Villanova Game Thread

[TrueBlueJay]

Can’t imagine a world in which he wouldn’t have Kalk on Dixon when he is in the post. The switch at UNL was really to counter Mast on the perimeter and then Kalk was guarding Allick when he came into the lane.

Novas roster is such that they have a number of wing type guys and Dixon. Kalk will be on Dixon and / or staying in the lane.

Can’t argue that Kalk will be on Dixon, but he is a good 3 pt shooter and Kalk is not a very good 3 pt defender.

[SDJay]

Against UNL we had Baylor on Mast most of the game.

thanks - for some reason I remembered seeing Traudt doing that, but forgot Mac switched it to Baylor to start the game

My only concern with Dixon is that he's stronger than Mast and a guy who can throw people around in the paint quite a bit, and who knows what other shooters they'll have on the game.

Mac and the coaches gets to earn their paychecks this week

Thigh circumference of Traudt + Baylor= Dixon. Built like a linebacker

[#RollJays]

Sounds like Moore will be out until January even though he is listed as day to day.

[Outlaw_Wales]

Can’t imagine a world in which he wouldn’t have Kalk on Dixon when he is in the post. The switch at UNL was really to counter Mast on the perimeter and then Kalk was guarding Allick when he came into the lane.

Novas roster is such that they have a number of wing type guys and Dixon. Kalk will be on Dixon and / or staying in the lane.

Can’t argue that Kalk will be on Dixon, but he is a good 3 pt shooter and Kalk is not a very good 3 pt defender.

And again — that’s simply not true. Kalk is TOLD to stay in the lane, he stays in the lane. Tell him to guard Dixon on the perimeter he will. He’ll, on a switch last year he guarded JORDAN HAWKINS on the perimeter while preventing him from getting a three off. He can guard the three just fine — he is instructed when to do so.

[TrueBlueJay]

Ok - so let’s say Kalk goes and guards the 3point line - what happens to our ability to keep their guards from the rim?

Tough choices to be made.

[Altmanforprez]

A big reason why we sagged off Dixon last year was due to the rest of Nova's team. This year, Dixon is almost definitely their best player with Moore out.

I think we'll try to stick on Dixon and make the other players beat us. It could mean Baylor is tagged on him and Kalk focuses on help around the rim or Kalk's chasing him around, but that's probably dependent on how his ankle is feeling. I'm not sure what our plan will be when King is though, Mac may try to matchup subs, but Dixon doesn't look like a good matchup for King.

[vivid_dude]

#12 Creighton opens BIG EAST play Wednesday night vs. Villanova

https://gocreighton.com/news/2023/12/18 ... anova.aspx

*BUMP*

These are always great reads. I enjoyed this one more than most.

My favorite tidbits, and there are a ton more to choose from, so please still read it:

1. Villanova has only 13 losses of 15 points or more in the past 10 years. Five of those have come against Creighton. No other team has more than one against the Wildcats.

2. Doug McDermott never trailed in the second half of any home game during his senior season. I almost want to double check the accuracy of this, it's so crazy. But I trust the source.

3. No team has made it into the double bonus (10 fouls) against CU this season.

4. Creighton is the tallest team in the Big East, and the 11th-tallest team in the country, as measured by "average height." Wouldn't have guessed that.

5. Creighton has more Big East wins than any team in the conference over the past four years.

[SeattleJay]

Sounds like Moore will be out until January even though he is listed as day to day.

The only article that I could find on Moore’s status quoted the Coach as saying that he might (or might not) be ready to play against CU. That article was on 12/8.
https://www.inquirer.com/college-sports ... 31208.html

Has there been an update or confirmation?

[Chicagojayfan]

Can’t imagine a world in which he wouldn’t have Kalk on Dixon when he is in the post. The switch at UNL was really to counter Mast on the perimeter and then Kalk was guarding Allick when he came into the lane.

Novas roster is such that they have a number of wing type guys and Dixon. Kalk will be on Dixon and / or staying in the lane.

Can’t argue that Kalk will be on Dixon, but he is a good 3 pt shooter and Kalk is not a very good 3 pt defender.

And again — that’s simply not true. Kalk is TOLD to stay in the lane, he stays in the lane. Tell him to guard Dixon on the perimeter he will. He’ll, on a switch last year he guarded JORDAN HAWKINS on the perimeter while preventing him from getting a three off. He can guard the three just fine — he is instructed when to do so.

Exactly. Kalk isn't all that bad on the outside for a big guy. He can use his length so that he doesn't have to be tight on a shooter, but Mac's going to play the percentages whenever possible, and having Kalk in the middle means depressing every shot at the rim and in the paint for the entire opposing team

And while Dixon made 6 against us (crazy!), he's only made 4 one other time and otherwise he's made 3 3PT shots 6 more times. So 8x in a career 104 games where he's made 3 or more, I can see Mac's logic there even though it sucks Dixon burned us that time. We do have a few options (Baylor and Traudt in particular) so we can switch things up if we want to run him off the 3 pt line though

[JacobPadilla]

Against UNL we had Baylor on Mast most of the game.

thanks - for some reason I remembered seeing Traudt doing that, but forgot Mac switched it to Baylor to start the game

My only concern with Dixon is that he's stronger than Mast and a guy who can throw people around in the paint quite a bit, and who knows what other shooters they'll have on the game.

Mac and the coaches gets to earn their paychecks this week

Isaac definitely took a few turns on Mast. Baylor took him when he was out there with Mason.

That's actually what they've gone with this year, Baylor guarding 4s and Miller guarding 3s more often than not, depending on how good the players in question are. That speaks to the strength and conditioning work Baylor put in to build up his body even more after last year.

As for Villanova, basically everybody that sees extended minutes for them takes 3+ 3s per game. Their point guard, Mark Armstrong, is really the only exception. However, most of them are not shooting a good percentage at this point. Dixon is their second-best shooter by percentage but is only sixth in attempts. Their only non-shooting forward is Lance Ware, and he only plays 11 minutes per game. Think they're mostly going to just have to play straight up unless they put Kalk on Longino (who would likely start if Moore is out) or something and have him sag off.

For reference, Dixon vs. Creighton last year:
— Omaha: 20 pts, 7-18 Fg (1-6 3FG), 5-6 FT, L
— Philly: 31 pts, 11-15 FG (6-8 3FG), 3-3 FT, W (best game of his career until the 34-10 against UNC this year)
— MSG: 20 pts, 7-16 GH (3-7 3FG), 3-4 FT, L