During the Friars’ most recent outing, they took a lead into half-time against West Virginia and played to a draw at the end of regulation. They lost when Darryl Bryant, nailed a 3-pointer with about a second left on the clock, giving the Mountaineers an 87-84 victory.

Vincent Council, a junior guard, has been trying to fill the void left by the graduation of MarShon Brooks on the scoreboard. Council has averaged 16.1 points per game, grabbed 4.3 rebounds and dished out an average of 7.7 assists. He is the offensive driving force behind the Friars attack.

Bryce Cotton, a sophomore guard, is Council’s sidekick, scoring 15.3 points per game, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists, while leading the team in 3-point percentage at 41.8%. Two other players have averaged a score in double-digits, sophomore guard Gerard Coleman with 14.2 ppg and freshman forward LaDontae Henton with 13.8 ppg and a 39.2% success-rate from beyond the arc.

Other than Henton and Cotton, no Providence players have been able to consistently make their shots from deep.

Those two players may be enough, however, to make the Wildcats’ defense struggle. Villanova really hasn’t done a good job of guarding the perimeter for 40 minutes in any of their games this season. Certainly not in the last few.

Offensively, Villanova is still looking for a second option after Maalik Wayns. The talented guard has been the only consistent threat to score on the Villanova roster, with a number of players performing well, but none consistently. Mouphtaou Yarou recorded a double-double against Pittsburgh, but has also had games where he was a statistical non-factor. Along with Dominic Cheek, his development has been a disappointment to Jay Wright so far.

James Bell and JayVaughn Pinkston have both performed well in the last few games, with Pinkston scoring in double digits in 8 of 10 games since January 1st — including 3 double-doubles. Bell, for his part, has scored in double-digits in each of the last 5 games, starting with the Seton Hall victory. Bell also had a double-double against Louisville and leads the team with 36.7% shooting from 3-point range.

Villanova needs a more balanced attack and an answer for defense on the perimeter, and that is what the ‘Cats are trying to find when they talk about “getting better,” this season. Nobody will magically transform into a sharpshooter before the end of the season, nor will any player learn to take defenders off the dribble overnight. Instead, the ‘Cats need to meet the more reasonable goals of playing competent defense and offense that can survive without Wayns on the court.

A win for the Wildcats would be their 14th over the Friars at the Pavilion and push them up into the group of four teams with 4-wins on the season. They wouldn’t have to win out in order to finish the season at .500 in the league, but they would in order to finish above that mark. That is about what it would take for the Wildcats to climb up to the middle of the Big East pack.

The game will tip-off at 8:00 p.m. eastern from the Pavilion at Villanova and coverage will be provided by ESPN3.com and locally on WPHL-17.

The two teams, who played in an epic game for a spot in the Final Four a mere three years ago, are trying to emerge as the least disappointing team in the Big East this year.

‘Nova (10-12 overall) and the Panthers (14-9) both share 13th place in the conference with a 3-7 record in the BIG EAST. At the moment, only DePaul and Providence are sporting worse conference records. At the dismay of many Nova fans, St. John’s is the only other BIG EAST school with a sub-500 record.

Point Guard Ashton Gibbs leads the Panthers with 16.4ppg and 2.8 assists- PITT is on a 3-1 streak since his return to the lineup following an abdominal injury. Nasir Robinson adds 12.4 points in the paint and grabs 6.6 boards.

Tipoff is slated for 2p from Petersen Events Center- a venue where Villanova is 0-4. The game will be carried on ESPN.

That was the margin by which Marquette took their win over Villanova on New Years day. That game was in Milwaukee, however, on the Golden Eagles’ home court — Saturday’s game will give the Wildcats a chance at revenge in Philadelphia.

In their last meeting, Marquette had a 3 point lead at halftime and extended that lead by just one point in the second half. Villanova disappeared for large parts of the game, but had a strong showing at the end of each half to keep things close.

Jay Wright said afterwards.  “We didn’t play 40 minutes but we did play the last 4 minutes of each half. When you’re talking about these things, that’s not a good sign, but I do see signs of promise in this group. We don’t have any glaring weaknesses but we’ve got a lot of little weaknesses — turnovers, shot selection.”

