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Pretty good, Kevin Willard. Pretty good.
After three years of purgatory under Kyle Neptune, the underwhelming hand-picked successor of Jay Wright (sounds familiar?), Villanova is having a rock-solid first season under Kevin Willard, who is back in the Big East after three seasons at Maryland.
Under Willard, Villanova’s offense is built around spacing, ball movement, and balanced scoring rather than heavy isolation play. Similar to Jay Wright’s offense, the Wildcats play at a deliberate pace, often use four-out alignments to open driving lanes, prioritize sharing the ball, and hunt for quality shots from both inside and out. Overall, the offense emphasizes efficiency and versatility. It has been a work in progress against elite defensive teams, even though this year’s roster is arguably more talented than most of Willard’s Seton Hall teams, save for perhaps the 2017–18 group with Carrington, Powell, Cale, Delgado, Rodriguez, and Mamukelashvili.
Defense is the foundation of Willard’s teams, and Villanova reflects that identity with an emphasis on discipline, communication, and shot contests. The Wildcats focus on forcing opponents into tough looks, limiting clean perimeter attempts, and staying sound within team defensive concepts rather than gambling excessively. No matter where he has coached, Willard adapts his schemes to his personnel, mixing pressure with solid half-court principles to disrupt rhythm.
Looking at their schedule, Villanova has beaten the teams they should, and their only losses have come against quality opponents: BYU, Michigan, Creighton, and St. John’s.
Part of what makes Villanova so tricky is that its success comes from the sum of its parts, with six players averaging between 10 and 15 points per game. That balance is especially notable because those numbers have remained consistent in both non-conference and Big East play.
The hottest scorer for Villanova is returning junior combo guard Tyler Perkins, an efficient three-level scorer who has scored 15+ points in four of his last five and five of his last seven games. He has very good strength, explosiveness, and verticality, and he is also Villanova’s best backcourt defender.
Bryce Lindsay reminds me a bit of Providence’s Jason Edwards. Both players can score in bunches, and when the ball is in their hands, they are locked in on shooting. On the other end of the spectrum, defense is not their strength, as Lindsay currently ranks as Villanova’s weakest defender. While Lindsay can fill the box score quickly, he is more of a reliable, efficient scorer than a pure volume scorer.
Starting freshman guard Acaden Lewis has been very impressive as a true point guard. A shifty, decent-sized lead guard, Lewis has excellent ball skills and the ability to get into the lane, utilizing his advanced vision to make quick decisions and find open shooters. He is close to being a complete two-way point guard, aside from his poor three-point shooting.
Former Kentucky, Texas, California, and Long Beach State guard Devin Askew is a big guard who can legitimately play all three backcourt positions and serves as Willard’s super sub off the bench. Willard calls Askew the leader of the backcourt, as his hard-working, physical, and intelligent two-way play sets the tone for the program’s culture. He is also a fantastic floor spacer and has been on fire lately averaging 15 points-per-game across his last four games.
Starting center Duke Brennan has really surprised me. I liked his tough, physical two-way game at Grand Canyon, but I did not expect him to reach career highs in points, assists, and rebounds per game as a senior at Villanova. He is averaging a double-double and ranks as the team’s best defender. Brennan is effective in the pick-and-roll and strong in catch-and-finish situations. He plays as many minutes as possible at center, so when redshirt seven-foot freshman Braden Pierce backs him up, it is only for brief stretches.
When Brennan is out, Willard fills the center spot with starting power forward Matt Hodge, a returning redshirt freshman. Hodge is a very intriguing prospect with a strong, physical frame and a high motor on both ends, but he also has legitimate small forward skills in a power forward’s body. An excellent three-level shooter, Hodge limits mistakes in the half court, and like Lindsay, when the ball is in his hands, he is looking to score.
Sophomore Malachi Palmer is a physical big guard who has been backing up at the three and four as Temple transfer Zion Stanford slowly works his way back from an ankle injury. Palmer is athletic, thrives in the open floor, can defend multiple positions, and is a decent floor spacer. Right now, he is a solid bench piece, but I can see his role and game expanding down the line.
After narrowly escaping wins against Providence, Seton Hall, and Georgetown over the past two weeks, UConn will need to return to its A-game, as I expect a tough matchup.
