In less than an hour the Hoyas will tip off against Villanova at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. Forget that blowout two weeks ago in Washington, D.C. Both teams have taken different paths since then, Villanova blowing out its three conference opponents, Creighton, Marquette and DePaul, by an average of 17 points per game, and the Hoyas losing two of three, two at home to Xavier and Providence, and a win on the road against conference bottom dweller Creighton. Clearly the Hoyas will need to to be hungry to make this a game in ‘Nova territory. On the bright side, the Wells Fargo Center is more like a cavernous neutral site, and there should be at least a few blue and gray fans to cheer for the Hoyas in this Sold Out Saturday afternoon matchup.
What it will take to win today:
1. Hoya Defense no less intense than on January 19th. Villanova will no doubt have a better offensive effort so the Hoyas have to lockdown Arcidiacono, Hillard, Pinkston et al.
2. Hoyas must Believe. Leave and self doubt on the bus, and believe that they are on a par with this Wildcat team and that the first game was no fluke. Could use a little AI Swag and would be nice to see some Hoya royalty in attendance.
3. The upperclass leadership and freshmen must work together at their best, attack early and not get behind, at least not by more than a few points in the first half. It will be extremely tough to play from behind today. Good ball movement a must and attack style of play with high scoring favors the Hoyas.
4. Limit Turnovers to Under 10. If the Hoyas attempt to force the ball inside as they did against Providence and commit more than 9 or 10 turnovers, they will be in trouble. I would much rather see Jabril, Peak and Tre and others attack and get to the line than to turn the ball over attempting passes inside to Josh.
5. Hoyas must shoot greater than 50% from field goal range, 38% from the arc and 75% from the line to secure the W. Villanova’s offense will be much improved today and the Hoyas cannot afford to shoot poorly. Must have A Game. On January 19th the Hoyas shot 51% from the field , 50% from the arc and 72% from the line. This was in stark contrast to Nova’s 34%, 30% (and 71.9%).
6. Corollary: Hoyas need offensive firepower from Everyone. This is not a game where the Hoyas can rely only on Smith or DSR to do the damage. Could use some sharp shooting from Trawick (a solid 3-point scorer and Philly native!), Copeland and White, and inside points from Hopkins and Bowen. I would like to see Campbell get minutes as well.
7. Fouls our Friend? There were a total of Fifty One Fouls in the first contest between these two rivals. I think we will see another physical battle and to reiterate, the Hoyas must strive to be perfect at the line.
Easy formula, right? Great D, limit turnovers, attack early, get everyone involved and don’t fall behind. Twenty minutes till Tipoff! #HoyaSaxaBaby