Villanova basketball has not looked like a powerhouse yet this season but a home matchup against Kansas looms on the horizon. How can the ‘Cats take the W?
Villanova basketball entered this season with high expectations thanks to its recent successes on the court and the arrival of a superb recruiting class. Through the opening month and a half of the season, though, it just appears as though the Wildcats are treading water as a fringe top-25 team in the country instead of emerging as a national title contender. The team has essentially held serve in every game that they should have won so far this year while suffering defeats to two top-10 teams in the country away from home.
With that said, though, Villanova’s best chance for a signature non-conference win comes next as the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks will be coming to Philadelphia on Dec. 21st. Considering the national attention that both programs have received in recent years, this is one of the most heavily-anticipated non-conference games of the entire season.
The Jayhawks will be looking to assert themselves as the clear-cut top team in the nation while the Wildcats are hoping to prove to everyone that they have turned the corner and deserve to be the favorite in the Big East moving forward. Both teams should easily make the NCAA Tournament in a few months but this contest could have major implications on seeding as it will likely be a Quadrant 1 game for both teams.
As a bit of a background, here is how the two teams appear to match up with one another:
NET Ranking: Villanova – 23rd | Kansas – 1st
Adjusted Tempo: Villanova – 226th | Kansas – 91st
Adj. Off. Efficiency: Villanova – 3rd | Kansas – 11th
Adj. Def. Efficiency: Villanova – 86th | Kansas – 6th
Kansas has definitely been the more successful team so far this season and pretty much all ranking systems agree with that. Still, Villanova holds the home-court advantage for this matchup and could be the hungrier team considering their somewhat slow start to the campaign. Playing at the Wells Fargo Center should give the Wildcats a bit of an edge in this one as the crowd noise could become a factor. Villanova has played very well at home so far this season while Kansas has been a bit shaky compared to normal standards outside of Lawrence (per Haslametrics).
Bill Self (Kansas) and Jay Wright (Villanova) are two of the best coaches in the entire nation and it is reasonable to expect that they will have their respective teams revved up and ready to go for this one. With tip-off quickly approaching, let’s dive a bit deeper into this matchup to analyze three potential keys to success for Villanova.