On Saturday, Villanova overcame some brutal first-half shooting to pull away from Providence and move to 2-0 post-COVID pause and 10-1 on the season. The trouble putting the ball in the basket during the first half was jarring and cast a bit of a cloud on the rest of the game, but the Wildcats actually put together a pretty good performance and ended up coasting to a comfortable win down the stretch. Here’s what we took away from the game.
The passing was on point
Again, seeing all those balls clank off the rim served to overshadow a lot of other things that were going on in the game, but Villanova was excellent passing the ball on Saturday. Despite the missed shots, a lot of the looks were good, and if Villanova can consistently generate those kinds of shot it will be very hard to beat the Wildcats.
Perhaps the most telling stat regarding the passing is that Villanova assisted on 19 of 24 made field goals. Three Wildcats recorded at least four assists on Saturday: Collin Gillespie (6), Justin Moore (5) and Jermaine Samuels (4). Three others recorded at least one assist. Villanova moved the ball very well on Saturday afternoon and got it to teammates in great scoring opportunities. If the ‘Cats can replicate that passing consistently, they get that much closer to reaching their ceiling.
Cats open big advantage in second-chance points, points off turnovers
Rebounding and turnovers were both areas that came with some intrigue in Saturday’s game. Both Villanova and Providence had been taking care of the ball well and neither had been forcing a ton of turnovers. Meanwhile, Providence had been very good on the offensive glass but not great on the defensive glass, while Villanova had been the opposite this season.
As far as turnovers, we didn’t expect there to be many in this game, but that was far from how it turned out. For large stretches of the first half, both teams had more turnovers than made field goals. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Providence had 10 turnovers to nine made field goals, while Villanova had almost reached its season average of turnovers with seven, just one less than the eight field goals it made.
Villanova cleaned things up in the second half and took care of the ball the way we expected it to, but Providence continued to pile up the miscues, finishing with 19 turnovers on the day. As a result, Villanova ran up a 17-7 advantage on points off turnovers.
On the glass, ‘Nova won the overall battle 41-37. The Wildcats were able to take advantage of Providence’s issues on the defensive glass while leaning on their own strength on the defensive glass, building a 14-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. The ‘Cats turned that advantage into a 20-7 boost in second-chance points.
On a day when the shots aren’t falling like you’re used to, getting second-chance opportunities and taking advantage of the opponent’s miscues are invaluable, and ‘Nova was able to do that Saturday afternoon.
Team displayed mental toughness
You’re probably tired of hearing about the shooting struggles by now, but it’s impossible to ignore how they impacted the game. But one area where it didn’t have an impact was on the Wildcats’ mindset.
Despite suffering through a four-minute drought during which the team missed eight straight shots and made just 1-of-11 attempts and shooting just 27% in the first half, the ‘Cats never hung their heads. They kept playing hard at the defensive end, where they produced one of their better performances of the season, and they continued to calmly run the offense.
That’s no small feat. Even in the NBA, we sometimes see teams start to slip on the defensive end when going through some offensive struggles. For Villanova to remain committed on that end despite what was happening offensively is impressive. Similarly, it’s common for teams to start to press on offense when shots aren’t falling. This often leads to turnovers and poor shot selection. There may have been a bit of that in the first half, but ultimately the ‘Cats stayed calm and continued to run their stuff, confident that they could get good looks and that eventually they would start to fall.
Jay Wright noted after the game how impressed he was that the team didn’t allow itself to be overcome by frustration. Instead of allowing the offensive issues to compound and create further problems, they stayed true to their values and kept pressing forward confidently. That’s a tribute not only to the mental makeup of the team but also the work of the coaching staff and the culture that Wright has built at Villanova. There are going to be times when things aren’t going your way, and it was great to see the way the team responded to one of those times on Saturday afternoon.
Cats did a great job on Providence's "big two"
David Duke and Nate Watson came into Saturday's game each averaging over 19 points per game. Duke finished with just 10 points on 4-17 shooting while Waston had 12 points and just two rebounds. With Duke and Watson not producing like they usually do, Providence struggled to generate offense.
A lot of credit goes to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore, who spent much of their afternoons on Watson and Duke respectively. Wright and Collin Gillespie both praised the defensive efforts and abilities of Robinson-Earl and Moore postgame, while Moore, along with Wright, credited the team effort to slow down Providence's two main offensive threats.
All those things are true. Robinson-Earl and Moore put forth great individual efforts while the whole team did a good job of knowing the scouting report and executing the game plan. It's very encouraging to see the 'Cats do such a good job on two very good players and to be able to execute the game plan against them.
