The ‘Cats end the regular season in Hinkle Fieldhouse, where their run ended last March to eventual National Champion Baylor.
The Cats will end their regular season on Saturday against the Butler Bulldogs in Indianapolis. Providence may have won the Big East's regular season crown, but Villanova defeated them last Tuesday, giving the 'cats a season sweep of the fryers'.
Villanova has the most Big East wins for this season with 15 and has a chance to reach 16. A win at Hinkle would also give Villanova a 16–3 finish in the regular season in conference play.
Hinkle is hurt
Hinkle....not a word that evokes good feelings from Nova Nation. Hinkle is just 4-4 against Villanova Butler since the realignment, including losing the last two against the Bulldogs in their backyard.
On top of Villanova's issues against the Bulldogs at Indy, it's the same spot where the Cats' scored just 51 points in their Sweet 16 loss to Baylor to finish last year. With that defeat, Villanova has had three straight losses at Hinkle while averaging only 56 points in the last two.
Those are just numbers and Davian Mitchell is now on the Sacramento Kings and the 'Cats beat Butler to 40 about a month and a half ago. It is notable that Hinkle is in one of the toughest environments in all of college basketball.
Shots up
Butler, smacking 40-points from Villanova six weeks earlier, was due in large part to Villanova dropping 12 3-pointers. It was one of his best shooting performances from behind the arc this season. 3-point shooting has been up and down for the 'Cats' this season but their best shooters hit shots in mid-January. In the first game against Butler, Gillespie, Moore and Daniels combined scored 10 for 14.
'Nova is like any team in basketball, at any level, their best players are better when they hit the shots. We've seen the difference on offense when only one of these guys is making the shot or when no one is at a disadvantage to Creighton and the boiler. We've also seen what the offense looks like when two or all of these guys are hitting down shots in both wins against Providence.
It has not been the kind of season that Butler is expected of, but he has been more competitive in the second half of the season with wins at Hinkle against Creighton and Marquette. They were 19 against Providence at Hinkle before falling by one point in overtime in late February.
An environment like this would be perfect to prepare Villanova for the Big East Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
Rolling with six
The depth of this team has been a matter of great discussion for Nova Nation throughout the season. Time will prove what happens, but I've accepted that six players will probably all play except maybe 10 or so minutes from here. Is he ideal? no it's not. Does it define the ceiling of a team as a whole? No, it doesn't happen.
Every last four team had flaws and every national champion had flaws. 2018 Villanova did it, 2012 Kentucky did it, and so did the '06-'07 Gators. I'm not comparing this nova squad to those, just that there are always weaknesses to point out and maybe that's a news for some, but the other team is also flawed and doesn't want to actively win the game. is trying.
Granted, maybe double granted, those Gators probably had the greatest front line in D1 history along with Noah, Horford and Brewer, but they didn't have a good dribble drive player. Now, they didn't need the one with the biggest passing and post ups from Noah and Horford. The fact is that although they did not have a guard who could get out and go to work. Taurean Green was good but more than a pace setter who was perfect for the Billy Donovan squads.
Teams adapt, coaches adapt, and teams have to find a way.
I prefer the nine-man rotation, I always have but I'm not going to bother if the 7th and 8th guys don't watch more than five minutes of play for the rest of the season. Jay Wright wants this team to play at a certain pace and win strongly.
Going forward in this season, one could see the limits of the offense. There was an inexperienced player getting the opening gig at five. There were forwards who didn't shoot really well. We didn't know who would be able to help as the secondary ball handler.
Eric Dixon has improved steadily and fifth place is not a concern. Samuels and Slater offer a lot of positivity on the floor but the shooting is lacking. Ok. Teams adapt.
I wrote in the first season that whatever ceiling this team has will come from the defensive end and play with intent. I was thinking of Grizz-and-Grind Grizzlies with Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, and Mike Connelly. I was thinking of it more in concept rather than personnel. This Nova team had to find a way to take the game into the mud, knock it out, and beat the teams. Since the loss at Creighton, I think he's done that.
This is one of Jay Wright's better defensive teams. I don't know the exact number right now; I did when Antoine was getting 15 or so minutes in a game and was around the top 20-25 defensive units in the country. They do so much more than pass my eye test on defense.
He has done a much better job this season in keeping the dynamic guards from going all the way to the rim. He has done a great job in team rebounding. His switching on defense has been consistent throughout the year. The struggle they have faced on defense has been either miscommunication or a youngster losing.
Nova Nation wants depth, why don't we but it's not happening and for this last stretch, these 'cats will roll with it.
let's march, nova
It's March and if you love 'Cats and College Basketball,' you probably want to take the whole month off.
If Villanova can make it to the Big East Finals, that would give them four more games ahead of the NCAA Tournament. If so, at least a 3-1 finish will give them no less than three seeds.
There is a lot of talk in Nova Nation about seeding, and especially the eastern region. A two seed sounds better than a three seed but if three seeds are in Philly would it be a better tournament path for Villanova?
What do you guys think? Do these 'cats finish 26-7, 25-8, 24-8? Is there a Big East tournament title coming up? Do you want Nova to have the highest possible seed or do you want them to be in the eastern sector, no matter what the seed is? This Nova team will be in the game with their defense, and they have two guards who can catch fire and fill it up quickly. A deep run wouldn't surprise me.