John Thompson III was worried about the Georgetown students swarming the floor after the Hoyas’ January 15 win over Villanova.
It turns out that the Wildcats were just as swarming on both sides of the ball on Saturday, exacting a measure of revenge on Georgetown.
Villanova shot lights out from the perimeter, building a large advantage over Georgetown that continued into the second half. Villanova’s shooting supplemented the strong defensive effort which smothered the Hoyas.
In the first matchup between these teams in 2015, Georgetown scored 26 points in the paint and 24 off Villanova turnovers. These roles were reversed on Saturday, as there was a clear emphasis by ‘Nova to keep the Hoyas uncomfortable on the offensive end. Along with their strong shooting performance, Villanova took advantage of Georgetown miscues and looked to run when available. When the Wildcats were not knocking down threes in halfcourt sets, they were forcing turnovers (15 for the game) and running in response to missed shots by Georgetown.
In the first 13 minutes, Villanova had four blocked shots. The Wildcats tend to be a slow starting squad this season, so it was clear that they were bent on getting started quickly in this game, particularly on defense.
The main advantage Villanova holds over opponents is that it has a variety of guards who can take over on the offensive end, while still holding a size advantage over their counterparts on the defensive end.
Among Ryan Arcidiacono, Darrun Hilliard, Dylan Ennis and Josh Hart, ‘Nova has a quartet of players capable taking over on the perimeter. Ennis, who gave Villanova a quality 30 minutes on Saturday, may be the key down the stretch. The other three have been consistent most of the season, but Ennis had been cold in the last three games coming in, shooting 2-for-11 in those contests. Saturday was a nice bounce-back performance for the junior.
How substantial was Villanova’s guard-based dominance on Saturday? ‘Nova hit 50 percent from 3-point range. This is an upgrade from the 36 percent average the team brought into this contest. To more fully show VU’s balance, nine different players scored between 8 and 15 points on Saturday.
The prime disadvantage for ‘Nova moving into March is the lack of size in the frontcourt. Outside of Daniel Ochefu and JayVaughn Pinkston, the Wildcats don’t have any difference makers in the paint. While Ochefu and Pinkston are strong players, it is difficult to overcome a lack of frontcourt depth in March. Foul trouble is almost a guarantee, and there are several strong front lines among the nation’s elite teams.
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On the opposite end of this lopsided game, Georgetown is 2-3 since the January 15 victory over Villanova, and appears to have some issues on the offensive end. In losses this season, the Hoyas had shot 41 percent from the floor and 33 percent beyond the arc. On Saturday, this team continued to miss the mark. Georgetown was again all too willing to settle for the 3-point shot on Saturday — it hit its first, but then missed 16 straight. In the last five games, Georgetown has gone over 70 points only twice. There was only one game in December in which the Hoyas did not go over 70, but there have already been five such instances in January. In order to right this ship, Georgetown needs to get defensive stops to run the floor. Scoring in transition is one of its keys and keeps the Hoyas from bogging down and settling for jump shots in the halfcourt.
While each team has a strong candidacy for a relatively high tournament seeding, Villanova and Georgetown are trending in opposite directions. Only time will tell what this means on Selection Sunday.
