Villanova MBB: Size Mismatch, Defense Under the Microscope Again

After Villanova Men’s Basketball’s comeback win over DePaul on Wednesday, Dec. 31, head coach Kevin Willard said that the Blue Demons’ size proved a problem for the Wildcats. That weakness popped up again a week later, when Villanova (12-3, 3-1 Big East) lost 76-72 to the Creighton Blue Jays at home, allowing an 18-of-27 success rate from the field in the second half. 

While Willard was talking about how DePaul’s size disrupted his offense, in Creighton’s case the Blue Jays posed a mismatch to the Wildcats’ defense. Willard credited Creighton’s oversized guards like Josh Dix (6-foot-6) and Blake Harper (6-foot-7) for how they got the baskets they needed, chipping away at Villanova’s lead and then staying one step ahead as they closed the Wildcats out.

Sizing Up

“I thought [Creighton] did a really good job of using their size to their advantage,” Willard said. “I thought Dix and Harper made some really big plays and just used their size against us every time we tried to, had to get a stop. You gotta give those two credit, they played really well.”

The Blue Jays managed to take away the three-ball, a major crutch for Villanova. The Wildcats entered the game taking 46.4 percent of their shots from beyond the arc and converting 37.3 percent of them, but they made just six of 24 against the Blue Jays, a 3-of-7 clip in the first 11 minutes buoying that line significantly. Willard said that Creighton’s emphasis on three-point defense opened up real estate for the Wildcats at the rim and that, while the Wildcats took some poor shots, it was their defensive struggles that proved impossible to overcome, helping the Blue Jays rebound from a slow start.

“I thought we took some bad shots in the first half when we had a good run going, and I thought we were playing good defensively early,” Willard said. “I thought we took some bad shots in the first half and kind of just let them get back into it. So I thought our offense in the first half was the issue. But defensively, you just can’t give up 13 offensive rebounds. You’ve got no chance.”

Making Adjustments

Villanova junior Tyler Perkins said he didn’t notice any major defensive shift out of the Blue Jays as they seized momentum. Senior forward Duke Brennan said he needs to do a better job of adapting to the different ways that different teams create mismatches via screen.

“I take accountability for some of that. Me being a senior, I need to adjust my ball screen coverages on different teams as we play and I don’t think I did a great job at it tonight,” Brennan said. “But I have to go look at the film and help out our defense, because I’m on that line for us.”

Brennan, one of 11 newcomers to Villanova this season, said the game served as a reminder of the physical nature of Big East games, a trait that cuts into the margin for error. Even though the Blue Jays don’t have overwhelming size in the post, they still managed to control the glass, outrebounding Villanova 39-30.

“It’s funny because they have a 6-10 4 man and a 6-8 5-man, but it’s always physical, Big East games. You come out, being a good rebounder in this league they’re gonna hit you, gonna claw at you,” Brennan said. “But it’s a physical edge to the game. I think the whole team needs to understand that, myself included, that any day these teams can come in, come beat you on your home court. So we’ve gotta be ready for every single game from here on out and play to our best ability.”