(PRE-GAME) @Villanova, Tues., Jan. 8, 7p, FS-1 / 970 AM

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I would be inclined to say this is a game we can afford to lose, or expect to lose, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable saying this if we had already beaten them at home. You don't want to lose two to Nova this season, so going in the hole even on their home court is something we don't want to do. It's another one of those games that will feel huge - win and we will justifiably feel very good at 3-1 over 3 road games. Lose and we have some work to do done the line.

Definitely a winnable game, but we won't surprise Nova at all. Feel a lot better with Keita back. He doesn't have to score at all to be a positive factor. Staff have said that unlike Owens, Keita can post up, so I believe he will provide a few points once he gets comfortable. In the meantime, plenty of weapons on offense that more than pick up the slack. It is nice to have some muscle to go up against Villanova bigs besides Clark.
 
[quote="Adam" post=313213]Wow, we are 6.5 point underdogs.[/quote]

Good!! I love going in as the dogs... lgotta take it to em for 40 minutes...
 
Makes sense, but it's still disrespectful.

A win should change the way Vegas sees us on the road for the rest of the year.
 
For all the talk of Nova losing so much to the NBA, they have put together some quality basketball despite the bad losses and not so good minutes in wins. I do like how we matchup with them and beating them on the road two years in a row would be a nice trend but winning on the road in conference is never expected and kind of silly to expect it vs the Champs.
 
[quote="Adam" post=313213]Wow, we are 6.5 point underdogs.[/quote]

Stop Paschall we win. We are a better team than Nova. As usual all 5 starters need to be on top of their game.
 
We have a good shot at winning. Don't care where the game is played, although it worries me Stephens is reffing, Lol!
We're actually 2 - 0 on the road so far this year in the BEC, let's go for 3- 0.
 
Anybody know the logic behind 6.5 points? Give them a few for home court, but surprised Vegas thinks Nova is better. Maybe they're basing that on a service like KenPom which has Nova 16 spots ahead, though we are better in NET and all the other metrics I've seen.

Anyways, I agree I don't mind being the underdog here. Also, this is a dangerous line for Nova. They were favored to beat Michigan and Penn (away) to similar margins, and of course they also lost to Furman. Plus, last year we were underdogs by around 16 points lol.

Will be a fun game!
 
This will be a very difficult game...Villanova on their court? No shame in losing here...although I'm praying for a win.
 
Defending national champs, at home, with a culture of winning, 2 really good seniors and some developing/nice young players. They should be treated as the favorite until proven otherwise and this will be a difficult test for our squad.
 
Hope we win tomorrow and certainly give us a decent shot, but will be neither surprised nor discouraged if we lose this one.
 
[quote="Class of 72" post=313224][quote="Adam" post=313213]Wow, we are 6.5 point underdogs.[/quote]

Stop Paschall we win. We are a better team than Nova. As usual all 5 starters need to be on top of their game.[/quote].

Yes. stopping him is the key to a victory. The other players are all pretty much complimentary at this stage of their careers. Again, we need to stay out of foul trouble and stop the 3 point shot. They can't get hot at home. Are close-outs need to be strong and distributive, without fouling. Our 1-3 position players should have an advantage over their guards on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court. Please defend the inbound plays under the basket better. Just like up top, switch all screens. They do not have enough inside size or strength to prevent us from attacking the basket. Unless we have a horrible shooting night, I think we come out with a "W"
 
Take the 6.5.
I see 2 ways this game go, SJU in the 10+point win, or it'll be a war which could go either way.
Villanova definitely isn't blowing SJU out, bank on that.
 
Can't let Gillespie and Cremo go nuts from 3 and have career games like Divincenzo seemed to have every game against us. They don't have enough firepower otherwise this year. Feeling fairly confident coming out of there with a W.
 
St. John's by 18. More wrinkles of offense and defense revealed by Mullin.

A welcome contest against a team that is finally no bigger or deeper than us. Season-defining win.
 
A close one. At risk of stating obvious, defend the three aggressively, gang rebound, value the ball as we have & please make the free throws. This one could be decided in last minute. These Johnnies don’t quit & best player out there will be wearing red.
 
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Man, on paper this game seems so winnable. Hard to get upset if we lose since it's Nova on the road, but this isn't the Nova of old. They haven't looked anything near dominant in their first two big East games. Only beat DePaul by 5 at home. Plus we are the more talented team.

If we lose, it will be more of a missed opportunity than anything.
 
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