In that game, Markus Kennedy had one of his best performances of the season, scoring 8 points with 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks. He played 25 minutes while nearly all of the teams’ starters struggled with foul trouble. Four Wildcats fouled out of that game.

Marquette’s stars are senior guard, Darius Johnson-Odom, one of the league’s best scorers with 18.1 points per game (less than a point behind Maalik Wayns), and forward Jae Crowder, who averages 16.2 points per game. In addition to being Marquette’s only players averaging a double-figure score, they are also the team’s best three-point shooters, averaging 39.5% and 38.8% respectively.

Crowder also grabs a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game and nabs 2.3 steals as well. Against Villanova on New Years Day, he didn’t manage to break into double-digits, however.

Johnson-Odom did break into double-digits, scorint 24 points against the Wildcats. Three other players scored 11 or more points, including forwards Jamil Wilson and Davante Gardner and guard Todd Mayo.

Home or away, Marquette promises to be a tough out. Villanova can’t take a breather and hope to win a game against the Golden Eagles — and they can’t afford to waste possessions on offense.

Kennedy had a good game against Marquette the last time out, but both he and Mouph Yarou have been inconsistent this season. The Wildcats will need one or both to establish a strong presence in the post on Saturday, and to work the glass for rebounding opportunities that will end opposing possessions and give the ‘Cats second-chance opportunities when they miss.

Most importantly is to play consistently for 40 minutes. Too often this season either defense, offense, or both have been missing for 20 minutes per game. A stronger second-half defense in New York would have allowed the ‘Cats to beat the Johnnies in regulation instead of needing an overtime to finish the job. Similarly, despite a good first half against Louisville, Nova came out flat in the second half and allowed the Cardinals to take control.

Villanova and Marquette have played more than a few close games in the last few years. The teams have been similar in many ways. This one promises to be no different.

The game will tip-off at Noon from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. Tickets are still available.

(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

With the odds again stacked against them, the Wildcats will travel to the KFC Yum! Center in search of their second road victory of the season. Louisville, like Villanova, has just three conference victories so far this season, beating struggling St. John’s, DePaul and Pittsburgh since conference play started.

They had won 12 straight to open the season.

The Cardinals had dealt with some injury trouble this season. Kyle Kuric had been out with a left ankle sprain, but returned at the weekend against Pittsburgh to score a season-high 21 points. Kevin Ware, however, was limited with a bruised knee and played just one minute against the Panthers. Junior forward Rakeem Buckles suffered the worst injury of all, tearing his ACL against Marquette earlier in the season.

Louisville is ranked 25th coming into their home game with Villanova, but the Cardinals haven’t defeated a good team in conference play and currently sit just a half-game ahead of the Wildcats in the Big East standings. Their best wins came in non-conference play against two good programs from Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Memphis.

Kuric is the scoring leader with 13.4 points per game and contributes 4.9 rebounds per game and 1.6 steals. Russ Smith is second with 12.5 points and 2.7 steals. Center Gorgui Dieng has been close to a double-double, averaging 10.2 points and 9.4 boards for the Cardinals, while Chris Smith has scored 10.1 per game to round out the double-digit scorers.

Point guard Peyton Siva has been an important cog for the Louisville attack, scoring just 7.9 points per game, but dishing out 5.9 assists per contest.

The Cardinals shoot 31.6% from beyond the arc, which is slightly better than the Wildcats’ 30.6%. Their offense is ranked just 142nd in the nation in efficiency, scoring just 1.024 points per possession.

The pressing Louisville defense, however, ranks 10th in the nation, holding opponents to just 0.875 points per possession. Big East opponents have fared slightly better, scoring 0.993 points per possession.

Like Pittsburgh, Villanova is a mirror-opposite of the Cardinals. While Louisville has been strong on defense, they have struggled on offense this season. Villanova has been notably weak defensively, but hasn’t had as much trouble scoring. That difference left the Cardinals with just a 3-point lead at half-time at Pittsburgh on Saturday, but ended with an 11-point los for the Panthers.

Can Villanova play differently?

