CardinalNation now knows who the first opponent of the post season will be as Villanova knocked off St Johns on Wednesday night. They will now meet our Louisville Cardinals in the Quarterfinals of the Big East tournament on Thursday night. The all-time series between these teams is tied at 9 to 9 and Nova leads the Big East regular season series 6 to 3. These teams have faced each other one time in the Big East tournament and Louisville won that game 69-55. The Cards played Nova back on January 22 and lost that game 73-64.
Jay Wright is terrific and has been that for Villanova, which is why the Wildcats’ drop in the early season was a little surprising. They did bounce back after those early season losses to Columbia and La Salle to have a solid Big East season. The Wildcats have won three games against top five ranked teams this season, all at home though. The Wildcats knocked off Syracuse, Louisville and Georgetown and are a lock to be invited to the tournament with an at large berth. Now after their solid win against St Johns in the first game of the Big East tourney they have proven that they are a team to be reckoned with.
Villanova Wildcats (19-12, 10-8)
Current RPI-53 Current BPI-58
Kenpom:
ADJ Efficiency- Offense 106.2 Rank 81
ADJ Efficiency- Defense 90.1 Rank 27
Kenpom Overall Rank: 43
National Statistic rankings:
-POINTS PER GAME
68.2
154th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
36.3
101st
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
12.4
193rd
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.416
263rd
OVERALL
Villanova’s Season averages on offense: 2pt-42%, 3pt-34%, FT-72%
Villanova’s Season averages on defense: Forced TO’s- 14.3, Steals- 7.4, Blocks- 3.3
Projected Starting Lineup for the Wildcats:
F Mouptaou Yarou: He was the top performer of the game against St Johns scoring 18 points with 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot. He is their most experienced player and is playing like it.
F JayVaughn Pinkston: He was named to the All Big East third team for the season and has started to play very well for the Wildcats. He had 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot against St Johns.
G Darrun Hillard: He is a good defender and a solid ball handler. He had 4 points, 4 assist and 2 steals against St Johns.
G Ryan Arcidiacono: He was named to the Big East All Rookie team. He is a very good shooter and can really get hot from behind the arc. He had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assist and 1 steal against St Johns.
G James Bell: He shows flashes of being a good scorer and defender. He had 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assist and 2 steals against St Johns.
Projected Bench Players:
G Tony Chennault: He is a Wake Forrest transfer and is a very solid bench player for the Wildcats. He provides leadership when on the floor. He had 8 points, 3 rebound, 2 assist and 1 steal against St Johns.
F Daniel Ochefu: He is known for his shot blocking and his rebounding. He had 2 points and 2 rebounds against St Johns.
The Cards are 2-0 this season in revenge games and will now get the opportunity to get some revenge on the Wildcats and send them packing from the Big East tourney. The Cardinals played well enough to beat them during their regular season match-up but poor free-throw shooting down the stretch in that game cost them. The Cardinals are a different team than they were back in January and are now firing on all cylinders. With Gorgui now playing his best basketball of the season he should dominate the middle in this one, and look for Peyton Siva and Russ Smith to be ready to take over the back-court battle. And as good as our bench has been this will also be a big advantage. Hancock, Ware and Harrell will be very important in this game. I don’t think this one will ever be in question.
The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 76 Villanova 59