No va is Spanish for 'won't go'

[NCMUFan]

Joplin had 5 rebounds and a don't back down attitude.
I like him on the floor.  Will only improve.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

Joplin needs to flush that game down the toilet, but Shaka needs to take it to heart. A significant percentage of Jop's minutes need to be shifting to Ross.

[CountryRoads]

Incredible win. It'll also look a lot better in March than it does now. Nova will be very solid.

[Shooter McGavin]

Agreed but had to get him out the final two minutes to win.  He was a liability both ways. He does need to play to work out the kinks though. 

[NickelDimer]

Held Villanova to 13 points in the final 18 minutes...wow!

Imagine if we were a good defensive team! 🤯

[muwarrior69]

Biggest win of Shaka era. Huge.

People may or may not agree, but if Moore comes back healthy in the next 2 weeks, I think Nova will win the BE.

I thought Baylor was.

[StillAWarrior]

To win a game at Villanova when Oso and O-Max combined for 14 and 7 — I'll absolutely take it. This team plays hard and it really says a lot that they can overcome a below average performance from a couple of their key players.

[mugrad_89]

Villanova will only get better as Whitmore gets more into the flow - the kid is really good.

[kclem]

I thought the MU defense was decent in the first half, Nove's O just better. But, wow, they really stepped it up the last 12 minutes or so.

MU forced them into a lot of long contested three point shots during that stretch. Nova only hit 2 of 14 of them. The defense traveled and stepped up at the end.

[Goose]

Omax and Oso had limited offensive output, Joplin struggled and they won the game. Depth matters.

[Elonsmusk]

Joplin needs to flush that game down the toilet, but Shaka needs to take it to heart. A significant percentage of Jop's minutes need to be shifting to Ross.

I agree with this analysis.

[MU82]

Biggest win of Shaka era. Huge.

Respectfully disagree.

I'll vote for the 100-point win vs. Providence last year. We were 0-3 in the Big East and had lost 5 of our previous 6 games. We desperately needed a win. We crushed a ranked Providence team, and that victory ignited the 8-1 run over the next month the put us in the NCAA Tournament. Could also go for either of the two wins over Nova during that streak.

However, these things often are revealed in hindsight. For example, Providence wouldn't have been such a big win last year if we had gone 3-5 over the next 8 games. So who knows ... maybe by season's end, this win will have proven to be as huge as you say.

[NickelDimer]

Omax and Oso had limited offensive output, Joplin struggled and they won the game. Depth matters.

Thing about Oso though is he has a huge impact on the offense even when he's not shooting/scoring. Every time he touches the ball it feels like a good possession.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Stevie Mitchell is what we all wanted Derrick Wilson to be.

[Elonsmusk]

To win a game at Villanova when Oso and O-Max combined for 14 and 7 — I'll absolutely take it. This team plays hard and it really says a lot that they can overcome a below average performance from a couple of their key players.

Very good point.  Oso won't have many games worse than he played today.  OMax was okay, shot 50% just didn't take many attempts.

Chase Ross gave us a huge lift today, and Ben Gold's 3 in the first half was a big shot as Nova hit a 3 to go up 8 and Gold's three brought it back to 5.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Villanova might be the best 7-7 college basketball team of all time.

[Scoop Snoop]

To win a game at Villanova when Oso and O-Max combined for 14 and 7 — I'll absolutely take it. This team plays hard and it really says a lot that they can overcome a below average performance from a couple of their key players.

Nice post. Spot on.

[MU82]

To win a game at Villanova when Oso and O-Max combined for 14 and 7 — I'll absolutely take it. This team plays hard and it really says a lot that they can overcome a below average performance from a couple of their key players.

Yessir. And 18 combined for Oso, O-Max and Kolek. Still, Kolek and Oso each created a lot of opportunities for teammates, and Oso and O-Max played some outstanding D down the stretch. But yes, to win a tight road game against a quality opponent when our three most important players combine for 18 points ... pretty damn good.

Stevie (obviously) and Ross stepped up big-time.

A little surprised Sean didn't play more ... and a little surprised Jop played as much as he did, especially down the stretch.

[NotAnAlum]

Great to finally win a close one.  Won it with D.  But Kam can you please take your time on that final free throw

[tower912]

A little surprised Sean didn't play more ... and a little surprised Jop played as much as he did, especially down the stretch.

I'm not.  Jop was playing well on defense and MU wasn't getting beat at the rim with him in.  Sean is 5'10.   He did not have a good stretch when he was in.   And Nova was going to keep forcing switches until they isolated Sean if he was in.

[nyg]

Yessir. And 18 combined for Oso, O-Max and Kolek. Still, Kolek and Oso each created a lot of opportunities for teammates, and Oso and O-Max played some outstanding D down the stretch. But yes, to win a tight road game against a quality opponent when our three most important players combine for 18 points ... pretty damn good.

Stevie (obviously) and Ross stepped up big-time.

A little surprised Sean didn't play more ... and a little surprised Jop played as much as he did, especially down the stretch.

[/b]

Bad mistake on a basket drive and missed three by Jones.  Nova's guards are a lot taller, so he sat.  Look for him to get minutes at STJ, up against Alexander. 

[MU82]

I'm not.  Jop was playing well on defense and MU wasn't getting beat at the rim with him in.  Sean is 5'10.   He did not have a good stretch when he was in.   And Nova was going to keep forcing switches until they isolated Sean if he was in.

I wasn't saying Sean should have played instead of Jop, though I can see how the way I worded it made it sound like that. I was simply surprised that Sean didn't play more, and also surprised that Jop got some minutes instead of Stevie and Chase down the stretch.

Jop was having trouble holding onto the ball and made a couple of poor offensive decisions, and he sometimes can be a ball-stopper. I also didn't think he was playing especially well on D at that point in the game.

[/b]

Bad mistake on a basket drive and missed three by Jones.  Nova's guards are a lot taller, so he sat.  Look for him to get minutes at STJ, up against Alexander. 

Reasonable.

[Ardmore Mug]

I find it interesting , Whitmore had 10 pts in the first 6:30 min and 4 pts the rest of the game ! ! ! 

[Elonsmusk]

I wasn't saying Sean should have played instead of Jop, though I can see how the way I worded it made it sound like that. I was simply surprised that Sean didn't play more, and also surprised that Jop got some minutes instead of Stevie and Chase down the stretch.

Jop was having trouble holding onto the ball and made a couple of poor offensive decisions, and he sometimes can be a ball-stopper. I also didn't think he was playing especially well on D at that point in the game.

Reasonable.

I agree with your analysis.  Sean was fine in his 3 minutes.  Nova wasn't going to iso him.  Suspect Shaka just felt he wanted to ride experienced vets on the road in a tough place to win.  Jop's defense was good (for Jop), but I was shocked he got as much run down the stretch.  But, Shaka has said he will reward defensive effort, and Jop has shown better effort this year and of late.

[MU82]

I agree with your analysis.  Sean was fine in his 3 minutes.  Nova wasn't going to iso him.  Suspect Shaka just felt he wanted to ride experienced vets on the road in a tough place to win.  Jop's defense was good (for Jop), but I was shocked he got as much run down the stretch.  But, Shaka has said he will reward defensive effort, and Jop has shown better effort this year and of late.

That's fair. This kind of thing could be a psychological boost to Jop. Shaka seems to have a real good feel for such stuff.