Villanova Basketball: 3 keys for Wildcats matchup vs No. 17 Tennessee

VILLANOVA, PA - NOVEMBER 16: Justin Moore #5, Caleb Daniels #14, Brandon Slater #3, and Chris Arcidiacono #4 of the Villanova Wildcats react against the Howard Bison at Finneran Pavilion on November 16, 2021 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

2 of 4

NCAA Basketball Collin Gillespie Villanova Basketball (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /

1. Collin Gillespie needs to win the point guard matchup

Collin Gillespie was a preseason All-American for a reason.

Gillespie (17.3 PPG, 3.7 APG, .622 eFG) started hot against UCLA, scoring 12 points in the first half. That production faded down the stretch, though, scoring a whopping 0 points on 0-2 shooting in the final 14:23 (regulation + overtime) of the loss to the Bruins.

Saturday’s matchup with Tennessee will have Gillespie going head-to-head with another one of the best point guards in the country in Kennedy Chandler.

Chandler is a freshman, so Gillespie will have a significant advantage in terms of experience, but Chandler’s talent is undeniable. He was the No. 1 ranked point guard in the class of 2021 (per 247Sports)—a true point guard and a proven winner. Through two games, Chandler is averaging 18.0 PPG and 5.0 APG on an eFG% of 84.2. All of that in just 24.0 minutes per game due to the lopsided scores of both games.

Tennessee has more depth than Nova, though. In other words, Jay Wright asks much more of Gillespie than Rick Barnes asks of his freshman point guard. The super-senior will likely need to win the individual matchup against Chandler for Villanova to get this win against a talented Vols squad.