Siva credited his team’s ability to keep the rebounding differential close for their win over Pitt (they were beat 12-8 on the offensive glass but had slightly more total rebounds). Villanova has been very good on the boards this season, however, and will try to vacuum up every ball on their trip to Kentucky, which will be key with two teams that are as likely to teach a masonry lesson as play basketball.

Villanova will again rely on Maalik Wayns and JayVaughn Pinkston to create scoring opportunities, drive to the basket, draw fouls and score points. Both players have been performing well doing so in the last few games, and the team has been able to scrap its way to two straight wins.

Drawing fouls has been key to Villanova basketball success under Jay Wright. Not only will it get you to the line, but it causes the opponent to become less physical as the game goes on, creating an advantage.

The Wildcats still need to play tighter defense, however. They held St. John’s to under a point per possession for the game, but were weak on defense in the second half, allowing St. John’s to take control for a while and ultimately forcing them to win the game in overtime, where some fortuitous free throw shooting aided the ‘Cats to a victory.

Neither Villanova nor Louisville has looked great in Big East play this season, but the Cardinals are ranked for a reason. Their defense will be a challenge for the young Wildcats to figure out, and their penchant for stealing the ball could be a threat to a team that has had trouble protecting it.

Villanova will look to build on two consecutive wins, while Louisville looks to use Villanova to generate momentum for a tough road trip to Newark on Saturday.

The game will tip off at 7:00pm on Wednesday, January 25, from the Yum! Center in Louisville, KY. It will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Just as Amir Garrett was finally academically-qualified to join the team this spring, the Red Storm point guard, Nurideen Lindsay decided to transfer — currently to Rider University, though he briefly committed to Arkansas. Lindsay had been the team’s third-leading scorer with 11.8 points per game as well as the assist leader with 2.9.

In addition to losing players, the Red Storm are also missing their coach. Steve Lavin has been cleared of his prostate cancer, but hasn’t been cleared to return to to the bench, yet. He has said that he will return, however, but needs to get his strength back first.

“What helps in dealing with that frustration is knowing that we have a first-rate staff,” Lavin told reporters on a Big East conference call. “Being in communication with them and being in concert with them and getting enough time working with the players both individually and then as a group is the only way we can move our team forward at this point. But I’d say it’s clearly the most challenging experience of my coaching career.”

Through those difficulties, the Johnnies have won 8 games and lost 10, and have a 2-5 record in the Big East. Their conference wins were against Providence and an away game at Cincinnati.

Given the massive turnover, it should be no surprise that 2 of the team’s 3 remaining double-digit scorers are freshmen. Swingman Moe Harkless has averaged 15.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while guard D’Angelo Harrison contributes 14.6 points, 4 rebounds, and a team-leading 31.1% 3-point percentage.

Junior forward and all-name team nominee, God’sgift Achiuwa, rounds out the top scorers with 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest.

The Red Storm have played 7 or fewer players in their last 15 games and have had issues with foul trouble because of it. That lack of depth perhaps has worn the usual players a bit ragged in conference play. They have lost their last three games.

They’ve struggled both offensively and defensively this season, ranking 186th and 179th respectively in those categories. Opponents have scored easily from both outside and inside the paint. Where the Johnnies have performed well, however, is stealing the basketball, getting blocks and being stingy when it comes to opponents getting to the charity stripe. All of which will give them a chance to knock Villanova out of sync.

Since St. Johns has no really reliable outside shooters, Saturday’s game will likely be won at close range. Villanova has succeeded in two games where players drove to the basket more and took fewer long-range jumpshots — against DePaul and Seton Hall. The ‘Cats offense will benefit from going again to that strategy in New York.

The Johnnies will allow them some good looks from outside as well, but the sudden emergence of JayVaughn Pinkston necessitates a new strategy. Both Pinkston and Wayns have proven more than capable of drawing contact and scoring at the charity stripe. Until that strategy fails, Villanova should be driving to the basket as a first priority on offense.

Defensively, the ‘Cats have looked better in man coverage than they have in their 2-3 zone. There are still excellent perimeter looks to be had for opposing teams regardless of system, but at least against St. John’s, there won’t be many players skilled enough to take advantage of them.

Villanova will hope to battle with St. John’s in New York as well as they battled at home on Wednesday. A victory would be the first for the ‘Cats on the road this season, and and important momentum-building going into a difficult stretch of the schedule where they will face #21 Louisville and re-match against #22 Marquette.

