Losing to Michigan, even in a blowout, was one thing. That could have been seen as an aberration.
But losing at home to Furman, even in overtime and against a Furman team that’s probably better than most people think? (Furman is now 5-0 with road wins over Loyola-Chicago as well as Villanova.) That gives an entirely different impression – and not a good one for the defending national champions.
Villanova has now lost two in a row for the first time since the end of the 2012-13 season, and they join a select club of defending champions to start the following season 2-2. They were the only program in Division I to not lose consecutive games during that time frame.
While many still have Villanova pegged to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, expecting a Final Four run out of this crew is a bit much. That’s not to say they couldn’t shock us, and there are still some good parts here, but considering the top four players from last season’s team are all gone, that would seem to be expecting too much. Jay Wright didn’t even play Jahvon Quinerly, their most highly-touted freshman, in last night’s game after he played. The transfer of Dylan Painter, announced on Friday, doesn’t help.
Last night’s game is instructive. Phil Booth, their best holdover, had 20 points, but on 8-23 shooting including 3-13 from long range. Eric Paschall had just eight on 3-14 shooting. Both are certainly proven Division I players, but now they have to be the focal point of this team, and while Paschall was that when he was at Fordham, Booth has always had the luxury of being a complementary player. Both will probably become more what the team needs them to be in due time, but growing pains are never a big surprise.
As a whole, Villanova shot below 34 percent from the field, while allowing Furman to shoot over 43 percent. Add in getting out-rebounded 47-40 and being even in turnovers, and you get the idea: the Wildcats were not the better team on their home floor.
Among newcomers and those with an expanded role, Jermaine Samuels, a top talent out of high school who was set back last season with an injury and also had to wait his turn, is now trying to get untracked; he didn’t score but had seven rebounds. Albany transfer Joe Cremo is certainly not playing poorly, but not exactly a star out of the gate; he looks like a piece. Collin Gillespie seems to be acclimating to his expanded role just fine, so that’s a starting point.
Things don’t get easier for Villanova, as they will be in the AdvoCare Invitational next weekend, opening with MAAC contender Canisius. Their Big Five games follow, and they have dominated their fellow Philadelphia teams over the last few years, then a trip to Kansas and a visit to Madison Square Garden to play UConn await before Big East play. There is plenty of time to fix some issues, but it will be easier said than done given the need to win some games along the way, if only to make sure confidence doesn’t lag at some point.
Side Dishes
Speaking of Michigan, they are on to the championship in the Naismith Bracket of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic, as they blew out George Washington 84-61 behind 25 points from Charles Matthews. They will play Providence, 76-67 winners over South Carolina as Alpha Diallo put forth a nice stat line of 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
In the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase, Incarnate Word edged North Dakota State 80-78 in overtime and Florida Atlantic pulled away from Towson 85-71 in consolation round action. In the semifinals, Montana got two late free throws to eke out a 73-71 win over Miami (Ohio) and Georgia Southern shot nearly 59 percent from the field and used a 16-2 run in the second half to take over the game en route to an 88-78 win over Pepperdine.
The Paradise Jam had two consolation games on tap from teams that lost in the quarterfinals. Old Dominion took care of Kennesaw State 65-47 and Northern Iowa held off Eastern Kentucky 90-85.
New Mexico State has taken command of their big rivalry of late, as the Aggies won their fourth straight against New Mexico by a 98-94 margin on Saturday, getting 31 points on 9-11 shooting A.J. Harris. While New Mexico still has a good lead in the all-time series, it’s been all Aggies of late, even as the Lobos are coached by former Aggie mentor Paul Weir.
Tonight’s Menu
Championship games are on tap in several tournaments to lead the way, alongside consolation games as well.
- At Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic starts with action in the Springfield Bracket as Siena takes on Holy Cross in the championship game (11 a.m.) Naismith Bracket action follows with the championship game between Michigan and Providence (1:30 p.m.) and the third place game between South Carolina and George Washington (4 p.m.)
- The Charleston Classic championship game has Virginia Tech taking on Purdue (8:30 pm.) The third place game will be between Northeastern and Davidson (6 p.m.), fifth place will go to the winner of Alabama against Wichita State (1:30 p.m.), and the battle for seventh place will be between Ball State and Appalachian State (11 a.m.) to start the day.
- In the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Wake Forest takes on Valparaiso for fifth place to start the day (10:30 a.m.), followed by the seventh place game between Cal State Fullerton and Monmouth (1 p.m.), third place between Saint Joseph’s and West Virginia (4 p.m) and the championship game between Western Kentucky and UCF (6:30 p.m.)
- The final day at the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase begins with the seventh place game between Towson and North Dakota State (11 a.m.), then fifth place between Incarnate Word and Florida Atlantic (2 p.m.), third place between Miami (Ohio) and Pepperdine (5 p.m.) and the championship game between Montana and Georgia Southern (8 p.m.)
- Semifinal action is on tap in the Paradise Jam with Oregon State taking on Missouri (5:30 p.m.) and Penn taking on Kansas State (7:30 p.m.)
- The final day of the Jamaica Classic at Montego Bay starts with former conference rivals meeting as South Florida takes on Georgetown (noon), followed by Campbell taking on Austin Peay (2:30 p.m.) The evening session starts with Ohio University and Loyola Marymount (6:30 p.m.) and concludes with Central Connecticut taking on Florida A&M (9 p.m.)
- To the north, a doubleheader is on tap in the first day of the TCL Vancouver Showcase in British Columbia. Santa Clara takes on Washington (8 p.m.), then Minnesota takes on Texas A&M (10:30 p.m.)
- Outside of tournament action, the best game of the day looks to be the Hardwood Showcase with Indiana visiting Arkansas (3:30 p.m.), although a campus game in the Battle 4 Atlantis should be a good one as College of Charleston visits Oklahoma State (4 p.m.)
