Villanova Game thread 2/21/23

[muskieman]

Justin Moore 10-13 and only 7 games back and less than a year from Achilles tear,

[ChitownSteve]

Wtf was Miller doing at the end? Down one five fouls and you just let them dribble it down?

How do you know lengthen the game and be aggressive to burn the foul and even maybe just put them at 1+1 so you can get more chances? At home? With big East refs dying to play to the emotion of the crowd? This one is on millers game management 100%

Huh? X had the ball with 11 seconds to go and down only one point. Fouling would not have placed X in any real better position, other than possibly being down one with a bit more on the clock. However, that could also give Villanova more clock, given when X might have shot. Worse, X could have been down either two or three by fouling. I have no problem with playing great D and having the last possession.

It was the pathetic drive, and wild flip, at the end that doomed X’s hopes.

[Kevin Reilly]

Very good effort by the team. I think the increased defensive effort is effecting our offense and our legs. Wish Edwards had played in the 2nd half. Boum was quiet in the 2nd half. I don't like Boum taking the last shot. Doesn't seem to get a GOOD LOOK. The 14 turnovers got us. The telegraphed lob passes into Nunge and Hunter were picked off . Neither guy can hold his guy off when the guards throw the ball into them. Hate to lose at home but we are tired. Moore killed us. Jones played fantastic on defense but struggled on offense. Love the effort but we ran out of steam in the second half.
[

[pdxmuskie]

Boum has lost the last 2 for Xavier. 2 TOs in the last 40 seconds against Marquette and then a wild shot with plenty of time left against Nova. Certainly Kunkel deserves a lot of credit for this loss given his 2 turnovers late combined with giving them a 3 point play and 3 off those turnovers.

X has lost to 3 of the worst 4 teams in the BE. This team can lose to anyone but also capable of beating anyone.

The defensive effort is improved from earlier in the season. Decision making is much worse. Going for the high risk pass to the block is not a good idea unless you are outmatched and desperate. Work the ball for the right angle into the post.

Free will increase the margin of error. He will allow more rest for the bigs and create more offensive efficiency. He won't however fix the decision making issues. The team has to fix that before he returns or they will eventually lose, even at full strength.

[connecticut72]

I usually agree with K Reily but I am tired of this our team is tired stuff. Isn´t the rest of league tired? The fact of the matter is X has a very small margin of error at this point against the better teams. We are playing short handed and it is a problem. We are playing hard and for the most part smart
but we will need to be close to perfect to win from here on out. Villanova will be a tough out in the Big East. I do not see us winning on the road again with the possible exception of Seton Hall. The BE tourney is going to be difficult. I am hoping for a 8 seed in the NCAA which is normally a bad seed. We have has a good season considering our short comings.

[Anti-Homer]

At full strength, as they are now, Nova is a Top 20 team. They were top 15 in most preseason polls. You saw the impact of Justin Moore, but I think that had as much to do with Kunkel guarding him as much as anything else. Miller should have played Claude more because he continues to impress on offense and plays outstanding defense. The latter, T.O.s and X’s inability to exploit the great height differential cost them the game. Nunge played great D, but his soft side on offense reared its ugly head yet again. At one point, he caught the ball two feet from the hole but had the renowned shot blocker, 6’4” Justin Moore guarding him, so he threw it out of course. They also executed the high-low like the average 6th-grade girl’s CYO team.

Nova sold out on Boum on the last possession, but you knew he’d force the shot, 3 on 1, with the worst angle, going weak side. It probably would have helped if Nunge rolled to the hole and didn’t just watch from the free throw line, but it wouldn’t have mattered, b/c Boum was determined to shoot the ball under any circumstances. I closed my eyes and flashed back to Scruggs doing the same last year. After a great 1st 20 games or so in terms of ball security, he is channeling Free’s trend who in his 1st ten games averaged about four T.O.s during that span. There are only 3 teams who are sub-100 teams, two top 75 caliber, and six top 25 caliber teams in the B.E. Losing one of the top scorers in the league leaves little room for error. In most games, even against very good teams like the Zags, Marquette, and Nova, X was not beaten. They self-destructed. Boum must execute better down the stretch. Surprisingly, he has been a weak link lately in the last two minutes.

Bottom line is with Free, X is an E-8 caliber team, and possibly a FF. Without him, SW 16 is probably the ceiling. The best part of the night is the continued evolution of Des Claude. He is looking like a clone of Colby. X has to win out and win at least one in the BE Tourney to have a shot at the 4 seed in the Dance. Still a hell of a lot better than the past four years. Thank you, Coach Miller.

[Anti-Homer]

Colby, Colby, Colby not on the three point shot

Colby was outstanding defensively but forced more shots today than in the last five games.

[Anti-Homer]

Wtf was Miller doing at the end? Down one five fouls and you just let them dribble it down?

How do you know lengthen the game and be aggressive to burn the foul and even maybe just put them at 1+1 so you can get more chances? At home? With big East refs dying to play to the emotion of the crowd? This one is on millers game management 100%

Miller's strategy was spot on, even if Nova scores. They had 5 guys on the court who cumulatively shoot around 78% on avg from the line.

[muskieman]

I usually agree with K Reily but I am tired of this our team is tired stuff. Isn´t the rest of league tired? The fact of the matter is X has a very small margin of error at this point against the better teams. We are playing short handed and it is a problem. We are playing hard and for the most part smart
but we will need to be close to perfect to win from here on out. Villanova will be a tough out in the Big East. I do not see us winning on the road again with the possible exception of Seton Hall. The BE tourney is going to be difficult. I am hoping for a 8 seed in the NCAA which is normally a bad seed. We have has a good season considering our short comings.

Look at the minutes X players played tonight and the minutes Nova players played. X had four players that lodged over 34 minutes with Souley at 40 while Nova had one and surprisingly it was Justin Moore Our bench played a total of 23 minutes while Nova's played 67 minutes. Then look at the build of the Nova players versus the X players, only Des has a similar body and size. Without Zack, this team is limping into dubious success in post-season tournaments

[Anti-Homer]

Very good effort by the team. I think the increased defensive effort is effecting our offense and our legs. Wish Edwards had played in the 2nd half. Boum was quiet in the 2nd half. I don't like Boum taking the last shot. Doesn't seem to get a GOOD LOOK. The 14 turnovers got us. The telegraphed lob passes into Nunge and Hunter were picked off . Neither guy can hold his guy off when the guards throw the ball into them. Hate to lose at home but we are tired. Moore killed us. Jones played fantastic on defense but struggled on offense. Love the effort but we ran out of steam in the second half.
[

Edwards was lost on defense today. offense too for that matter. Three guys injured have limited Miller's options.