Villanova searching for its ‘road vibe’ heading into NCAA Tournament
The Wildcats have struggled to find a consistent routine since their 27-day coronavirus-related pause, especially on the road. They will have one more chance, in Indianapolis, to get it.
Villanova left Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee feeling really good about its team. The Wildcats had knocked off Marquette, 85-68, and returned home in time for Christmas thinking they finally had found the rhythm and chemistry needed in this most challenging of seasons.
But in the year of the coronavirus, another setback — in fact, two — halted the Cats’ progress. Head coach Jay Wright tested positive for the virus on Dec. 26. The Wildcats ended their quarantine Jan. 3 and got in one practice before two players returned positive tests, shutting the program down again.
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The momentum built off of the Marquette victory had faded. By the time the Cats resumed competition on Jan. 19 at home against Seton Hall, 27 days had passed since their previous game, and countless practice time had been lost.
They defeated the Pirates by two, but the long pause seemed to knock their season out of whack. Wright and his players never have been able to get into a consistent routine. The team has struggled on the road, losing its last four away games, three by double digits. Wright says they’ve never been able to get a “road vibe” mentality going.
The road takes the Wildcats to one more city, Indianapolis, this week for the NCAA Tournament. One positive has been their seventh Big East regular season championship in the last eight seasons. But an 11-1 start has given way to a 5-5 finish, and without injured point guard and leader Collin Gillespie, their NCAA stay may be a short one.
“You look at the runs we made in the NCAA Tournament, we kept everybody healthy through all those runs and that’s rare,” Wright said last week, referring to his team’s 2016 and 2018 national championships. “That’s why if you ask somebody if they win a national championship, one of the first things they’ll say is, ‘There’s a lot of luck involved, and part of that is staying healthy.’
“We’ve been very fortunate. So this is our turn. We get it. We’re going to battle through it.”
Wright said the lack of a normal routine “definitely” has affected his team.
“We won the Big East and we played less games than other people,” he said last week. “We survived it, really. I’ve never felt like we’ve been able to get this team like a Villanova basketball team. I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault, I really don’t. We’re analyzing everything we do as a staff.
“Every team’s got their issues. It’s just a matter of how you handled this year. One of the things that we haven’t been able to do is just get that road mentality of playing viciously on the road. We just haven’t been able to get that.”
Villanova’s road woes — 4-4 on opposing courts, 3-2 at neutral sites — have been uncharacteristic of a team that in the last five years has compiled a 42-21 (.667) road record and a 45-5 (.900) mark on neutral courts. Again, the pandemic has played a major role.
Wright said it was a matter of “not being able to get that vibe on the road this year.”
“It’s a maturity, it’s a mentality from your leadership because the guys practice real hard,” he said. “There’s a mindset you’ve got to have when you go on the road and it’s really got to come from your leaders. Even early in the year, we played Georgetown, we were down 18 at halftime. I’ve got all kinds of theories, I don’t have any one that I am convinced of yet, but we’re looking at every possible reason.
“But it does start with leadership, it really does, and our leaders have got to do that and we as coaches have to make sure we start games better on the road. Tournament games are the same. It’s not like playing at home. We’ve started great at home every game. It’s just been a weird year. I don’t want to overreact to it but it’s definitely an issue.”
Home is where Villanova has looked like, well, Villanova. The Wildcats have gone 8-0 at Finneran Pavilion. In the seven games played there after the 27-day COVID-19 pause, they outscored the opponent 77.4-63.7, outshot them 47.7%-43.0%, hit 39.6% from three-point land (67 made treys) to 30.0 for the visitors and were plus-26 on turnovers.
Conversely, the road has not been kind: 60.5-point scoring average, 35.0% shooting from the field, 22.4% on threes. The opponent’s numbers, in the same order, were 70.8, 47.6% and 39.8%.
The Cats’ usually reliable long-range touch deserted them late in the season. Counting games at Butler and at Providence, and the first 12 ½ minutes of their Big East quarterfinal loss to Georgetown at Madison Square Garden, they made just seven of 57 attempts from beyond the arc.
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They did make eight of their last 18 threes against the Hoyas and trailed in the second half for less than 3 ½ minutes, but free throw shooting (14 of 22) failed them in the 72-71 loss, their earliest exit from the Big East Tournament since a 74-73 loss to Seton Hall in 2014.
This season — hopefully the only season — of the pandemic comes to a conclusion in the next three weeks. The expectations for the Wildcats have lessened and their margin for error is small. It’s been a strange season but if there’s one thing Wright and his players know, they want to keep playing.
“When this is over, I’m sure you’ll be able to go to different coaches and hear stories that are just unbelievable,” he said. “As crazy as this seems, it’s nothing when compared to going through quarantines and testing and contact tracing. I’m sure every coach is going to tell you it’s the most challenging season. It’s incredible.”