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We almost saw this game twice last season. If it was not for overtime against Tennessee in the Bahamas, Purdue would have played Villanova in Battle 4 Atlantis. We would also have faced them in the Elite Eight if we beat Texas Tech. Both games would have followed a memorable 79-76 loss to the Wildcats at the start of the 2016-17 season. This Gavitt Gaming Contest in the Mackey Arena is one of four games lost at home by Purdue in the last four seasons, and it's the only game outside of the conference.
Playing the Wildcats in March is obviously scary. They have won two of the last three national championships and have not lost on a neutral ground since their Wisconsin victory in 2017. It's a true well-trained and dangerous blueblood program even after a tough year heights .
It will be one of Purdue's toughest games.
Villanova Wildcats
Of: Philadelphia, PA
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2018
Peak time: about. 8:40 p.m.
Location: Hartford, CT
Arena: XL Center (16,294)
Television: TNT
Online: March
Madness on request
Radio: Purdue Radio Network
SiriusXM Satellite: XM (Ch. 381); Internet (Ch 968)
Live stats: bit.ly/PurdueLiveStats
chances: No lines yet
KenPom: 26
NET: 26
Record 2017-18: 36-4, 14-4 Big East
(National Champions)
Registration 2018-19: 26-9, 13-5 Big East
(Champions of the Big East regular season and tournament)
Blog of the opponent: VUHoops
Series with Purdue: Villanova leads 3-0
Last victory of Villanova: 79-76 at Purdue on 14/11/2016
Last Purdue Win: None
NCAA Tournament L & # 39; s history: 43 appearances, triple national champion
Coach: Jay Wright (447-172 of 19th season in Villanova, 569-257 in general)
If the pattern continues, Purdue will win. In the last five years, in an odd year, Villanova lost in the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament. In an even year, they won the national title. They are currently in a race where they have won at least 32 games in four consecutive seasons, but this will end this year as the maximum number of games that they can now win is 31.
Purdue's record of victories in one season is 30, set last year.
The Villanova course is really incredible. They are pretty much the elite of the elite for four years, so it's strange to see them as a six-seeded seed. They are just "very good" as opposed to "title contenders" this year and you can not count on a team that now has 14-1 in the last four NCAA tournaments.
They did not have a good start this year. They were drilled by Michigan at home 73-46 in November and were followed by a loss in overtime against Furman. They lost their first game at Philly Big 5 since 1674 against Penn 78-75 and also lost to Kansas during their absence. They still recovered to win the Big East again, and then run through the Big East tournament. They have won this tournament three years in a row and four of the last five. They have won the Big East regular season title in five of the last six years.
Villanova is led by senior guard Phil Booth, who is trying to become a college basketball legend at this stage. He redshirted after three games during the 2016-17 season (still scoring 7 points against us before he was injured), but played a major role in two national championship teams. He averaged 18.6 points per game with 3.8 assists and an average of 36.7% out of three. He had 20 games against St. Mary's on Thursday night with six assists.
Eric Paschall, a 6'8 "senior, is also a guy who has lived everything. He missed the 2015-16 championship season after being transferred from Fordham, but won 11 points in the win against us in the Mackey Arena. These guys were not the focus of recent seasons, but they played critical minutes and went through the wars. You will rarely meet such experienced players in March.
Collin Gillespie, a second guard of 6'3 ", is the third player to average 11.1 points per game on average double-digit. It also draws 39.4% from three. It's there that this team will really test us. Purdue struggled to defend the three against poor three-point shooting teams like Minnesota, Florida State and Texas. For the Wildcats, EVERYONE can shoot all three. Only Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, a 6'9 "center, has no attempt to rotate among the regular rotation. Everyone has more than 40 long-range attempts. They are also pretty good at 35.9%.
The good news is that Villanova does not play very fast. They are good at playing a slow game, like Purdue, focused on the half-court, who uses the defenses. They have not scored more than 80 points since Feb. 13 in Providence. Their defense has been solid, however. St. Mary's played slowly with them and did not turn 60 years old.
These are two very effective offensive teams. By KenPom, Purdue is 5th nationally corrected offense and Villanova is 16 years oldth. On the adjusted defense, Purdue is 30th and Villanova is 78 years oldth. In adjusted tempo, Purdue is 276th Villanova is now 333 years oldrdso the points will probably be at a premium.
These are the types of games that Purdue must win if she wants to break through in March, though. They are not the same villains as Villanova of the last seasons, but they are still very good with a lot of experience and a top coach. There are still two players who entered the Mackey Arena two and a half years ago and won. Few people have done it. The size of Purdue is advantageous. Matt Haarms and Trevion Williams should have an edge in the paint with Cosby-Roundtree as the best player after the match. Paschall also made a mistake two years ago while trying to defend Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan. Saddiq Bey and Jermaine Samuels are versatile in attack, but Haarms and Williams have an advantage over the pack.
There is also the health of Nojel Eastern to consider. Having turned his ankle and missed the start last night, it is obviously a question mark, and when we miss our best defender (with an excellent rebounder), this is a major drawback.
The match that took place two seasons ago was excellent, with Purdue having developed an elite program. We have some benefits this time around, but Villanova's experience will be hard to overcome.
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