Villanova post game thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Villanova post game thread

Roller coaster of emotions but at the end of the day, the team didn’t give up and clawed their way to a victory. We need wins right now, and a win is a win!

My main takeaway is GIVE TARRIS REED THE BALL. My next takeaway is that McNeeley has to score the ball consistently, no exceptions. If Alex is going to shoot 6 shots, these two need to lead the way

Ahmad Nowell sighting! Got scored on his first possession but contested the pull-up midrange shot well. Then brought the ball up through 3-5 uncalled fouls and got a hockey assist. Got blown by again but made up for it with another great pass into a hockey assist a few possessions later. Took and missed an open three. Box score doesn’t show anything but I’m all for shifting Mahaney minutes to Ahmad until he proves he’s not worthy of them

Sure would be nice to see Mahaney float around the perimeter and stick 3’s but it just doesn’t seem to work. Lack of guys that can get in the paint to kick it out to him. Nowell got comfortable.
 
Person of the game for UConn: Kyle Neptune.

How did Villanova lose that game?
Loop Rain GIF by xponentialdesign
 
Season was on the line and Tarris and Liam said we're not going out like this.

Earth to Danny, you have Tarris Reed on your team and he's really big, really good at scoring down low, and really good at rebounding.
Tarris isn't Adama but he's big, can seal post position, and has great touch around the basket, not understanding why they just can't run half the same plays that got Adama so many quick duck-ins for easy looks around the basket. They also need to get back to the Liam/Tarris two man game.
 
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Yep but the really insane thing is Hurley never starting him and going away from him. He's so obviously our best big to anyone who watches and he provides all the things the rest of the team is so bad at. Being big, getting buckets down low, and rebounding on both ends of the court. Danny is stubborn but this has been next level stubbornness from him.
Well he cant be stubborn next year! Reed or Reibe
 
Gutsy win showing a lot o grit. Stewart with the big man renbound and put back got it started. Then Diarra steals the inbound and get fouled shooting 2. The defense stepped up big time. Especially Reed, Diarra and Karaban. Nice to see Nowell able to handle the PG position this time even if he missed his only shot. Villanova had really picked up the D and he was able to not turnover the ball. Key minutes since Diarra needs a rest. Diarra's D on Poplar and the end of the game was magnificent and getting some breather helped. Reed was a beast so glad we didn't settle for 3s and fed the beast. I want an 8 man rotation with Reed, Stewart and Nowelll off the bench. Mahaney and Ross give us nothing and shouldn't see the court. I do like to see Stewart get more time especially with Karaban stuggling with his shot. Stewart though has to be more aggressive when he is in.

Bring on St. John's. Hopefully the team has turned a corner. Our 3 point shooting is a concern and especially from Karaban. He has totally lost his shot.
 
Not sure if winning a game you thought was lost is a good a feeling as losing a game you thought you were going to win. I was way more disappointed on Sunday than I am happy about this win.

I think this team could be good but for that to happen Alex has to be great. Actually change nothing else he is doing but he has to hit threes. The whole team would feed off of that. If this season ends well in any way it will be because the dagger man who drills big momentum changing threes returns. Too much pressure on Ball with AK shooting like he is. I think it is that simple. Alex gets red hot from three everybody’s confidence goes up and they play connected.

Yes the energy changed when he went to the bench. Stewart made some plays yes but McNeeley and Ball did not feel like they had to defer to Alex and played with more intention.

Man coaching at this level must be incredibly hard.
 
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Terrible first 10 minutes, then they found a little something for a bit. Second half had me thinking they were reverting back but at about the 7m mark they swung it back around and then just started playing good ball. Last 2:40 was what UConn should be about all the time, they can do it I know it.

What the holy hell was with the reffing? It was crazy bad, a Nova guy kicked the ball twice in a row and got a "steal" the second time he kicked it. Fouls called on, I'm not even sure what. Second half though they starting calling it all on Nova so it probably evened out but my lord, one of the worst I've seen.
 
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Yes - that's actually exactly when the momentum changed. Our energy level picked up. AK isn't naturally emotional, but he was very flat today, like he's letting his shooting woes affect everything else. He had several opportunities to dive on a loose ball or give us a spark.
Not sure what is going on with AK, but if you call the team soft, you better be ready to play aggressive & throw your body around. He hasnt been right in the head since the 2 missed FTs.
 
Yep but the really insane thing is Hurley never starting him and going away from him. He's so obviously our best big to anyone who watches and he provides all the things the rest of the team is so bad at. Being big, getting buckets down low, and rebounding on both ends of the court. Danny is stubborn but this has been next level stubbornness from him.
It's even worse when you consider Samson is an excellent player in short spurts, change of pace is his ideal role. I don't blame Dan for giving him the first shot (loyalty/waited 4 years in an era where that doesn't happen), but that reluctance to adjust absolutely could've been the difference in some close losses.

