The Villanova Wildcats will head to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ to take on the struggling Seton Hall Pirates. The game is on Monday, February 25th at 9PM. It will be televised on ESPNU.
Villanova is coming off a big win over #17 Marquette on senior night. That was a resume-building win as Joe Lunardi has now placed them in the "Last Four In" category. Before the game,they were one of the teams in the "Last Four Out" for a NCAA Tournament bid. In that win over Marquette, the Wildcats came out playing poor offensively again in the first half. They were getting pretty good looks but just weren't knocking down the shots. However, they're defense was playing phenomenal. They had great communication, and great switches on ball screens.
At the half, the score was tied at 22. Once the second half started, they executed much better offensively. Darrun Hilliard was the main reason for that, as he led the Wildcats with 22 points (14 of them coming in the second half.) All in all, Villanova did a great job of protecting their home court and the win really helped their case for a NCAA Tournament bid.
Seton Hall is having a very rough season. They have lost 9 games in a row with their last win coming against South Florida on January 23rd. They find themselves second to last in the Big East. The team has been plagued by injuries all season. On Saturday, the Pirates got blown out by the Louisville Cardinals 79-61.
Here are a few things the Wildcats will have to do to avoid the upset vs the Pirates.
Come Out of the Gates Hot Offensively
In back to back games (Rutgers and Marquette) Villanova has shot awful in the first half. Against Rutgers, they had only 19 first half points and found themselves down 10 at halftime. As I stated in the introduction, we only had 22 points vs Marquette. They were lucky to come out of both of those games with wins. Their defense is what has kept those games close in the first half. The 'Cats have to be careful though, if they don't play up to the level their capable on defense along with their offensive struggles in the first half, this game might be closer than what most people think. I'm not sure if it's just a Pavillion thing because they have shot poorly there all season, but it has to stop. They will have to be more consistent for the remainder of the season if they want to lock up a bid for the NCAA Tournament. Villanova should win if they can come out of the gates shooting a high percentage.
Defend the 3 Point Line
Villanova has struggled at times this season defending the 3-ball. The Pirates are a very good three point shooting team. On the season, they are shooting 35.6% from deep, which has them 3rd in the Big East in that Category. Junior SG Fuquan Edwin leads the team at 41.5%. Villanova will have to make sure they know where he is at all times on the court because he is the one main guy on Seton Hall that can really hurt you. I have faith that they will be able to limit Edwin because of their recent success vs teams best guards. If Villanova can do that, they should leave New Jersey with an easy win.
Villanova is coming off a big win over #17 Marquette on senior night. That was a resume-building win as Joe Lunardi has now placed them in the "Last Four In" category. Before the game,they were one of the teams in the "Last Four Out" for a NCAA Tournament bid. In that win over Marquette, the Wildcats came out playing poor offensively again in the first half. They were getting pretty good looks but just weren't knocking down the shots. However, they're defense was playing phenomenal. They had great communication, and great switches on ball screens.
At the half, the score was tied at 22. Once the second half started, they executed much better offensively. Darrun Hilliard was the main reason for that, as he led the Wildcats with 22 points (14 of them coming in the second half.) All in all, Villanova did a great job of protecting their home court and the win really helped their case for a NCAA Tournament bid.
Seton Hall is having a very rough season. They have lost 9 games in a row with their last win coming against South Florida on January 23rd. They find themselves second to last in the Big East. The team has been plagued by injuries all season. On Saturday, the Pirates got blown out by the Louisville Cardinals 79-61.
Here are a few things the Wildcats will have to do to avoid the upset vs the Pirates.
Come Out of the Gates Hot Offensively
In back to back games (Rutgers and Marquette) Villanova has shot awful in the first half. Against Rutgers, they had only 19 first half points and found themselves down 10 at halftime. As I stated in the introduction, we only had 22 points vs Marquette. They were lucky to come out of both of those games with wins. Their defense is what has kept those games close in the first half. The 'Cats have to be careful though, if they don't play up to the level their capable on defense along with their offensive struggles in the first half, this game might be closer than what most people think. I'm not sure if it's just a Pavillion thing because they have shot poorly there all season, but it has to stop. They will have to be more consistent for the remainder of the season if they want to lock up a bid for the NCAA Tournament. Villanova should win if they can come out of the gates shooting a high percentage.
Defend the 3 Point Line
Villanova has struggled at times this season defending the 3-ball. The Pirates are a very good three point shooting team. On the season, they are shooting 35.6% from deep, which has them 3rd in the Big East in that Category. Junior SG Fuquan Edwin leads the team at 41.5%. Villanova will have to make sure they know where he is at all times on the court because he is the one main guy on Seton Hall that can really hurt you. I have faith that they will be able to limit Edwin because of their recent success vs teams best guards. If Villanova can do that, they should leave New Jersey with an easy win.
