Cats Break Bulls

Villanova posted a dominating 68-40 win over USF this afternoon at the Pavilion behind a 17 point scoring outburst by Darrun Hilliard and a 9 point,10 rebound contribution from Mouphtaou Yarou. After outscoring DePaul by 23 points in the second half Tuesday night, the Wildcats followed up that impressive half by grabbing a 23 point half-time lead against the Bulls.

The Bulls frequently struggle to score points and the Villanova defense wasn't about to help them out by giving them room to operate. Generally the Cats prefer to force teams to beat them from beyond the arc but this South Florida squad poses little threat to score from deep. This was the seventh time in eleven Big East games that the Bulls failed to break 60 points.

Goods:

Good ball movement and inside/outside balance on offense

Didn't settle for the three-ball

Out-rebounded the Bulls

Held USF to 23.4% FG shooting and 5.9% 3PFG shooting

Not so goods:

60.7% FT shooting

Player Evals & Stats

Ryan Arcidiacono

27 Min, 1-4 FG, 1-2 3PFG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 4 Asst, 0 TO, 1 Stl, 3 Pts

Arcidiacono was content to break pressure, bring the ball up and set up his teammates for shots. He was unable to create much for himself off the bounce and was very selective shooting the three-ball. He played a solid floor game, was okay defensively, and he had the unique opportunity to play less than thirty minutes of game time - perhaps increasing the likelihood of him having fresher legs come Tuesday night against the athletic and quick Bearcats of CIncy.

Darrun Hilliard

26 Min, 6-8 FG, 2-3 3PFG, 3-6 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Asst, 2 TO, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 17 Pts

Scored the ball efficiently. Continues to show the ability to create off the dribble. Playing with a good level of confidence. Simply the most effective player on the roster at both ends of the floor for Villanova right now.

Jayvaughn Pinkston

23 Min, 2-9 FG, 0-2 3PFG, 6-7 FT, 5 Rebs, 3 Asst, 3 TO, 0 Blk, 0 Stl, 10 Pts

Didn't shoot the ball particularly well from the floor nor finish with authority in the paint. What he did do was continue to show improvement as a passer and make his free throws.

James Bell

25 Min, 2-4 FG, 2-4 3PFG, 0-0 FT, 5 Rebs, 0 Asst, 0 TOs, 0 Blk, 1 Stl, 6 Pts

Grabbed some rebounds that required toughness and athletic ability to get to and control. His primary contribution on offense is to provide a consistent threat to stroke the three-ball - thus requiring the defense to respect his ability by keeping a defender in his vicinity. The Cats continue to keep an eye on Bell on inbounds plays to see if he can sneak behind the defense for the alley-oop.

Mouphtaou Yarou

26 Min, 3-8 FG, 0-0 FT, 10 Rebs, 2 Asst, 1 TO, 0 Blk, 1 Stl, 9 Pts

Yarou's jumper was off but his rebounding was solid and he scored using some craftiness on the interior.

Tony Chennault

19 Min, 2-2 FG, 0-0 3PFG, 1-1 FTs, 2 Rebs, 1 Stl, 0 Asst., 1 TOs, 5 Pts

Chennault hit a tough baseline jumper in the second half to partner with a hard-nosed lay-up finish in traffic with the "and one" in the first. He has a tendency top over dribble and/or dribble without purpose when he is responsible for running the point.

Daniel Ochefu

22 Min, 2-2 FG, 0-0 3PFG, 2-3 FTs, 4 Reb, 0 Asst, 0 TO, 1 Blk, 0 Stl, 6 Pts

Continues to show signs of improvement. Scored off a nice running hook moving to his left which he put up softly enough to get a nice roll off of. Later he scored off a low post move where his defender flopped given the first hint of contact, the ref didn't take the bait and Ochefu had a wide open lay-up to show for his effort.

Achraf Yacoubou

16 Min, 3-3 FG, 2-2 3PFG, 0-0 FTs, 3 Rebs, 1 Asst, 0 Stl, 3 TO, 0 Blk, 8 Pts

Stroked a couple of deep rainbow jumpers and scored on a nice back-door cut on which Arcidiacono fed him perfectly darting to the tin.

Maurice Sutton

6 Min, 1-2 FG, 1-5 FTs, 3 Reb, 3 Pts

Couldn't get his FTs to drop. Active on the glass. Made himself available for the entry pass.

Mislav Brzoja

5 Min, 3 Rebs, 1 Asst, 2 TOs

Made a pin-point, one-handed pass to Sutton on the run to set up a lay=up with an "and one" opportunity for Mo. Pulled down a few defensive rebounds as the Wildcats deep bench tried to hold the Bulls below 40 points late in the game - unfortunately the offense committed a few turnovers when running down the clock ... allowing USF enough possessions and FTs to escape the 30s.

Pat Farrell

2 Min, 1-2 FTs, 1 Pt

Dropped in one of two at the stripe for his first points in a Villanova uniform. Had a chance to drop in a lay-up but instead drew the foul with his "hesitation" move.

Nick McMahon

2 Min

Worked up a sweat in his two minutes of action.

Henry Lowe

1 Min, 1 Tackle, 1 TO

Played with passion in his brief run. Tackled a loose Bull in transition to prevent an easy basket late in the game.

Special Thanks go out to Villanova Head Coach Jay Wright who took time out of his game-day schedule to stop by the annual VUSports.com pre-game luncheon and address the 'Nova Nation with a "state of the program" address. Coach is now 12-0 in his 12 seasons at Villanova in games following the pre-game, VUSports brunch/luncheon.

The Cats next game is Tuesday night at Cincinnati. Villanova needs to win another game or two against Top 50 RPI teams to bolster a potential NCAA Tournament-worthy resume. Games @Cincinnati, @UConn, vs. Marquette, @Pitt, and vs. Georgetown are the remaining opportunities given that all of those teams are currently in the Top 35 of the RPI. Additionally, the Wildcats need to try to finish at or above .500 on the road to impress the selection committee. Currently, the Cats are at 5-4 in road contests with games at CIncy, UConn, Seton Hall and Pitt remaining.

'Nova is now 15-9 overall and 6-5 in Big East play.