Villanova kicked off the 2024-25 season with a win over Lafayette. While the 75-63 margin may not have been as wide as some expected, it was a solid first showing for a team integrating a lot of new pieces and playing without its best player. Naturally, there were some ups and downs in the performance. Let's take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from the win.

The good

Enoch Boakye

Boakye produced a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) while also giving the Wildcats an interior presence they haven't had in quite some time. Boakye helped clean up the offensive glass (four offensive rebounds), defended the rim and altered shots (two blocks) and had some authoritative finishes at the basket, all while providing great energy.

“Enoch has been really good for us form the second he’s come on campus," Kyle Neptune said after the game. "His attitude has been amazing. He’s a leader. He’s a guy that’s a great teammate. He really doesn’t care what he has to do out there, he’s such an unselfish guy. He sets screens, he rolls, he rebounds, he talks. He’s a guy who’s going to continue to get better as the season goes as well, he’s a big time piece for us.”

It was certainly an encouraging debut for the big man, and it was refreshing to see Villanova play with that kind of anchor in the middle.

The rebounding

Villanova compiled a dominant 41-25 advantage on the glass Monday night and did so without Eric Dixon, last season's leading rebounder. Enoch certainly played a part in the effort, but he wasn't alone. Wooga Poplar also reached double-figures in rebounds with 10, while all eight Wildcats who played grabbed at least one rebound. Rebounding is an area 'Nova has struggled in recently, making Monday's showing on the glass particularly notable.

Shot selection

Villanova has long been a believer in the three-ball, and there's nothing wrong with that. It can be an incredible weapon, not just for putting points on the board but for opening up other parts of the offense. However, it can also be a team's downfall if it gets to reliant on it, making the offense one-dimensional and putting a team at a disadvantage on nights the shots aren't falling.

Villanova has certainly been on both sides of that coin over the last 20 years or so, but more recently the 'Cats have felt more of the negative side of being in love with threes. This year's team has plenty of capable shooters, and they will likely let it fly throughout the season, but on Monday the three-point line was just a small part of Villanova's offensive attack. Just 13 of Villanova's 60 FGA came from beyond the arc (21.7%). After a shaky showing on two-point attempts in the first half (9-21), the 'Cats bounced back in the second half, connecting on 18-26 two-point attempts.

If Villanova can continue generating looks closer to the basket at that volume and make the three-point shot just a part of the offensive attack rather than the primary one, the offense should be able to hum.

The bad

Jordan Longino's shooting night

As we mentioned in our player grades article, Longino had a night to forget offensively. Longino contributed in other ways, but his 3-14 shooting was certainly not was he was looking for. Even worse was his 0-5 mark from beyond the arc. Longino came to Villanova with a reputation as an elite shooter, and coming off his first healthy offseason at 'Nova, there was hopes that reputation would be on full display in 2024-25. That wasn't the case, and while it's silly to draw too many conclusions from a single performance and Longino could very well prove to be the shooter Villanova hoped he would be, this wasn't the start anyone was looking for.

Assists

Villanova assisted on just 48% of its made baskets Monday night (15 of 31). There are a lot of factors that can influence pure assist numbers (Villanova's 30.8% three-point shooting on Monday didn't help) and assists aren't the only indicator of ball movement, which was generally pretty good for 'Nova on Monday. That being said, it would be nice to see more passes leading directly to baskets and Villanova taking advantage of quality ball movement.

The ugly

Turnovers

Villanova turned the ball over 17 times Monday night, and that is simply too many. The Wildcats did a good job preventing Lafayette from turning those miscues into points (just seven points off those 17 turnovers), but better competition will exploit those mistakes, and beyond the advantage it can provide the opponent, simply giving away that many possessions isn't sustainable. The 'Cats need to clean that up and take care of the ball.