Final Four Odds & Preview -- What Villanova Has to Do to Beat Kansas

  • In Charles Jay
  • Fri, Mar 30th, 2018 10:32:46 pm
  • By Charles Jay - Exclusive to OSGA


We talk about what the Villanova Wildcats have to do so that they can come out of their Saturday game with the Kansas Jayhawks and get to the national championship game.

The Villanova Wildcats have been down this road before; just two years ago, as a matter fact, when they won that dramatic victory over North Carolina to capture the national title. They disappointed last season, however, as they lost to Wisconsin in the Round of 32. But here they are, with another opportunity, and facing the Kansas Jayhawks with a berth in the national championship game on the line. This national-semi final will begin at 8:49 PM ET on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. In the Final Four odds that have been posted on the game at BetAnySports, Villanova is a five-point favorite, with a total of 155 points.

Villanova seems to do everything well, but what are some of the things they can do to get by this extremely capable opponent?

SHOOT LESS FROM THREE-POINT RANGE – Well, maybe. We know that Villanova can shoot the three-pointer, as they are 40% for the season. We also know that they LIKE to shoot a lot of threes, as they do 47% of the time. But don't forget that they are also third nationally in two-point percentage as well (58.8%). Kansas has been pretty good against triples the last couple of games, but if there is something of a hole in their defense, is that they have surrendered 48.2% inside the arc, which ranks them only 101st nationwide.

Villanova basketball NCAA tournament Final Four previewATTACK THE BASKET; ATTACK UDOKA – This may go hand-in-hand with the previous suggestion, and it might make sense for Villanova to do this very early. Udoka Azubuike, at seven-feet, presents Kansas with a potential advantage on the inside. The problem is that he is rather foul-prone, having been disqualified in each of the last two games. His minutes are somewhat limited to begin with, and then there is the MCL injury that he has recently come back from. Villanova could alter the course of this game if they are able to go to the hoop and put the big guy in some early foul trouble. Kansas does not have a heck of a lot of depth up front.

PICK YOUR POISON, BUT PERHAPS MAKE GRAHAM BEAT THEM – This is indeed a funny thing to say, considering that Devonte' Graham is an All-American and was a player of the year candidate who shoots 40% from three-point range. If Villanova is going to concentrate their efforts on somebody in the backcourt, maybe that guy is Malik Newman, who has absolutely caught fire for the Jayhawks, averaging almost 23 points over his last seven games, and coming off a performance were he scored all thirteen points for Kansas in the overtime win against Duke. Blanket him, and you may change the way the Jayhawks tailor their offensive approach for this one.

FOUL UDOKA – Yes, some people in our BetAnySports audience think we may be picking on him, but the fact of the matter is, this is a player who was only 41.3% accurate from the charity stripe, and that is worse than any player in the NBA. If Kansas goes to him on the inside, it definitely makes some sense to make him prove it from the line. Remember that this is someone who hit 77.2% of his field-goal attempts, so you know he is taking only high-percentage shots. Fouling him could be Villanova's way to turn that into a very low-percentage situation.

HIT THE OFFENSIVE BOARDS – Villanova is not a particularly big team, but with Omari Spellman and Eric Paschall, they've got a couple of guys who know their way around the glass. This team shot only 33% against Texas Tech, but made up for it with 20 offensive rebounds. That his at a weak spot for Kansas, which, according to KenPom.com, is only 290th in the nation in defensive rebounding. Second-chances could be the path to victory for the Wildcats.

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(The preceding information has been furnished for news matter only)


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