Villanova Basketball Preview

Ok, so has everyone had time to digest our most recent bowl win? Yeah, me neither. BUT good news! SU sports are at it again, and in a big way.  The ball squad is slated for a Top 10 matchup with a long time rival! Villanova visits the Dome as the #8 team in the land to take on the #2 Orange.  This game feels like anything but a non-conference game.  In the inaugural ACC year who would have thought the first big matchup the Orange would face would be against a former Big East opponent?  Not me and I know I'm definitely not alone in that one. But whether we expected it or not the 11-0 Wildcats are up next and guess what? They're for real.

Meet the Undefeated 2013-2014 Villanova Wildcats

Right off the bat I'll tell you that 'Nova has done something this season that our boys in Orange have yet to do.  That is beat 2 ranked teams.  Oh yeah, and one of those teams happened to be the Kansas Jayhawks and Mr. Andrew Wiggins.  That game was a heck of a roller coaster as 'Nova led most of the game but had to fight back to steal the win in Atlantis (the game was in the Battle for Atlantis Tournament).  The game was put on ice when Ryan Arcidiacono drilled a 3 late in the final minute of the game.  Which brings me to my first introduction.  Ryan Arcidiacono.  Don't let his annoyingly long

Ryan Arcidiacono isn't afraid
to take the big shot

last name fool you.  This dude can ball.  The Wildcats point guard should be pretty familiar to 'Cuse fans.  He was the one who hit the tying 3 with 2.2 seconds left last year to send the game to OT...a game we would lose.  Yeah so basically this kid has a knack for drilling clutch shots when teams let Villanova hang around.  Moving on we get to the Wildcats' leading scorer JayVaughn Pinkston.  The 6-7 forward is averaging almost 17 points per game and is shooting 52% from the field.  Let me say that again. He is shooting 52% from the field.  That's really good. And the Cats next scorer is no slouch either.  The 6-6 guard James Bell is averaging over 15ppg and is shooting 42% from the field.  The Wildcats as a team are averaging 82 points per game. So that means we should be looking for a shootout in the Dome.  Maybe even Taco Time if we're lucky.

Trap Game?

Syracuse has not played in 8 days.  So I think someone should take a trip over to Jimmy's hut and wake the dude up from his week long Christmas food coma.  Syracuse's last game was against High Point.  I mean is that even a real school?  Like seriously where the heck is High Point and who named that school?  Anywho...the game before the last one was against St. John's in MSG.  That game went down to the wire with the 'Cuse coming out on top by only 5 in a game that honestly should have been a blowout.  It was definitely enough to scare me as we head into 'Cuse's first real test since Baylor.  Jimmy B's squad is going to need to be ready for the quick guard play that has become a staple of Jay Wright coached teams.  The Orange have the advantage on the size side, as they do in almost any game they play, but the zone is going to need to extend out to the 3 point line well to guard Bell and Arcidiacono.  This game was definitely not one that we all had marked off on the schedule when it was released and while I'm sure the team isn't taking #8 'Nova lightly, it does have that strange feeling of a trap game.  (And no you're not the only one wondering how the heck Villanova went from unranked to top 10 so fast)

Matchups that will matter

The first matchup that stands out to me is the one between standout freshman Tyler Ennis and household mouthful Ryan Arcidiacono.  Ennis has done better than pretty much anyone imagined he would this early in the season, but this will be his biggest test yet.  Arcidiacono has ice in his veins as he has shown time and time again.  It will be Ennis's job to shut him down and use his long wingspan to step in the lanes.  The other one that matters is Cuse's big men vs. Nova's sorta-kinda-abit-bigger-than-normal men.  The Wildcats only have one player over 6-8 and the Cuse has, well, a lot.  But this matchup will become more interesting as the zone is forced to push out more on Nova's guards.  With the 3 point arc becoming a point of emphasis that leaves bigger holes inside the zone.  This could become a problem if Syracuse does not rotate well.  Hopefully the team has shaken off any holiday food fat that they may have gained in the time off.  There is one other matchup may not be as important
on the court but is worth mentioning.  Tyler Ennis will take on his older brother Dylan for the first time in college.

Dylan and Tyler Ennis
will play as opponents for the first time in college

Dylan Ennis is a sophomore guard for Villanova and is averaging 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.  The younger Tyler Ennis is averaging 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.  While I expect Ennis to be matched up with Arcidiacono for the majority of the night, the two Canadian brother could play a little bit of 1-on-1 throughout the game.

Prediction

Even though I am very skeptical of this game and I have that weird feeling that we could pull a 'Cuse, I think the better team prevails here.  Syracuse is a more well rounded team that has more experience and more square footage than Villanova.  I think this will be a big game for Baye Keita, Rakeem Christmas, and DaJuan Coleman as they are each taller and bigger than the biggest player for Villanova, Daniel Ochefu.  I think the 'Cuse avoids their first non-conference loss at home in like a million years and wins a close one 84-80.

Keep the Orange juices flowin!
--Ron Schiltz