Villanova Game Thread

[jaysfor3]

Creighton boat races Nebraska on the road, shooting poorly in the 2H, still wins by 29. Kansas State beats Villanova. Nebraska goes on the road and beats Kansas State by double digits.

Yes, this team has flaws which have been outlined in detail on this board, not making excuses, but if we didn't play a grueling game against Alabama a few days ago and Villanova didn't have 10 days off from games and to prepare, I believe Creighton wouldn't have looked so tired on offense and defense that led to the collapse as the game dragged on. It was a big factor IMHO. Villanova looked fresh, energetic throughout the game, Creighton didn't.

Until we develop the bench to produce more, relieving the starters of extensive minutes, I expect more of the same on the short turnaround games especially against opponents who are talented and get long breaks before playing us.

[Outlaw_Wales]

Yuck. That was a disgusting display, yet again.

Great in-game adjustments all night. Great calls and sets out of timeouts all night. Brilliant running the clock down to 8 seconds and using our superior athleticism to get a great last shot at the end of halves, as usual. Wonderful shot making. And I’m sure it’s totally normal for a team consistently talked about as one of the best offenses in the country to score six points in 11 minutes at home.

Feeling super optimistic this morning! Can’t wait to see us on the road at Marquette. And then on the road against Ed Cooley (not like he’s owned us for the last many years). And then back home against Providence (who isn’t super physical and talented like Nova at all).

[drbluejay]

It all starts with a point guard that we don't have. Trey isn't a point guard and Ashworth is an undersized shooting guard that would do good in the Summit league. I give my standout player of the game to Dotzler as he didn't miss any FG's or FT's, no turnovers, never picked up his dribble and his man never scored a point. Pathetic offense and pathetic crowd.

[drbluejay]

Whoever is in charge of the player intro song and overall entertainment to get the crowd going should be fired. I've seen crowds fired up more at a YMCA game.

[McKinney's Neighbor]

This roster makes zero sense. Redundant skill sets in many areas, giant zeros in others. Zero team speed or athleticism. Very little playmaking ability. Mac's a legend that's earned more than a couple get out of jail free cards. But - I have no idea WTF he was doing with this roster.

Leaving the E8 last year with the bones of a team that could win the National Championship and then showing up with this PG situation is beyond baffling.

[Chicagojayfan]

And again, we have no bench

In a funny twist of events based on last season...we'd be absolutely fucked if we didn't have Farabello. We literally can't play Ashworth down the stretch because he's such a defensive liability, has severe limitations due to his size and lack of athleticism, and can't create his own shot. At least Farabello doesn't hurt you. That's where we are at.

Farabello doesn’t hurt you? Missed 2 FT’s at 54-52, followed by his guy blowing by him for a layup and then the horrific turnover when we could
of taken the lead.

I was thinking a lot about this last night. Bello is the new (albeit somewhat better) version of Tyler Clement for Mac. He's the guy he trusts to get to the right place and make the right pass, but he really doesn't add anything to the floor other than as a solid fill in. Yes, he can make clearly wide open shots and he has shown some ability to drive this year, but he's not making a difference out there

And the 3 turnovers he had last night were awful, on top of the 2 missed FT's.

First half: Bello had 7 minutes, Ashworth 17. We scored 1 PPP and held them to .706 PPP
Second half: Bello 9 minutes, Ashworth 13, we scored .889 PPP and held them to 1.214 (gag and barf)
OT: Bello got all 5 minutes, we scored 0.8 PPP held them to 1.250 (same as the second half)

While I get that just a bit more height helped defensively against the pretty tall guards/wings that Nova throws out, Bello should never be getting that many minutes. Did Armstrong rip up Ashworth - yes, but he also ripped up Bello (guess what, he's a top 50 recruit and he does that). Deal with it and get a guy on the floor who can do something other than fill the spot. Sucks that Dixon shredded us and that we couldn't use Kalk in the paint, and while not every team can do that, don't double down on being conservative, play the best guys and make them beat us, not bleed away a lead by playing not to lose

Ashworth played well in the first half, and if this team is going to succeed, Mac needs to get him ready and get him on the floor

[WyoJays]

Whoever is in charge of the player intro song and overall entertainment to get the crowd going should be fired. I've seen crowds fired up more at a YMCA game.

Outside of getting rid of blue crew, what more are the day-of-game staff supposed to do? We've been talking about the sleepy crowd for a few seasons now. There have been at least 4-5 different people on the athletic staff in charge of that over the last several seasons.

[Chicagojayfan]

As I said last night we gave this one away in about every aspect of the game. Defense fell apart. Dixon's a tough matchup, but we got shredded in the second half after playing them tough in the first half. Offense fell apart as well.

I think coaches got too conservative in playing not to lose and not forcing Nova to play us. I give a lot of credit to Mac all of the time, but last night was not a good performance by the staff, IMO

3x this year Baylor and Trey have been awful from the floor and 3X we've lost. Paint was open to Kalk, but we didn't go there enough, and run more damned plays for Miller and Traudt

And the crowd sucked as well

Anyway, second worst Offensive game of the season for us - Only Colorado State was worse. 39.7% from the field, 20.8% from 3 PT range, 16 turnovers (what the heck?),

Defensively, this was the worst offensive game for Nova all season, so on paper it looks kinda OK, but given how we got shredded in the second half, we all know it wasn't a great defensive game

[3ontheway]

Burn the grey unis. Just get rid of them. They are ugly and drab and it seems like the Jays play ugly and drab basketball and it leads to an ugly and drab and sleepy home court crowd. It started with BE Championship game against G'Town a few years back if memory serves, and I know there have been quite a few terrible performances since. Last night was a terrible performance. 10 point home favorite and blew a 14 point lead. Just effing burn those unis.

[ictjay]

George Crook. New Sr Director of Fan Engagement. Degree and Training? The Wichita State University. No wonder. The Geritol crowd at Shocker games has been dying off. Most games last year attendance was under 5,000.