is over. Give his minutes and then some to Jaylin (who did better than anyone else in a really tough matchup with the old guy). And he seems to have some offensive creativity that this team needs. Give him the ball at the end of the shot clock and let him create something. Great second half for Solo.

Just a kick in the dilz way to lose. Absolutely brutal night from Karaban. Your preseason All-American just cannot be that non-existent. Very disappointing from him on more than a few occasions this year. Bricking the two free throws was just the icing on the cake.

All things considered, what blows the most is that that was a very winnable game despite all the aforementioned struggles. The wheels did not, in fact, fall off. It's gonna be a slog with Liam out but the chicken littles do this team and their collective balls a disservice.

 

[Horatio]

Meh, I cut slack. Dude came through for two years straight, 2 championships, pretty good this year. Gotta cut him some slack.

 

[Candyman]

Tough loss. Winnable game.

I saw a lot of encouraging stuff. Stewart, Ross progressed. Samson with some fight for rebounds and moves in the paint. Solo flamethrowers. This team doesn’t quit.

Frustrating stuff too. Alex needs to be better. Aidan needed to build off last game & not regress.

Just too sloppy with unforced errors probably the biggest reason for the loss.

Regroup

Ross hit 1 three and got beat a few times. One time he didn’t wait to run a set instead drove to the hoop got his shot blocked and then was pulled.

Hurley playing Ross, Mahaney, Nowell, and Stew together absolutely killed us in the first half. He can’t be doing that.

 

[TheHorde]

Didn't care for the play calling in the last 16 seconds. Two consecutive drives to the hoop. Would have preferred a kick out to anyone on the edge.

AK misses two in a row, unfortunate.

They kept it close on the road in the Big East.

I ain't mad. On the Georgetown

I think the thought process there was that Villanova had a foul to give, so the staff figured action going toward the rim would produce either a good shot or get fouled in the act of shooting. I wouldn’t have minded a drive and kick out to a shooter though.

 

[WlfdHusky]

Nice to see Jaylin have a breakout game and nice to see Nowell get a little time in. But Donyell Karaban was rough tonight.