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Villanova Basketball: 5 reasons why Wildcats should be 2020-21 title favorites

By Matthew Winick

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 16: The Villanova Wildcats celebrate the 74-72 win over the Seton Hall Pirates during the Big East Championship Game to claim the Big East title at Madison Square Garden on March 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 16: The Villanova Wildcats celebrate the 74-72 win over the Seton Hall Pirates during the Big East Championship Game to claim the Big East title at Madison Square Garden on March 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Villanova Basketball
PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 29: Collin Gillespie #2, Jermaine Samuels #23, Brandon Slater #3, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl #24 of the Villanova Wildcats (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

3. Bryan Antoine’s real debut for the Wildcats

Last season, freshman Bryan Antoine played sparingly in 15 games and averaged 1.1 points per game for Villanova. This year, he may lead the team in scoring. This weird set of circumstances due to a shoulder injury have allowed Antoine to fly under the radar up until this point, but that is all due to change very soon.

The 16th overall recruit in 2019, one spot behind Robinson-Earl, Antoine is the type of player that has rarely entered the Villanova program. Athletically gifted with elite offensive skills, Antoine has the individual scoring ability that few other Wildcats have had in Jay Wright’s tenure. It’s very easy to salivate at the combination of Antoine’s scoring ability and Wright’s offensive schemes moving forward.

With that being said, Antoine is starting basically at square one this year. It is a lot to ask of a guy who only took 23 shots last season to come in and be a difference-maker. While he may be behind the 8-ball experience-wise in comparison to his teammates, his natural ability may trump them all.

While he is unlikely to start ahead of the returning backcourt of Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore, Antoine will likely get a handful of scoring opportunities off the bench. It will be sort of learning on the fly type of situation, but if all goes right, Antoine could be one of the most important bench players in the country.

Many have been calling Antoine an x-factor coming into this season, but with his level of talent and reputation coming out of high school, he’s more of an a-factor for the Wildcats this season.