Keys to beating Villanova

[HippieVol33]

Going to try to do this every game, will be tough with my work schedule but I hope it brings something to the Forum.

Villanova is our first tough test of the year call it a measuring stick, if you will.
I’ve watched every Nova game they’ve played this year multiple times, and this is a tough veteran team. They have a tight rotation of 6 guys according to KenPom.com:
Justin Moore 80.8% of minutes
Collin Gillespie 80.0% of minutes
Brandon Slater 75.2% of minutes
Jermaine Samuels 74.4% of minutes
Eric Dixon 67.2% of minutes
Caleb Daniels 51.2% of minutes
With a two more that receive around 20% of the remaining minutes.
Gillespie, Slater and Moore are their “big 3” and all are very solid players.

Gillespie is the leader, can shoot the three and has a nice eye for creating for others, as he has an assist rate of around 20% for the year.(obviously he was preseason All American)

Moore is a jack of all trades kind of guy and can score at all 3 levels shooting 10/17 from 3 so far this season. Nova and Jay Wright love to post him up and use his size down low (6-4 210lbs)

Slater has the 5th best ORtg so far this season and is extremely efficient (92%TS%) he’s also perfect 13-13 from the FT line and is shooting 9/12 from distance.

Keys to victory to me are:
Getting out in transition and capitalizing on easy buckets quickly using Chandler to help get our offense on the move quickly.

Limiting Nova’s ability to score on baseline OOB plays as they do a very good job of getting good looks from their sets.

Attacking their switching defense, they love to switch a lot of ball screens and we should be able to attack some of their bigs switching onto our guards to get good looks. Would love to get JJJ onto Gillespie down low and use that mismatch. To add to that anytime we can get their bigs to switch onto our guards we need to attack them to create good looks, whether from outside or rim attacks.

Villanova is struggling to keep teams off the offensive glass. They’re giving up offensive rebounds at a high clip of 28.7% and we’re getting offensive rebounds at 48.3% which should be a MAIN factor in this game. We must attack the offensive glass and get multiple opportunities to score.

Last but not least I think the X Factor is whether or not we can hit 10+ 3s and not turn the ball over.

KenPom has this at a 50/50 game and one we have a good chance at winning. Going 2-0 this weekend would be massive for this team. 1-1 won’t hurt. I personally believe if we can slow down Slater and Moore we secure the win. Time will tell. Go Vols. Let’s hope for a HUGE weekend.

 

[HippieVol33]

Feel free to add to what I’ve said or disagree with my points. At the end of the day we just want the team in orange and white to come out on top.

 

[VolMarine1371]

Going to try to do this every game, will be tough with my work schedule but I hope it brings something to the Forum.

Villanova is our first tough test of the year call it a measuring stick, if you will.
I’ve watched every Nova game they’ve played this year multiple times, and this is a tough veteran team. They have a tight rotation of 6 guys according to KenPom.com:
Justin Moore 80.8% of minutes
Collin Gillespie 80.0% of minutes
Brandon Slater 75.2% of minutes
Jermaine Samuels 74.4% of minutes
Eric Dixon 67.2% of minutes
Caleb Daniels 51.2% of minutes
With a two more that receive around 20% of the remaining minutes.
Gillespie, Slater and Moore are their “big 3” and all are very solid players.

Gillespie is the leader, can shoot the three and has a nice eye for creating for others, as he has an assist rate of around 20% for the year.(obviously he was preseason All American)

Moore is a jack of all trades kind of guy and can score at all 3 levels shooting 10/17 from 3 so far this season. Nova and Jay Wright love to post him up and use his size down low (6-4 210lbs)

Slater has the 5th best ORtg so far this season and is extremely efficient (92%TS%) he’s also perfect 13-13 from the FT line and is shooting 9/12 from distance.

Keys to victory to me are:
Getting out in transition and capitalizing on easy buckets quickly using Chandler to help get our offense on the move quickly.

Limiting Nova’s ability to score on baseline OOB plays as they do a very good job of getting good looks from their sets.

Attacking their switching defense, they love to switch a lot of ball screens and we should be able to attack some of their bigs switching onto our guards to get good looks. Would love to get JJJ onto Gillespie down low and use that mismatch. To add to that anytime we can get their bigs to switch onto our guards we need to attack them to create good looks, whether from outside or rim attacks.

Villanova is struggling to keep teams off the offensive glass. They’re giving up offensive rebounds at a high clip of 28.7% and we’re getting offensive rebounds at 48.3% which should be a MAIN factor in this game. We must attack the offensive glass and get multiple opportunities to score.

Last but not least I think the X Factor is whether or not we can hit 10+ 3s and not turn the ball over.

