Villanova opened up quarterfinal play in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on Thursday with a 108-67 thrashing of St. John’s. The Wildcats were in control from the opening tip and raced out to a twenty point lead in the first half. The half was capped by a Kris Jenkins three at the buzzer which pushed the lead to twenty six.
Villanova took twenty nine threes in total making fifteen for a scorching 51.7%. The three ball has changed the game of basketball over the past several years and it has impacted all levels. We see what is happening in the NBA and it has trickled down to the youth level in high school and AAU. College basketball has always been in an interesting position, usually last to adopt rules changes and adapting to where the game is going. Villanova and head coach Jay Wright seem to be in on the math that says three is worth more than two, and that is one of the reasons they are poised to repeat as NCAA champs. Defense and maturity are the other reasons. Following Thursday’s beatdown of St. John’s Villanova head coach Jay Wright addressed the media, saying:
I think — we have seniors. Josh Hart. Kris was outstanding offensively, but Josh Hart just set the tone defensively on the boards, getting shots for his teammates, not trying, not trying to do too many things..That was a pretty good effort for us defensively. It really was. And again that is maturity. It’s experience. Just really, again, you are watching, the whole team watched the game together last night. If you’re not prepared for that game, you know, you’re not really paying attention. And I think our guys had a great grasp of the scouting report, and I think they played very intelligently the first half.
Villanova has Big East player of the year Josh Hart, 2016 NCAA hero Kris Jenkins, Jalen Brunson, Eric Paschall and Donte DiVincenzo. That’s a whole lot of spacing on the floor. At any time Nova has three skilled shooters on the floor which opens up penetration lanes for Josh Hart. Because the scouting report will be out to stay home on Nova’s shooters, when the defense is in a scramble situation, wide open layups and dunks will be conceded for fear of wide open threes. In those instances the defense opts to give up two rather than three.
March Madness is a single elimination tournament so there is no guarantee that Nova will repeat. But with last year’s title experience under their belt, Jay Wright calling plays, Josh Hart on the floor, strong defense, and the math which says three is more than two; Nova is poised to make the trip to Arizona for the Final Four.
