In the history of the NCAA tournament, no team has knocked off more higher-ranked teams than Villanova. That is an accomplishment Villanova cemented last night with a 77-54 drubbing of the Duke Blue Devils at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. Think about what this Wildcats teams has accomplished thus far in the tournament in knocking off UCLA and Duke—two of the most storied programs in college basketball. It is not a feat to be scoffed at, yet you get the feeling there is more to come from this Villanova team.
After a poor first half against American to open the tournament, Villanova has been steamrolling its opponents. Duke simply was not prepared for the defensive intensity that Jay Wright’s team brought to the table. Prior to the game, it seemed that the toughest matchup for Villanova would be slowing down Episcopal Academy product Gerald Henderson. Villanova did not just slow him down, they slammed the door shut. Henderson was 1-14 from the field for 7 points. Duke just can’t win a basketball game with that kind of production out of its leading scorer. Even the smooth shooting Jon Scheyer was missing all night, finishing the evening with 13 points on 3-18 shooting.
Duke lives and dies by the outside shot, and last night, its fate was sealed by poor perimeter shooting. But don’t be fooled, this was not a mere case of a team-wide shooting drought. The poor perimeter shooting was more a product of Villanova’s stifling defense than it was Duke’s bad night. It seemed every time Duke had even an ounce of daylight to get a shot up from the perimeter a Villanova player was closing out on the play. When Jay Wright looks at the game film today, he won’t see many wide open looks allowed by his boys.
Duke shot 26% from the field and 18% from beyond the arc. It was those numbers that gave Villanova fans pause at the end of the first half. Despite Duke’s shooting ills, they only trailed the Wildcats by 3 at the half. You had to assume that the shooting would improve in the second half and Villanova would need to find a better rhythm on offense. But it never happened. Villanova continued to attack on defense and was able to convert that into an insurmountable lead.
This Villanova team seems to be clicking on all cylinders at just the right time. It will face a stiff test in fellow Big East foe Pitt for the right to play in the Final Four. Villanova will once again be playing as the underdog in that game; a role it seems to relish.
That was an incredible game by Nova last night.
The defense was just suffocating. Duke couldn”t hit the broad side of a barn last night, but that was largely in part to Villanova’’s defense.
I”m very excited for the game on Saturday. Pittsburgh played terribly last night against Xavier and if Nova plays like it has the last 2 and 1/2 games, they”ll make it to the Final Four.
-KK
Thanks for stopping by Kieran. You”re right, the defense was the key to the game. And I agree with you, Nova had as much to do with the poor shooting as an off night by Duke. Nearly every shot Duke put up was contested. The matchup against Pitt will be interesting. As you mentioned, Pitt has not been playing well this tournament and Villanova is hitting its stride.
I haven”t seen a defensive performance like that in a long time. Usually with so many missed shots you would think the game was horrible to watch. It wasn”t. I was in awe of how aggressive Nova’’s trapping and switching defense was. They may not have a true big man, but they have about 5 studs that are between 6”6 and 6”8 and strong and athletic. Pretty crazy that barring some kind of shocker, most of this team will be back plus 3 McDonald
s All-Americans in the 2009 recruiting class. Jay Wright is one smooth cat.