KenPom has this at a 50/50 game and one we have a good chance at winning. Going 2-0 this weekend would be massive for this team. 1-1 won’t hurt. I personally believe if we can slow down Slater and Moore we secure the win. Time will tell. Go Vols. Let’s hope for a HUGE weekend.

WGWTFA!!!

 

[cardvolfan]

Of that Top 6 rotation, Villanova has 4 seniors and 2 juniors.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

They are arguably, though 3 games, the best 3 point shooting team in the country…they average almost 14 makes a game and shoot it at a 49% clip, both are Top 4 nationally…3pt defense for us is going to be HUGE!

They don’t shoot a ton of FT’s but they are one of the best in the country at hitting sitting at 89%, but no 3’s and don’t foul, got it!

Size of their main 6 rotation…
Collin Gillespie 33mpg 6’3” 195lbs
Justin Moore 33mpg 6’4” 210lbs
Caleb Daniels 22mpg 6’4 210lbs
Brandon Slater 32mpg 6’7” 220lbs
Jermaine Samuels 31mpg 6’7” 230lbs
Eric Dixon 28mpg 6’8” 255lbs

Tennessee…
Kennedy Chandler 6’ 171lbs
Santiago Vescovi 6’3” 188lbs
Victor Bailey 6’4” 179lbs
Justin Powell 6’6” 205lbs
Josiah Jordan-James 6’6” 207lbs
Olivier Nkamhoua 6’8” 223lbs
John Fulkerson 6’9” 215lbs
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 6’10” 235lbs

Some questions I have…does Gillespie use his side against Chandler and if so, is it successful? Do we have a 2 guard that can hold their own against Moore posting them up? Can Nkamhoua or BHH guard Samuels? If not then those guys along with Fulk can only play the 5 and move JJJ almost solely to the 4 this game.

 

[Keefus]

Scoring more points than them

 

[walkenvol]

Great thread Hippie!

If BTO’s info is correct and KC actually weighs 190 lbs then my concerns of him being overpowered by bigger guards may be unfounded. Would have never thought he was heavier than SV and VB

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

They are arguably, though 3 games, the best 3 point shooting team in the country…they average almost 14 makes a game and shoot it at a 49% clip, both are Top 4 nationally…3pt defense for us is going to be HUGE!

They don’t shoot a ton of FT’s but they are one of the best in the country at hitting sitting at 89%, but no 3’s and don’t foul, got it!

Size of their main 6 rotation…
Collin Gillespie 33mpg 6’3” 190lbs
Justin Moore 33mpg 6’4” 210lbs
Caleb Daniels 22mpg 6’4 210lbs
Brandon Slater 32mpg 6’6” 211lbs
Jermaine Samuels 31mpg 6’7” 230lbs
Eric Dixon 28mpg 6’8” 260lbs

Tennessee…
Kennedy Chandler 6’ 190lbs
Santiago Vescovi 6’3” 188lbs
Victor Bailey 6’4” 179lbs
Justin Powell 6’6” 205lbs
Josiah Jordan-James 6’6” 207lbs
Olivier Nkamhoua 6’8” 223lbs
John Fulkerson 6’9” 215lbs
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 6’10” 235lbs

Some questions I have…does Gillespie use his side against Chandler and if so, is it successful? Do we have a 2 guard that can hold their own against Moore posting them up? Can Nkamhoua or BHH guard Samuels? If not then those guys along with Fulk can only play the 5 and move JJJ almost solely to the 4 this game.

Another question? When matched up in transition does either team have a decided speed advantage? I don't know how to value that this year with the initial break, secondary break, and now quick kickout for the three ball being a bigger part of our gameplan before getting into half court sets. Their size seems to make it unlikely we can have both KC and ZZZ out there together to lead a speedy 5, though I think that will happen with some teams this year.

 

[ColinS]

Going to try to do this every game, will be tough with my work schedule but I hope it brings something to the Forum.

Villanova is our first tough test of the year call it a measuring stick, if you will.
I’ve watched every Nova game they’ve played this year multiple times, and this is a tough veteran team. They have a tight rotation of 6 guys according to KenPom.com:
Justin Moore 80.8% of minutes
Collin Gillespie 80.0% of minutes
Brandon Slater 75.2% of minutes
Jermaine Samuels 74.4% of minutes
Eric Dixon 67.2% of minutes
Caleb Daniels 51.2% of minutes
With a two more that receive around 20% of the remaining minutes.
Gillespie, Slater and Moore are their “big 3” and all are very solid players.

Gillespie is the leader, can shoot the three and has a nice eye for creating for others, as he has an assist rate of around 20% for the year.(obviously he was preseason All American)

Moore is a jack of all trades kind of guy and can score at all 3 levels shooting 10/17 from 3 so far this season. Nova and Jay Wright love to post him up and use his size down low (6-4 210lbs)

Slater has the 5th best ORtg so far this season and is extremely efficient (92%TS%) he’s also perfect 13-13 from the FT line and is shooting 9/12 from distance.