He cannot, under any circumstance, be a player Hurley was referring to in the press conference the other day. All Big East next year along with Solo and hopefully Alex.
 
We are sort of late in the season to change a lot, but Samson as a change of pace center was very effective after teams dealt with Clingan for a while, and it feels like the inverse doesn't work as well. The problem with Diarra and Johnson both starting is that they are both limited offensively, and those would be the guys you'd like to put in to give you a spark off the bench. And Diarra kinda has to start if he can move.
 
Person of the game for UConn: Kyle Neptune.

How did Villanova lose that game?
I think the key sequence that lost the game for them was when Liam hit 2 FT’s with 3:49 left to cut the deficit to 4. UConn then pressed and then Perkins fired up a long and quick 3 for Nova that bricked and Liam was then fouled on the rebound and hit two more FT’s to cut it to 2. UConn didn’t look back after those 4 points in 12 seconds.
 
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Where were these handles from Ball last game? Lmao

After Seton Hall, I did not have Ball initiating the half court offense in my bingo card.
 
The Samson experiment is over. Reed needs to start every game. Him and Liam two man game was the story
For sure. The two dominate inside and play well together. We'll see what the coach does?
 
The Samson experiment is over. Reed needs to start every game. Him and Liam two man game was the story
It really should be. It’s like I get Danny, Samson is a company man and you want to pay him back. We are a tougher team with Reed on the floor, and toughness is what this team desperately needs. He is a physical mismatch in the large majority of matchups - use it.

I don’t care what the Net or the efficiency says, it’s more important our lineup has a source strength out there. He does things Samson can’t do, and teams have to plan for him if you use him. He’ll also soften the perimeter. I just can’t do 5s that have a hard time catching a ball and are allergic to rebounds, no matter if they know the system better.

Tarris was energy all over the floor in the second half, and it fed the rest of the team. By the end they were looking for him effectively, finally. He always plays better the longer he’s out there.
 
This is essentially a six man rotation at this point. Ross and Mahaney should not see any more floor time this year.
7 and half. You have to count Stewart. He had the manchild rebound and put back that started the run and played great D. Nowell to spell a few minutes in each half for Diarra.
 
Gutsy win showing a lot o grit. Stewart with the big man renbound and put back got it started. Then Diarra steals the inbound and get fouled shooting 2. The defense stepped up big time. Especially Reed, Diarra and Karaban. Nice to see Nowell able to handle the PG position this time even if he missed his only shot. Villanova had really picked up the D and he was able to not turnover the ball. Key minutes since Diarra needs a rest. Diarra's D on Poplar and the end of the game was magnificent and getting some breather helped. Reed was a beast so glad we didn't settle for 3s and fed the beast. I want an 8 man rotation with Reed, Stewart and Nowelll off the bench. Mahaney and Ross give us nothing and shouldn't see the court. I do like to see Stewart get more time especially with Karaban stuggling with his shot. Stewart though has to be more aggressive when he is in.

Bring on St. John's. Hopefully the team has turned a corner. Our 3 point shooting is a concern and especially from Karaban. He has totally lost his shot.
I honestly thought that offensive rebound and put back by Jaylin was Tarris right when it happened. That was an incredible rebound, it looked like he had a bear mitt the way he swallowed it up.
 
Was screaming put jstew in. Had such a good defensive game against them the first time and for the first 30 minutes didn’t see the floor.

Energy did pick up when he came in for AK. that rebound and put back was huge. It was essential a 4 pt rebound as Hassan got the steal and hit those free throws.
 
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I think Reed enjoys the banging and the challenge of bodying up guys like Dixon.

They won, but they still have some really bad habits on defense. Why Diarra is stepping into the lane on the far side of the court away from the ball and leaving his man wide open for a 3 is mind blowing to me. Under Ollie, the team did this all the time.

McNeeley was big in the 2nd half, but even he has to keep track of his guy out at the line and not get caught watching the play without tracking his man.

This team needs to play with that sense of urgency for 40 minutes.
 
Yep but the really insane thing is Hurley never starting him and going away from him. He's so obviously our best big to anyone who watches and he provides all the things the rest of the team is so bad at. Being big, getting buckets down low, and rebounding on both ends of the court. Danny is stubborn but this has been next level stubbornness from him.
I’m a big Reed guy and have been advocating for more of him but don’t the advanced metrics say most of our best lineups are with Johnson? @auror maybe you can weigh in?

I just wonder if the staff sees something we don’t because Reed is that dude!
 
I think so. JStew took his place got some run.
Stewart needs to get more run. He brings athelticism and can hit the 3 better than the current Karaban. He started the run with his monster rebound and put bak.
 
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