The game will tip-off at 1:00pm from Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

Five Questions with Rumble In the Garden

When Pico from the St. John’s blog, Rumble In the Garden, asked us to trade questions with him about the game, I dreamed some up to pass along. You can read my responses to his questions over on his site and you can read his responses to my questions right here.

Well… the thing is, it was evident by the beginning of last season that Lavin was targeting a lot of players – as required by the previous staff’s compilation of 2011 graduates – and in targeting players, he went after talent potential. One of the things between those players and their potential, of course, were questions about their academics. Pelle and Sampson and Nurideen had rumors about their academics; Sir`Dominic Pointer had some questions too. So seeing most of those guys go was a surprise but not completely unexpected. Amir Garrett’s academic status was a surprise.

Lindsey’s transfer was a surprise as well – he’s already 21 (and a transfer seems to make no sense if he wants to get to the NBA. Coupled with the reasons he left – not enjoying being asked to play in a different manner – yeah, it’s surprising. Any coach would tell him that he needs to learn how to be a point guard, how to not just drive into the teeth of defenses…

I think talent does a lot of the winning on this level of college basketball. And having a team entirely of newcomers (and a low-impact junior) is a problem in all facets of the game. Lavin’s absence hurts, but the team isn’t wildly affected by it – Lavin’s not worth 20 points per game or 10-20 better possessions. The young’ins have to learn, and only having seven players means that the energy is always a factor. And the kind of players they have is an issue. The style of play they want – pressing and trapping – needs a few more players, and at least one good rebounder, if not a few great rebounders.

D`Angelo Harrison can take his opportunities and, when he has confidence, put up points. He’s due for a good game. Thanks for making me a little more excited about St. John’s chances!!

Offense. The defense is a mix of not having enough bodies, slower rotations, and a need for more strength – and a rebounder.

The offense… needs a lot of help. And more transition chances. And for players to finish their transition chances. There is one player who can create a shot. The team’s point guard play is handled by two guards learning the position. There are few players who can/ should use up more possessions (breakout candidates), and no one on the roster is a reliable three-point shooter. A number of guys need to develop both their consistency and their skills in the offseason. I can see the defense becoming more ferocious, forcing more turnovers.

I think the NIT is more likely in their second season, dependent on the freshmen they can bring in and how they play. The rebounding is simply, truly awful, and needs a hand or three. Incoming transfer Jamal Branch will help with the offensive cohesion at midseason. I can see a few players becoming better shooters.

Amir Garrett won’t be a salve on this season; he’s a good player, will be nice on defense, but not enough to carry the team. A team-wide improvement is necessary.

Seton Hall was ranked in the Associated Press poll in week 10, losing that distinction after a disappointing loss in Tampa to the USF Bulls. Prior to that, they won 4 straight Big East games, including wins over West Virginia and a then-#8-ranked UConn Huskies.

Coach Kevin Willard’s program has seen its turnaround driven by players like Jordan Theodore, who is perhaps the biggest snubs left off of the 2012 Bob Cousy Award watch list, and a newfound dedication to defense.

Theodore is second on the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game and generates an impressive 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game as well. Seton Hall does plenty of scoring inside with senior forward leading the way with 17.1 points per game. Sophomore swingman Fuquan Edwin is a solid shooting threat for the Pirates as well, connecting on 45.6% from deep, scoring 14.3 points per game and grabbing 6.4 rebounds. Edwin also leads the nation with an average of 3 steals per game.

Edwin’s rebounding is impressive, but it is dwarfed by the efforts of Pope on the glass. The star big man averages a double-double, pulling down 10.6 rebounds.

Though the Pirates no longer have Jeremy Hazell to generate an abundance of offense, they are clearly not slouches. Their offense has shown an ability to score baskets, though they have ranked middle-of-the-pack in the Big East conference in efficiency during conference play so far.

Their defense, meanwhile, is rated 25th in the nation and has been 2nd in conference play, continuing the pattern of improvement in that category under Willard. Opponents shooting percentages from both 2-points and 3-points have been held low enough to rank 4th in the conference defensively.