Keys to victory to me are:
Getting out in transition and capitalizing on easy buckets quickly using Chandler to help get our offense on the move quickly.

Limiting Nova’s ability to score on baseline OOB plays as they do a very good job of getting good looks from their sets.

Attacking their switching defense, they love to switch a lot of ball screens and we should be able to attack some of their bigs switching onto our guards to get good looks. Would love to get JJJ onto Gillespie down low and use that mismatch. To add to that anytime we can get their bigs to switch onto our guards we need to attack them to create good looks, whether from outside or rim attacks.

Villanova is struggling to keep teams off the offensive glass. They’re giving up offensive rebounds at a high clip of 28.7% and we’re getting offensive rebounds at 48.3% which should be a MAIN factor in this game. We must attack the offensive glass and get multiple opportunities to score.

Last but not least I think the X Factor is whether or not we can hit 10+ 3s and not turn the ball over.

KenPom has this at a 50/50 game and one we have a good chance at winning. Going 2-0 this weekend would be massive for this team. 1-1 won’t hurt. I personally believe if we can slow down Slater and Moore we secure the win. Time will tell. Go Vols. Let’s hope for a HUGE weekend.

I'm not sure matching JJJ against anyone down on the blocks will be beneficial. He simply can't make shots down there. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[TBtheGBwiththeTD]

Stopping them offensively is tough for any team. They run a lot of good stuff and as detailed above, are probably the best shooting team in the country. Defending ball screens and crashing the glass is probably the best bet.

Offensively they can be hurt in transition and with quality inside out play, which matches up well with what Barnes Fulkerson and Chandler want to do. Should be a game where both teams have a chance to make shots and will be played at a high level.

 

[camp_steveo]

Hope the Vols win this one. That would be a good sign for the season.

 

[hbvol1982]

We better run them off the 3-Pt line and on offense play inside out, Fulky and OK could have big games against their lack of size. If they have a short rotation that could get them into foul trouble.

 

[Dudleys87]

Watch for the dribble, drive, and kick.

I think Chandler will be the difference maker.

Bench points are always important but they will be even more so in this game.

 

[Dudleys87]

Hope the Vols win this one. That would be a good sign for the season.

If they get the W that’ll send waves across the MBB world and draw a lot of eyes to Knoxville

 

[ndubvols]

On paper, looks like a game we see JJJ at the 4 a lot.

Getting a starter or two of theirs into foul trouble could be the key to the game with their short bench.

 

[TMvol10]

Going to try to do this every game, will be tough with my work schedule but I hope it brings something to the Forum.

Villanova is our first tough test of the year call it a measuring stick, if you will.
I’ve watched every Nova game they’ve played this year multiple times, and this is a tough veteran team. They have a tight rotation of 6 guys according to KenPom.com:
Justin Moore 80.8% of minutes
Collin Gillespie 80.0% of minutes
Brandon Slater 75.2% of minutes
Jermaine Samuels 74.4% of minutes
Eric Dixon 67.2% of minutes
Caleb Daniels 51.2% of minutes
With a two more that receive around 20% of the remaining minutes.
Gillespie, Slater and Moore are their “big 3” and all are very solid players.

Gillespie is the leader, can shoot the three and has a nice eye for creating for others, as he has an assist rate of around 20% for the year.(obviously he was preseason All American)

Moore is a jack of all trades kind of guy and can score at all 3 levels shooting 10/17 from 3 so far this season. Nova and Jay Wright love to post him up and use his size down low (6-4 210lbs)

Slater has the 5th best ORtg so far this season and is extremely efficient (92%TS%) he’s also perfect 13-13 from the FT line and is shooting 9/12 from distance.

Keys to victory to me are:
Getting out in transition and capitalizing on easy buckets quickly using Chandler to help get our offense on the move quickly.

Limiting Nova’s ability to score on baseline OOB plays as they do a very good job of getting good looks from their sets.

Attacking their switching defense, they love to switch a lot of ball screens and we should be able to attack some of their bigs switching onto our guards to get good looks. Would love to get JJJ onto Gillespie down low and use that mismatch. To add to that anytime we can get their bigs to switch onto our guards we need to attack them to create good looks, whether from outside or rim attacks.

Villanova is struggling to keep teams off the offensive glass. They’re giving up offensive rebounds at a high clip of 28.7% and we’re getting offensive rebounds at 48.3% which should be a MAIN factor in this game. We must attack the offensive glass and get multiple opportunities to score.