After three years of purgatory under Kyle Neptune, the underwhelming hand-picked successor of Jay Wright (sounds familiar?), Villanova is having a rock-solid first season under Kevin Willard, who is back in the Big East after three seasons at Maryland.
Under Willard, Villanova’s offense is built around spacing, ball movement, and balanced scoring rather than heavy isolation play. Similar to Jay Wright’s offense, the Wildcats play at a deliberate pace, often use four-out alignments to open driving lanes, prioritize sharing the ball, and hunt for quality shots from both inside and out. Overall, the offense emphasizes efficiency and versatility. It has been a work in progress against elite defensive teams, even though this year’s roster is arguably more talented than most of Willard’s Seton Hall teams, save for perhaps the 2017–18 group with Carrington, Powell, Cale, Delgado, Rodriguez, and Mamukelashvili.
Defense is the foundation of Willard’s teams, and Villanova reflects that identity with an emphasis on discipline, communication, and shot contests. The Wildcats focus on forcing opponents into tough looks, limiting clean perimeter attempts, and staying sound within team defensive concepts rather than gambling excessively. No matter where he has coached, Willard adapts his schemes to his personnel, mixing pressure with solid half-court principles to disrupt rhythm.
Looking at their schedule, Villanova has beaten the teams they should, and their only losses have come against quality opponents: BYU, Michigan, Creighton, and St. John’s.
Part of what makes Villanova so tricky is that its success comes from the sum of its parts, with six players averaging between 10 and 15 points per game. That balance is especially notable because those numbers have remained consistent in both non-conference and Big East play.
The hottest scorer for Villanova is returning junior combo guard Tyler Perkins, an efficient three-level scorer who has scored 15+ points in four of his last five and five of his last seven games. He has very good strength, explosiveness, and verticality, and he is also Villanova’s best backcourt defender.
Bryce Lindsay reminds me a bit of Providence’s Jason Edwards. Both players can score in bunches, and when the ball is in their hands, they are locked in on shooting. On the other end of the spectrum, defense is not their strength, as Lindsay currently ranks as Villanova’s weakest defender. While Lindsay can fill the box score quickly, he is more of a reliable, efficient scorer than a pure volume scorer.
Starting freshman guard Acaden Lewis has been very impressive as a true point guard. A shifty, decent-sized lead guard, Lewis has excellent ball skills and the ability to get into the lane, utilizing his advanced vision to make quick decisions and find open shooters. He is close to being a complete two-way point guard, aside from his poor three-point shooting.
Former Kentucky, Texas, California, and Long Beach State guard Devin Askew is a big guard who can legitimately play all three backcourt positions and serves as Willard’s super sub off the bench. Willard calls Askew the leader of the backcourt, as his hard-working, physical, and intelligent two-way play sets the tone for the program’s culture. He is also a fantastic floor spacer and has been on fire lately averaging 15 points-per-game across his last four games.
Starting center Duke Brennan has really surprised me. I liked his tough, physical two-way game at Grand Canyon, but I did not expect him to reach career highs in points, assists, and rebounds per game as a senior at Villanova. He is averaging a double-double and ranks as the team’s best defender. Brennan is effective in the pick-and-roll and strong in catch-and-finish situations. He plays as many minutes as possible at center, so when redshirt seven-foot freshman Braden Pierce backs him up, it is only for brief stretches.
When Brennan is out, Willard fills the center spot with starting power forward Matt Hodge, a returning redshirt freshman. Hodge is a very intriguing prospect with a strong, physical frame and a high motor on both ends, but he also has legitimate small forward skills in a power forward’s body. An excellent three-level shooter, Hodge limits mistakes in the half court, and like Lindsay, when the ball is in his hands, he is looking to score.
Sophomore Malachi Palmer is a physical big guard who has been backing up at the three and four as Temple transfer Zion Stanford slowly works his way back from an ankle injury. Palmer is athletic, thrives in the open floor, can defend multiple positions, and is a decent floor spacer. Right now, he is a solid bench piece, but I can see his role and game expanding down the line.
After narrowly escaping wins against Providence, Seton Hall, and Georgetown over the past two weeks, UConn will need to return to its A-game, as I expect a tough matchup.