Villanova played a close game against Cincinnati on Saturday, but didn’t play tight enough defense in either half to build a lasting lead. The Bearcats, meanwhile, locked down on the Villanova offense in the second half.

Against Seton Hall, expect that the Pirates will put forth a similar offensive effort, meaning that the Villanova offense will need to find a strategy that will work against Willard’s aggressive defense. Having a 62% 3-point barrage in the first half  isn’t a lasting strategy to that effect, and the Wildcats are still learning how to score without those bombs falling in (except, arguably, Maalik Wayns, who seemed to do just fine on Saturday).

Villanova will also need to find solutions for the Seton Hall attack. Yarou and Kennedy will likely be needed to cover Pope, while Ty Johnson seems likely to be assigned to cover Theodore. If Johnson is off the court, that duty will fall to Maalik Wayns by default, and he will have to hustle to control t the talented point guard.

If psychology matters at all, this would be a good game to give James Bell a chance at some big minutes. Last season Bell had his biggest game against the Pirates in Newark, scoring 21 points on 66% shooting from beyond the arc. Giving him another opportunity against the same opponent might give him some flashbacks to that moment and help him build some confidence in himself as a scorer and a shooter — he remains the only Villanova player connecting on more than one third of his 3-point attempts this season.

Based on results so far, Villanova won’t be the favorite very often the rest of the way. Ken Pomeroy projects that a Seton Hall win in this match-up is 55% likely, and if the home crowd is as weak as it was a week prior against Syracuse, the ‘Cats will have one less advantage going for them.

The game will tip-off at 7:00pm from the Pavilion at Villanova and will be broadcast live nationally on ESPNU.

Playing for Peace

Both universities will be playing to support the Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) efforts in Sudan on Wednesday in the “Playing for Peace” initiative. The initiative is using college athletics to “shine a light on the Sudanese people who remain at risk of violence, hunger, displacement and human suffering.”

As part of this initiative, CRS will provide the coaching staff of both teams with special Playing for Peace ribbons to wear during the game. Villanova and Seton Hall have also designed shooting shirts for players to wear during pre-game warm-ups and halftime. Additionally, CRS student ambassadors will greet fans as they enter the arena to distribute half-page fact sheets with information about “Playing for Peace,” and instructions for an important legislative ask. A halftime ceremony featuring remarks from the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, Villanova University President, will further shine a light on the importance of “Staying with Sudan.”

Villanova alumnus and Sudanese “Lost Boy” Malual Deng-Duot `11, as well as other Lost Boys living locally in Philadelphia, will be in attendance for the event.

Read more about the initiative and how the game and the two universities will be involved at Villanova.com.

(AP Photo/Tony Tribble)

This year the Big East will be an uphill battle for the Wildcats, who have yet to learn the finer points of winning basketball games. Now they will travel to Cincinnati, where the 13-4 Bearcats await them this weekend. Cincy is coming off of a big win in Washington D.C. over a Georgetown team that has looked strong in its own right this season.

Villanova is hoping to bounce back from a loss to number-1 ranked Syracuse in a “home” game that looked and sounded like it was at the Carrier Dome — a loss that dropped their record below .500.

As a team, Cincinnati shoots 36.4% from the three-point arc. and has nine players who have connected on one-third or more of their shots. That makes them a serious threat to a Villanova defense that has struggled at times controlling the perimeter (though the Syracuse offense was held about 10-percentage points below its season-average from 3 on Wednesday).

Yancy Gates might be the biggest name on the Cincinnati roster, but their leading scorer this season has been sophomore guard Sean Kilpatrick, who has averaged 16.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Kilpatrick is just one piece of a talented Cincy backcourt.

Joining Kilpatrick are Cashmere Wright, a junior point guard who averages 10.2 points and 4.8 assists, and Dion Dixon, a senior who contributes 13.6 points. 3.9 rebounds and 2 assists per game. The other starter against Georgetown was junior guard Jaquon Parker, who averages 9.5 points and is the team’s best 3-point threat at 58.3%.

The Bearcats switched to a four-guard system after a brawl with players from Xavier during the non-conference schedule lead to six-game suspensions for  Yancy Gates and Cheikh Mbodj. Both were relegated to coming off of the bench for a period after their suspensions ended, but Gates appears to be back in the starting lineup now.

