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What is the secret sauce to beat Villanova? Butler seems to have it, as do 2nd round tournament teams.

Whatever the recipe is, scoring more points than Villanova should be part of it.

Saw this interesting factoid on the VU board this morning.

Villanova started last season 19-1 and lost at Marquette in game number 21 (while ranked #1).

Villanova sits at 19-1 now, at #1 in the polls and heads to Marquette Sunday for game #21.

Let's hope for a different result this season.

John Madden put it best on how to beat any team.

Wear this uniform.

Shoot a lot of threes and make them. #wraggebomb

To me, there are 4 things that stand out.

1. Out-shoot Villanova from deep.
This rarely happens, but jump shooting teams can be prone to off nights. Villanova has had very few off nights, but it's still a possibility. Butler did this by going completely unconscious from deep.

2. Crush Villanova on the glass.
Providence did that for a while, but Providence didn't have the offensive firepower to keep up once Villanova got hot from deep. That's how NC State beat Villanova, along with a terrible shooting night by the Cats.

3. Play smart offensively.
Don't turn it over and allow Villanova to get easy baskets. And if you do that and force Villanova to defend for 30 seconds, you might be able to find an open shot. Villanova's switching defense often leaves people open for a moment - the key is finding them in rhythm. Marquette did a great job of that last game, but Marquette doesn't defend at all.

4. Exploit Villanova's lack of depth.
Villanova plays with an 8-man rotation, and there's really no place to go after that. Force Villanova to play Cosby-Roundtree or Gillespie serious minutes by getting someone in foul trouble. This is less of a problem now that Gillespie is back, but Villanova is one injury away from being extremely shallow.

And there you have it.... Phil Booth out indefinitely with a broken bone in his right (shooting) hand. Tough luck for him having missed all of last year for his knee. Wow.... third hand injury for the team ( Gillespie-finally back, Samuels still out and now Booth)

Novachap wrote:And there you have it.... Phil Booth out indefinitely with a broken bone in his right (shooting) hand. Tough luck for him having missed all of last year for his knee. Wow.... third hand injury for the team ( Gillespie-finally back, Samuels still out and now Booth)

Was worried about that after how he was holding his hand. Brutal loss for Villanova. Hopefully, he can return for the BET or the NCAA Tournament, but we're starting to run out of time.

MackNova wrote:

Novachap wrote:And there you have it.... Phil Booth out indefinitely with a broken bone in his right (shooting) hand. Tough luck for him having missed all of last year for his knee. Wow.... third hand injury for the team ( Gillespie-finally back, Samuels still out and now Booth)

Was worried about that after how he was holding his hand. Brutal loss for Villanova. Hopefully, he can return for the BET or the NCAA Tournament, but we're starting to run out of time.

That's really awful news. Hopefully it's minor and he can play at some point later this year.

So it's Booth, not Brunson huh. Damn.

I heard that Chubby (Paschall) is out (Creighton game) for the Toastmasters All you can Eat Buffet. Bridges will take up the slack. Go Nova!

Oh, this thread is about how to persevere and prevail vs Top Cat Villanova? Use a baseball bat.