Kansas Basketball: 3 keys to beating Villanova in 2022 Final Four

2. Exploit Villanova’s lack of depth

This game would’ve been much more evenly matched if Moore was playing in it, but it won’t be. Kansas fans obviously shouldn’t wish ill on any players. The team, however, only needs to contend with the cards it has been dealt.

The impact of Moore’s loss can’t be overstated for Villanova – it’s the most significant injury across the Final Four. The junior guard averages 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Second Team All-Big East player ranks second on the Wildcats in scoring and assists and third in rebounds.

Caleb Daniels will move into the starting lineup in Moore’s absence and the drop-off shouldn’t be too bad. Daniels averages 10.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, shooting 37.7 percent from three. He even outscored Moore in the Elite Eight, despite Moore’s injury coming with less than a minute left on the clock.

The bigger issue will be Villanova’s depth. Wright hasn’t shown much trust in Bryan Antoine or Chris Arcidiacono in recent games, but he’s not going to have much of a choice against Kansas.

Arcidiacono has played for six minutes in the past three games combined. He has only scored two points since the start of the NCAA Tournament and averages 1.6 points per game in less than 10 minutes per contest for the season.

Antoine didn’t even play in the Elite Eight game. He has also scored just two points since the start of the NCAA Tournament, averaging 1.4 points per game in less than 10 minutes per game for the year.

Kansas’ best path to victory is to make those reserve guards try to beat them. Force Daniels and Collin Gillespie into foul trouble or exhaustion and see if the bench guys can stand up to the Jayhawks’ defense.