Freshman guard Ge’Lawn Guyn will not be available for the Bearcats on Saturday after suffering a head injury against Georgetown.

The Cincinnati defense is ranked 40th in the nation while their offense is rated 70th — both notably higher than the Wildcats’ rating.

The Bearcats left the fans at Casual Hoya sounding very much like VUhoops commenters this week:

Can we guard the perimeter? Can JT3 adjust? Will he stop playing favorites? Will we have poise at the end of games? Can we inbound the freaking basketball?

Villanova is just 1-7 in away and neutral-site games this season, and a win on the road in Big East play would be a huge boost for the Wildcats. To pull it off, however, will be no easy task.

Villanova will need to start strong and go into the half without an insurmountable deficit like they had to contend with on Wednesday night. Even outscoring the Orange in the second half couldn’t truly bring the ‘Cats back into contention when they had almost 20 points to cover.

They will also need to get more offensive production from Maalik Wayns, who scored just 3 points in the last game. Wayns was moved off the ball recently to allow him to simplify his game and concentrate more on scoring points. That move is a fruitless one if he is not productive on the box score.

Nova will also need to work very hard on defense and cover the perimeter at least as well as they did on Wednesday night. If they can hold Cincy below 30% shooting from deep as well, then the score might be held close enough to give the  Wildcats a chance. Good defense can help drive the offense as well.

Villanova needs to get the young players more involved. Starting Markus Kennedy and Ty Johnson is a good start, but players like JayVaughn Pinkston have played well in recent games as well. Pinkston’s minutes remain limited despite this, and that should be a matter of concern for Wildcat fans.

Mouphtaou Yarou will be another factor in this game. Going up against the talented Yancy Gates, Yarou is in danger of wearing down by the second half. Nova will need to switch him off with Markus Kennedy on the Cincy bigs to try and keep each player fresh.

Georgetown suffered in part because they turned the ball over 17 times to Cincy. Villanova averages about 13 turnovers per game and will need to do a better job of protecting the ball against a team that is more than capable of burning its opponents on turnovers.

Can Villanova win this game or have they reached a point where moral victories are good enough? Moral victories are never going to be enough for the Wildcat faithful, but some progress in a loss would at least provide hope for the future.

The game will tip-off at Noon on Saturday from Cincinnati and will be carried nationally on ESPN3.com or on Big East regional TV partners like WPHL-17. Check your local listings.

When the Orange comes to Philadelphia on Wednesday night, it will be first time that the Wildcats will face the current number-one ranked team since February 2006, when the Wildcats last stormed the Wells Fargo Center Floor. It will be the 20th time that a Villanova team has played a top-ranked opponent, though the program has hardly been David against those Goliaths, going 5-14 all-time against the Associated Press #1.

For the Orange, senior forward Kris Joseph leads the way with 14.1 points per game along with 4.9 rebounds. Dion Waiters adds 12.5 points per game and 3 assists in  the Syracuse backcourt while junior guard Brandon Triche accounts for 10.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

The impressive thing is that Waiters does that off of the bench. Scoop Jardine starts at the point alongside Triche.

Though the Orange have only three players who average double-digit points, they are deep, with bench players who can make big contributions on any given night, as evidenced by Waiters. Another example is forward C.J. Fair, who is second on the team in rebounding despite not starting.

Syracuse can take advantage of a team from the perimeter, shooting 37.3% as a team but having 5 players connecting on more than one third of their attempts. That includes Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche, who have each made 42.6%.

Defensively, Syracuse plays primarily in one of the toughest 2-3 zones in America to crack. Their opponents have scored just 60.2 points per game against them, though conference opponents (all four of them) have fared just slightly better with 64.

In the past the Wildcats have relied on outside shooting to crack the Syracuse zone. This season that option will not be as fruitful — the ‘Cats are shooting just 30% from beyond the arc with just one player connecting on more than one third of his attempts for the season (James Bell with 33.9%). That difficulty has caused the Wildcats to look lost against zone defenses for most of the season.

If the distance shots aren’t falling on Wednesday night the ‘Cats will need to find another way to attack the zone.

