Villanova Scouting Report Helps Them Outlast Duquesne

Villanova Men’s Basketball trailed for much of the first half of their 87-77 home win over the Duquesne Dukes on Saturday, Nov. 15. Foul trouble helped the Wildcats pull ahead, as they made 16 free throws in the first 20 minutes alone and got into the double bonus with 9:40 to play before the half.

Following the game, Villanova head coach Kevin Willard said that his team’s early struggles stemmed from having to face the Dukes’ tempo in real life: watching film couldn’t fully prepare the Wildcats for the onslaught.

“It’s something that we talked about, we saw on film. They’re really good. The first ten minutes of the game, they’re as quick as any team I’ve seen on film. So sometimes you can show guys on film, and sometimes you just have to go through it,” Willard said. “So I thought we did a good job adjusting to their speed and their tempo, and once we got adjusted to it I thought we made better decisions.”

Settling In

Once they settled in, Villanova made 5-of-7 three-point shots to close the half. They also forced the Dukes into foul trouble, forcing leading scorer John Hugley IV and key defenders David Davis and Jakub Necas to the bench. Davis fouled out in the second half, and the Wildcats made 25-of-33 free throws on the day, well above the margin of victory.

Willard credited the Dukes for their fierce play, and also said that Villanova’s inexperience might’ve impacted their ability to settle in, noting that four of the team’s five starters are underclassmen

“I just think getting used to their pace. Give them a lot of credit, they played [at a] tremendous pace. Their wings are long and big, I thought they were physical with us early, and I think sometimes, again, we’re young,” Willard said. “So sometimes that takes a little bit of getting used to, where older guys can kinda just go into it and sometimes younger guys take more time.”

Villanova also found great success on the offensive glass. 21 of their 41 rebounds were offensive, and Willard said they recognized that as an area of emphasis on film because of the frenetic pace the Dukes played at. However, like many of his compliments to his team this season, Willard circled back to their defensive struggles.

“We knew we could hurt them on the offensive glass because of how fast they get out of the break. So the fact they got 12 offensive rebounds and shot 52 percent is pathetic,” Willard said. “I think we’re doing a lot of good things offensively. We are. We’re sharing the basketball. We’re just, we’re really struggling defensively… we can’t give up 77 points on 50 percent shooting at home. There’s nothing good on defense right now.”

Areas to Improve

Asked about their defense, redshirt freshman forward Matt Hodge said he thinks he needs to work on communicating as they switch off, not merely passing opponents on to the next man but also making it clear what they’re doing. Those sorts of struggles make sense for a young team with 11 new faces learning to play together. 

“I feel like we’ve gotta communicate better. There will be times where, including me, I don’t talk quick enough,” Hodge said. “Guys, they can’t react quick enough. So we have to communicate way better.”

Freshman Acaden Lewis, who led the team in scoring against Duquesne with 19 points, said he thinks the little things like guards rebounding will help the team improve, lightening the load for big men like Duke Brennan. 

“I think just rebounding. Me and Bryce [Lindsay have] really gotta get in there. Matt Hodge, Duke are down there battling — Duke leads rebounding in the whole country — so we’ve gotta get down there and stop giving up so many second chance points, we need to get down and box out,” Lewis said. “We switch a lot, so I think a better effort from me, Bryce, the rest of the guards, Chris [Jeffrey] and Dev [Devin Askew], will really help us out on defense.”