Last but not least I think the X Factor is whether or not we can hit 10+ 3s and not turn the ball over.

KenPom has this at a 50/50 game and one we have a good chance at winning. Going 2-0 this weekend would be massive for this team. 1-1 won’t hurt. I personally believe if we can slow down Slater and Moore we secure the win. Time will tell. Go Vols. Let’s hope for a HUGE weekend.

We’ve never used JJJ’s size advantage. With his body type, he’d be a great option as a post up guard but that’s not his game. He’s not good in the paint, can’t finish through contact. It’s a shame too cause he’s got the frame and strength to do some damage around the bucket.

 

[cncchris33]

Offensively, we have to shoot well from outside, but not get caught up in thinking we have to match them shot for shot on the perimeter. Our advantage is in the paint, on the offensive glass, and 2nd chance scoring opportunities.

Defensively, we have to guard the perimeter and not leave them open looks, clean the defensive glass limiting them to single shot opportunities, and look to push the pace off of defensive stops in hopes of wearing them down.

 

[HiltonHeadVol]

They are arguably, though 3 games, the best 3 point shooting team in the country…they average almost 14 makes a game and shoot it at a 49% clip, both are Top 4 nationally…3pt defense for us is going to be HUGE!

They don’t shoot a ton of FT’s but they are one of the best in the country at hitting sitting at 89%, but no 3’s and don’t foul, got it!

Size of their main 6 rotation…
Collin Gillespie 33mpg 6’3” 190lbs
Justin Moore 33mpg 6’4” 210lbs
Caleb Daniels 22mpg 6’4 210lbs
Brandon Slater 32mpg 6’6” 211lbs
Jermaine Samuels 31mpg 6’7” 230lbs
Eric Dixon 28mpg 6’8” 260lbs

Tennessee…
Kennedy Chandler 6’ 190lbs
Santiago Vescovi 6’3” 188lbs
Victor Bailey 6’4” 179lbs
Justin Powell 6’6” 205lbs
Josiah Jordan-James 6’6” 207lbs
Olivier Nkamhoua 6’8” 223lbs
John Fulkerson 6’9” 215lbs
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 6’10” 235lbs

Some questions I have…does Gillespie use his side against Chandler and if so, is it successful? Do we have a 2 guard that can hold their own against Moore posting them up? Can Nkamhoua or BHH guard Samuels? If not then those guys along with Fulk can only play the 5 and move JJJ almost solely to the 4 this game.

Nova of the 3 other teams in this star-studded tourney is the team we physically match up best against at least size-wise. UNC is tall and rangy with good shooters in their long players and a quality big man (Bacot 6'10") who I think we could match up reasonably well against. Purdue is the monster of this group with the Canadian soph. Zach Edey who is 7'4" and a pair of 6'10" forwards. I would love to see us match up against the Boilers just to see how we might gameplan around their size because we will see that again this year no doubt.

 

[cardvolfan]

Tennessee averaging 75 shots per game, Villanova 59. Two teams with excellent offensive efficiency. If we can get that in this game and not turn the ball over, I think we win. Villanova is going to make shots, Tennessee just has some built-in advantages to put the ball in the hole more.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Great thread Hippie!

If BTO’s info is correct and KC actually weighs 190 lbs then my concerns of him being overpowered by bigger guards may be unfounded. Would have never thought he was heavier than SV and VB

Sorry, 171lbs, not sure where I got that from..:hadn’t had my coffee

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Another question? When matched up in transition does either team have a decided speed advantage? I don't know how to value that this year with the initial break, secondary break, and now quick kickout for the three ball being a bigger part of our gameplan before getting into half court sets. Their size seems to make it unlikely we can have both KC and ZZZ out there together to lead a speedy 5, though I think that will happen with some teams this year.

Villanova prefers to play a slower pace, more half court sets, than speed it up and look fastbreak…this is a big reason they can get away with playing 6 guys, if we can speed them up or get them into any foul trouble that would seemingly benefit us.

 

[walkenvol]

Would a 3/4 court press help us?

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Would a 3/4 court press help us?

I wouldn’t be surprised to see us try it, even if it doesn’t speed them up it would get them into their sets later and would hopefully wear their guards out a bit…if we do that I could see Mashack getting 6-8 minutes.

 

[walkenvol]

That’s where I was headed as I could see Mashack get some minutes for defense against their larger wing players

 

[Zvols]

Noticed that Nova used their guards to back down smaller opposing guards in the post. Im sure Jay will make a point to attack KC & ZZ. The drive and kick is a big part of why they get open 3s since they don’t have the size to play inside out. Jay Wright always has very fundamental teams so KC will have to out-athlete Gillespie. Fulk & Nkamhoua hitting the boards hard could be the deciding factor