Getting the ball into the high-post may create some options. Once the ball is in the high-post, the zone defenders have to react. If they do not, there will be a very wide open 15-foot jumper for the high-post player. Another shot that could open up is in the low-post, if a defender comes out from there to cover.

More likely, however, those shots will open up on the wing, where someone will have to take them. Based on Villanova’s abysmal outside shooting so far this season, the Orange would be wise to allow that shot rather than a close-range one.

That leaves one option for Villanova to attack the zone: avoid it.

Pushing the pace and forcing turnovers on defense might allow the Wildcats to score in transition before the Syracuse defenders are able to get set into their zone. That challenge will be a difficult one since Syracuse turns the ball over just 11.5 times per game and Villanova hasn’t been very good at generating turnovers this season. Nonetheless, it may be the best option.

You don’t need turnovers to score in transition (but they help), of course. Playing at a fast pace can result in the same effect, allowing the offense to operate and create lanes and scoring opportunities.

This is likely the toughest game Villanova will play all season and despite a home court advantage and some momentum coming off of Sunday’s win over DePaul, they are not expected to earn much more than a moral victory in South Philly. Villanova is still finding its identity as an offensive and defensive team, and will continue to work toward that end.

The game will tip off at 7:00pm from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and will be broadcast live on ESPN2 as well as on ESPN3.com.

Villanova is 0-3 in Big East play for the first time since 1980-81, the program’s first in the conference. That team finished 8-6 in the conference and tied for third in the conference, and with a 12-5 record in non-conference play they earned an NCAA tournament berth. This Villanova team, however, doesn’t quite have the same non-conference resume. In other words, the ‘Cats have likely already played their way out of the only postseason tournament that America cares about.

DePaul is a school that knows plenty about being in the basement of the Big East. Since entering the Big East in 2005-06, their best finish has been in ninth-place and have finished dead-last more than once.

This season, however, the Blue Demons look much improved, coming into the game with a 10-4 record, including a 1-1 conference mark. They took down a struggling Pittsburgh team in Chicago on Thursday to open their Big East account early this season. Oliver Purnell has begun to bring the program back to life.

He has three main scoring threats, with Cleveland Melvin leading the way at 18.9 points per game and Brandon Young a close second with 16.8. Jeremiah Kelly scores 10.2 points on average and also contributes a team-high 4.1 assists per contest.

Overall DePaul is an above-average offensive team that scores about 1.05 points per possession. They shoot 33.8% from the perimeter, which is just below the Division-1 average.  That is about the same percentage that Villanova’s opponents have shot from distance. Their biggest threat from distance has been Kelly, who has made 39.2% of his attempts. Jamee Crockett has connected on 38.2% and Moses Morgan has made 36% to round out the Blue Demons who have shot better than average.

Their defense ranks 232nd in the nation, but they have been much better at defending the perimeter than defending inside. Opponents have connected on just 29.5% from outside while  from 2-point range, they have scored 51.1% of the time.

Villanova is likely to struggle again. While many took some positives from the Wildcats’ first two Big East games, which they kept close for about 75 minutes in all, the South Florida result  was a wake-up call. Villanova does not appear to be ready for the challenges of Big East play this season.

Neither the Villanova defense nor the offense has really clicked so far.

Defensively, Nova has allowed its opponents to get good looks from outside and benefit from matador-style plays inside, especially when they go “small.” The commitment to defensive effort that has existed on past successful teams seems to have dissipated completely. The ‘Cats will need to upgrade their dedication on that side of the ball if they hope to compete in their remaining games.

Good defense will aid a reeling offense as well. Villanova has done well scoring in transition before opponents can get their defense set. Those transition plays are more likely after a turnover, of course.

Most notably, however, Villanova has performed impossibly bad shooting from the perimeter.  Villanova lacks a true threat from outside and though Jay Wright was hoping that having multiple players taking shots from deep could help, it has only seemed to cripple the offense more. Often times, players can be spotted taking a 3-point jumper after just one pass, early in the shot clock, while they aren’t open or before they are squared to the basket. Few of those shots go in. Against USF, the ‘Cats grabbed so few offensive rebounds that those shots were essentially the equivalent of handing the ball to the other team.

