[Cracked Sidewalks] Villanova Preview

[brewcity77]

Jay Wright's retirement ushers in a new era for both Villanova and the Big East. Cracked Sidewalks checks in on the new look Nova.

https://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2022/11/villanova-preview-2022-23.html?m=1

[NCMUFan]

Too early to bump?
Aw, what the heck.

[Newsdreams]

Too early to bump?
Aw, what the heck.

Jinxed the game

[tower912]

Stevie guards Latimore.

[PointWarrior]

Marquette is screwed, Villanova is desperate for a win and will want it more. 

[Milkshakes]

Watching Villanova v. UConn. I know Villanova had lots of early injuries but boy they look a whole lot better than their record.

[Uncle Rico]

Watching Villanova v. UConn. I know Villanova had lots of early injuries but boy they look a whole lot better than their record.

They’ll be a good team heading into March.  Lots of talent

[muwarrior69]

Nova down one at the half.

[MuggsyB]

I just turned it on.  What have you experts seen thus far?

[GoldenEagles03]

Nova might be better than their record but they are only 7 deep and only 6 are a real threat.

Nova will probably be the favorite, but I'd rather have Marquette's personnel.

[Newsdreams]

I just turned it on.  What have you experts seen thus far?

Experts?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

https://www.zagsblog.com/2022/12/30/villanova-freshman-angelo-brizzi-to-transfer/

Nova's depth took a small hit. Backup guard Angelo Brizzi announced that he is transferring. Appeared in their first 7 games averaging about 13.5 minutes a game. Then Whitmore became available and since he's appeared in 2 games for 3 minutes total. Hard to not connect the dots.

[NCMUFan]

Get ready for 50 fouls called against Marquette.

[Daniel]

Get ready for 50 fouls called against Marquette.

This is the worry.    And could be the game.  Nova is too dang good at the line and. We are prone to fouling and the refs are prone to calling against us - especially in the road.   

We need to get them 8n foul trouble but don’t think that will happen.  Crush them inside.   Dunk City.  Lol. Goooo Marquette!

[Newsdreams]

Get ready for 50 fouls called against Marquette.

It is Shaka's fault for talking about how the team plays with violence.

[Uncle Rico]

It is Shaka's fault for talking about how the team plays with violence.

Porter Moser wouldn’t have done that

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

This is the worry.    And could be the game.  Nova is too dang good at the line and. We are prone to fouling and the refs are prone to calling against us - especially in the road.   

We need to get them 8n foul trouble but don’t think that will happen.  Crush them inside.   Dunk City.  Lol. Goooo Marquette!

Nova is an interesting team. They score 21.2% of their points from the free throw line which is top 50 in the country. You would think that they are a driving team but they are not, they score 37.3% of their points from three which is also top 50 in the country. They score 41.5 % of their points inside the arc which is bottom 15 in the country. If you compare them to other teams that score this much from the line, no team ranked above them scores this little from two and so much from three. So how do they get to the foul line? I've watched them 3 or 4 times this season, and they get there because they pump fake on everything. When they get in trouble on a possession, they will pump fake, pivot, pump fake, until they get a defender to bite and will jump into them. I've seen multiple times where they pump fake four or five times. They do the "thing" but from short range. Shaka has to coach our guys to keep their position, don't leave their feet, and just keep their hands up.

This is also not a typical Nova offense. Wright's teams were all about movement without the ball and crisp ball movement. There is a lot of ball stopping and one and one isos that usually don't work out. I think this kind of offense plays into our defensive scheme. Unfortunately, while Nova isn't a good defensive team, the one thing they do defend well is the pick and roll, so they may be able to slow down our offense. Should be a good game.

[DoctorV]

Good stuff TAMU.

Don’t bite on the fakes!

[Dr. Blackheart]

Nova is an interesting team. They score 21.2% of their points from the free throw line which is top 50 in the country. You would think that they are a driving team but they are not, they score 37.3% of their points from three which is also top 50 in the country. They score 41.5 % of their points inside the arc which is bottom 15 in the country. If you compare them to other teams that score this much from the line, no team ranked above them scores this little from two and so much from three. So how do they get to the foul line? I've watched them 3 or 4 times this season, and they get there because they pump fake on everything. When they get in trouble on a possession, they will pump fake, pivot, pump fake, until they get a defender to bite and will jump into them. I've seen multiple times where they pump fake four or five times. They do the "thing" but from short range. Shaka has to coach our guys to keep their position, don't leave their feet, and just keep their hands up.

This is also not a typical Nova offense. Wright's teams were all about movement without the ball and crisp ball movement. There is a lot of ball stopping and one and one isos that usually don't work out. I think this kind of offense plays into our defensive scheme. Unfortunately, while Nova isn't a good defensive team, the one thing they do defend well is the pick and roll, so they may be able to slow down our offense. Should be a good game.

Right on with the show fakes. Has always been part of the Wright offense. I agree the shooting talent is down a bit and they don't have Gillespie with the back down dribble which he was so effective at.

[Mu8891]

MU really needs to stay out of foul trouble… and keep them off the line.

I doubt that happens.  Hope I’m wrong

[Uncle Rico]

MU really needs to stay out of foul trouble… and keep them off the line.

I doubt that happens.  Hope I’m wrong

Thanks, eeyore