Villanova Advances To The Final Four Thanks To Its Defense
If I told you Villanova would score just 71 points, most of which came on free throws late, and shoot just 16.7 percent from the 3-point line, you’d likely assume it was a loss. That’s especially true if I told you this happened during the Elite Eight against a damn good Texas Tech team. However, Villanova won this game 71-59 because of its defense and offensive rebounding. Nova grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, or for an even crazier number, grabbed rebounds on 54 percent of misses.
Let’s talk about that Nova defense for a second. Leading into the game I discussed how Texas Tech is known for rotating defenses and giving you different looks. Today it was Nova that did that, especially in the first half. We saw Nova ran its standard switching man to man for the majority of the time. Hwoever, we saw Nova throw a 2-3 zone out there as well as this amoeba type zone defense. It’s not a matchup, but they run this de facto 2-3 that’s based strictly on *extreme Bill Raftery voice* man to man principles. They only ran that defense for two possessions, but it provided a different look.
Tech had a chance to take this game. The Red Raiders opened the game on a 9-1 run then in the second half Nova went ice cold again. During that time, Texas Tech just missed bunnies. At one point it was just 6-for-21 on layups. Keenan Evans could never really get going and he was automatic in the second halves of the NCAA Tournament – averaging 20 points in those last 20 minutes through the first three games. Tech had a couple of threes rim out and could just never really cut that lead past nine consistently. There were a few possessions where the lead was five, but that lasted for a short amount of time.
What was impressive about Villanova though was the patience on offense and finding of mismatches. Despite not shooting the ball well, Nova still ran its offense and got plenty of clean looks. More importantly when a bucket was needed, you saw Brunson get into the post and look for that set. The way they did was run the dribble hand off or fake the dribble hand off and Brunson would then back down into the post. He did an excellent job of getting Evans or Smith to lean one way and then he’d get a half spin to the other and hit that little step back jumper he has. That was important to Nova in this game and part of why I love Brunson’s game so much. What was even more impressive with Brunson? He hit this wrap around kick out pass twice. Once led to an open three which was knocked down and the other led to Spellman turning it over because he forced the pass. It’s a small thing, but the threat of having that pass or finish makes it even tougher to choose how to defend Brunson in the post.
While Nova advances to the Final Four, this was also a damn good year for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders wildly exceeded expectations and had a chance to win the Big 12. However, Keenan Evans suffering a toe injury and missing a couple of games and not being 100% ultimately cost them that regular season title. Chris Beard is a special coach, man. He’s going to be a guy that will turn Tech into a tournament regular and will get to a Final Four in the near future. The question is how long does he stay there? Yes, there’s little reason for him to leave but keep an eye out on him whenever that Kansas/Kentucky/UNC job opens up.
Nova advances to the Final Four where it will play the winner of Kansas/Duke on Saturday.