Villanova Basketball: 3 keys to Wildcats taking down Maryland Terrapins

2. Three-point shooting and perimeter defense

The Wildcats lost the perimeter battle on both ends of the floor by a huge margin and were still able to keep this a two-possession game at the end. Villanova had quite a night from three in terms of volume, shooting 33 shots, but they only made nine of them for 27.3 percent. This is not going to win them basketball games if they shoot like that, the volume is fine, but they have to be more efficient and take better shots.

Even players like Moore struggled with efficiency, he shot 4-11 from distance, transfer TJ Bamba went 0-4, Brendan Hausen could not get it going at 1-5, and Jordan Longino also only made one three, these are good shooters that just had off nights. Hausen and Longino are players that can get hot on any given night, and one of them should get going in this upcoming matchup.

UPenn did not shoot the ball from deep a ton, but they shot efficiently with 41.2 percent of their shots going in, against Maryland they are going to have to lock in defensively as well, forcing this team into tough looks from three. Maryland has not shot well yet this season, but the Wildcats cannot just sag off on shooters, they will still need to play aggressively defensively into bad shots.

It seems pretty straightforward, but it has not been so far for this unit, so adjustments will have to be made, having the homecourt advantage will put them in a spot they are comfortable shooting from, and will allow these players to get going.