Worse, however, is Villanova’s unimaginative zone offense. Opponents will continue to heavily use zone defenses against the team until they begin to look confident an capable in attacking the zone. In the recent past, players like Corey Stokes have been key to Villanova’s zone offense, shooting over the zone to take advantage of the scheme’s weakness.

Instead, Villanova needs to learn how to use the high post to get an advantage against zone schemes that tend to leave it open. Most of the time, against the zone, getting the ball to the high post using a dribble-drive or a quick pass to a big man moving up or a guard cutting in, allows you to get the ball into an uncovered portion of the key and disrupt the scheme. Villanova seems to keep the ball on the perimeter in these situations and often looks confused.

It isn’t just scheme, however. Villanova played well for the first 5 minutes or so against USF, before Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek returned to the line-up. Despite being two of the team’s leading scorers, it seems that the Ewing Theory is in full force when either or both are on the court. Both take an large percent of the team’s total shots in each game, and both seem to be largely inefficient when doing so. When the freshmen players were left to their own resources, giving the ball to Wayns or Cheek to take the shot was not an option; they had to share the ball and create shots for each other.

In other words: Villanova needs to get some confidence and some chemistry in place if they are going to learn how to win, especially if they need to win without the 3-ball.

Sunday’s match-up with DePaul will likely be a tougher game than anyone had it pegged for prior to the season. Ken Pomeroy’s statistical models predicts a Villanova win with 80% certainty — it was even more certain that USF would lose, however.

The game tips off at Noon on Sunday, January 8th at the Pavilion and will be broadcast locally on WPHL-17 and nationally on ESPN3.com.

The unranked Cats (7-6, 0-1) visit Bradley Center today to take on Marquette (11-2, 0-0) at 1:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Marquette is ranked #14 in the AP Poll. The Golden Eagles score 78.5 PPG (2nd in the Big East) while giving up an average of 62.5 PPG (2nd in the Big East).

Villanova has had the tougher schedule so far this season, but Marquette has fared better against quality opponents, with wins against Wisconsin, Ole Miss and Norfolk State. Marquette rolled through the early part of their schedule, winning their first ten games by an average of 20 points and shooting a hair under 50% from the field. Their most impressive early win was a 64-54 victory at then #9 Wisconsin in early December.

With starting center Chris Otule out with a leg injury, Marquette has struggled of late as its offense has shifted to lower-percentage shots. Marquette has lost two of its last three, its first loss coming at LSU on Dec. 19 where they shot only 36.2 percent for the game. They were trounced on Thursday, at home, to a very good Vanderbilt team. Without Otule, Davante Gardner, a 6-8 290 pound sophomore forward, has stepped up as Marquette’s big man. However, against Vanderbilt, Gardner got in early foul trouble leaving Marquette exposed inside. At one point, Vanderbilt led in the game 31-6 on the way to handing the Golden Eagles a 57-74 loss.

Most of Marquette’s offense comes from its senior tandem of 6-2 guard Darius Johnson-Odom and 6-6 pound forward, Jae Crowder. Johnson-Odom, a Big East Preseason First Team selection, played a major role in leading Marquette to the Sweet 16 last season. He is a hard-nosed player who fits in perfectly with Buzz Williams’ style of play. Both Crowder and Johnson-Odom score 17+ points and over 37% from beyond the arc.

The Cats will need to step up their perimeter defense if they are to win this one. Marquette is one of the Big East’s best offensive teams and ‘Nova quite average defensively, a bad combination for Villanova fans. Worse yet, the Cats have the dubious distinction this season of allowing career scoring high’s by opposing guards. Johson-Odom is the man to watch in that regard. For the record, his previous career high is 29 points.

If will be interesting to see if Coach Jay Wright changes the team’s game plan to take advantage of the Cat’s clear advantage in the front court, working the ball in low and driving to the hoop. Yarou and Kennedy are capable scorers and rebounders and offer a clear advantage over the smaller Golden Eagles. The Cats also are one of the nation’s best from the free throw line, but don’t get there nearly enough. Today would be a fine day to change that.

The Cats have the good fortune to be facing Marquette when they are struggling, but the pundits still favor Marquette in this one by 10.5 points, with Vegas looking for a final score of 68-79.