Villanova Game thread 02/17/2018

[Anti-Homer]

Unfortunately,

What was lost from yesterday’s game were the brilliant performances of Q, Tre, and Marshall. Q had 12 assists and 2 t.o.s, against intense man to man defense. He also played solid defense and had 10 points on 9 shots. He missed a few short teardrop shots, but now the expectation is for him to make them, due to his greatly improved shooting.

Tre scored 26 points om 13 shots, and made a great play against one of the best defenders in cbb (Bridges) when he executed a left-handed “And 1” opportunity, at a crucial time in the game. Combining that with his 37 points on 12 shots performance against SH, and that’s 63 points on 25 shots. That has to the most efficient two-game performance on offense in X history, especially considering the competition. If not, it would probably be a D West 2 game performance that was better.

Naji held the best pg in cbb to 11 points, and also had 8 boards. He should have had 4 more points, but missed two labs, which he often does, because he plays way too fast at times. He is so explosive however, and once he learns to finish better, he’ll be a clone of James Posey. He is the best NBA prospect on this team, and will be the best all-around player on the roster next year.

Chris Mack is a very good coach but gets spanked every time they play Nova. There’s no shame in that, as JW could be the best coach in cbb. It’s disconcerting though when you consider the sample size (11 games – though X did win one). He needs to be better against them as well. Period. I have high hopes that he will.

[Anti-Homer]

Lot of people on here are all over Scruggs, but the comeback happened with Scruggs on defense and JP sitting. JP can’t guard quick guys and Scruggs can. Paul’s biggest mistake was going back at the Nova player causing a technical and putting himself on the bench for 6-7 minutes. Admit it or not, we needed Scruggs. And why weren’t others letting him know someone was coming behind him. Agree that Mack takes hot players out too often but this loss is not just on Scruggs. Our bigs have been great and carried us to several victories but today the had a bad game. If Jones makes the layup, X is only down one and Scruggs has two fouls rather than four. That sequence ended the X momentum and brought life into a team that was falling apart. Mack’s smartest move, take out both JP and Tre to try and get a stop at the end of the first half. We need them on offense but surely don’t on defense.

Most acknowledge PS' great potential, and improved play over the last 7 or 8 games. However, he still makes crucial mistakes in crucial situations. CM should know that by now, and his t.o. after getting a rebound and getting it stripped because he plays out of control, in my opinion, was the turning point in the game. Did he lose it for X? Absolutely not. Should he have been in during the comeback? Absolutely not.

He also got lost on D a couple of times which led to open jumpers, and bit on a fake by Gillespie who waltzed in for a lab.

I think PS is going to be a very good player at X. However, like Providence, I respectfully feel CM had a mental lapse in his rotation. It happens. Even Bruiser Flint did it a couple of times in the A-10.

[oldhoopster2]

Yes he got beat a couple times. Who didn’t? How many times did JP get beat or lose his man? Certainly more than Scruggs. When we need tighter defense and stops I’ll take Scruggs over JP and it appears the coaches feel the same. Nova is just flat out a better team than X. I might even try a new lineup with Gates at the five for defensive purposes against them. Every Nova starter took at least five 3’s and our bigs are not going to be real effective guarding the perimeter or preventing drives from there. Couldn’t hurt to try since we’ve failed with every other set. I think KG is strong enough to keep Spellman at bay inside, at least more so than KK and maybe quicker to get back to help on drives than any of the bigs. I’d try KG and Naji with Tre, JP and Goodin as a starting lineup and just see what happens. Just my thoughts. I agree to disagree with your opinion on Scruggs.

[harryfe]

Lot of people on here are all over Scruggs, but the comeback happened with Scruggs on defense and JP sitting. JP can’t guard quick guys and Scruggs can. Paul’s biggest mistake was going back at the Nova player causing a technical and putting himself on the bench for 6-7 minutes. Admit it or not, we needed Scruggs. And why weren’t others letting him know someone was coming behind him. Agree that Mack takes hot players out too often but this loss is not just on Scruggs. Our bigs have been great and carried us to several victories but today the had a bad game. If Jones makes the layup, X is only down one and Scruggs has two fouls rather than four. That sequence ended the X momentum and brought life into a team that was falling apart. Mack’s smartest move, take out both JP and Tre to try and get a stop at the end of the first half. We need them on offense but surely don’t on defense.

Most acknowledge PS' great potential, and improved play over the last 7 or 8 games. However, he still makes crucial mistakes in crucial situations. CM should know that by now, and his t.o. after getting a rebound and getting it stripped because he plays out of control, in my opinion, was the turning point in the game. Did he lose it for X? Absolutely not. Should he have been in during the comeback? Absolutely not.

He also got lost on D a couple of times which led to open jumpers, and bit on a fake by Gillespie who waltzed in for a lab.

I think PS is going to be a very good player at X. However, like Providence, I respectfully feel CM had a mental lapse in his rotation. It happens. Even Bruiser Flint did it a couple of times in the A-10.

Scruggs is no life saver. He has almost as many to’s as assists. He got beat on d a few times. He got his tech for coming back at Villanova player which may or may not be deserved but refs decision really can’t be criticized. You can say he is only a freshman but after 28 games you should play like a sophomore. Bob Knight used to say sometime during the first year you need to quit playing like a freshman. When we first signed him some said he could be a ‘one and done”. Probably not. Constant improvement by Naji.
Without Trevon this team would be average. Some criticize his off balance shots but I would rather see one of those than a 3 pointer by Gates the way he is currently shooting. Hope we win out regular season. We should be favored in last 3 games. I will be in NY for Big East tournament.

[oldhoopster2]

I’m headed to NYC also. Should be fun. Last year was great. Hope X can make it to Saturday night this year. I’m not suggesting Scruggs is any kind of savior just that defensively at times he’s a better option than JP and I think he gets a bad rap here from some. Agree on your comments on Tre. Curious why the last four min yesterday seemed like all Goodin and Jones. I don’t think Tre had a shot the last few min. Gotta create for him whenever we’re trying to come back from a deficit.

[bluegrass]

Villanova scored 95 points and only 3 came at the line. Oh and one of their best players was out. They're still the best team in the country. As long as we don't see them in the tournament, we'll be fine .I think we can beat any team in the country other than them

[gundun]

I just heard that Coach Norman Dale has be invited to help us thru the run. He told a reporter that I've seen these guys can shoot but there's more to the game than shooting. There's fundamentals and defense. He was seen getting ready for a defensive practice.

[harryfe]

I just heard that Coach Norman Dale has be invited to help us thru the run. He told a reporter that I've seen these guys can shoot but there's more to the game than shooting. There's fundamentals and defense. He was seen getting ready for a defensive practice.

You might need to explain who Norman Dale is. I had forgotten.

[gundun]

Remember the 1986 classic--Hoosiers?

[harryfe]

But I think Gene Hackman may be too old to help