NOVA REPORT
The 16th ranked Villanova Wildcats are home tonight to take on Big 5 rival LaSalle. Tip is at 6:30 pm eastern. Line is Nova-15.5/137.5. The Cats start the season missing two of their best players. Justin Moore who unquestionably would be their star is out with an Achilles tear suffered in their Elite 8 game last March. Cam Whitmore had to have hand surgery. He is projected to be an NBA lottery pick. With all the players healthy, Nova is easily a top ten club. Presently, I doubt if they deserve their current ranking. Nonetheless, they are way more talented than LaSalle.
However, LaSalle could present the Cats some problems. Nova will likely be starting a Freshman guard, probably Armstrong. LaSalle returns their guards from last year plus has a deep bench at that position. Coach Dunphy also brought in 4 transfers, two from last year’s Cinderella St. Peter’s club (they happen to be twins). Additionally, Dunphy has over 30 years Big 5 coaching experience between Penn and Temple. He knows Villanova well. His team will be prepared.
No one will cry for the Cats though. The core of Daniels (recovering from a broken nose but will play), Dixon and Slater is a solid trio. Reports are that the Nova Freshman have been ‘killing it’ in practice…but this isn’t practice.
What Will Happen. There is no doubt LaSalle will pressure the Nova guards. They also may start going up tempo to test the Cats who may not be quite as fast. Coach Neptune ( Jay Wright retired) is likely to try different combinations of players as Moore won’t be back until January and Whitmore likely December.
For sure, Neptune has preached defense, defense, defense. Even if Nova gets up by 20+ points, the back door will be open as they will want to give as many players as possible court time.
My Pick:LaSalle+15.5