Beating Kansas is a challenge because the Jayhawks are experienced, big, deep and talented.
Beating Kansas when a team is at less than full strength adds to the degree of difficulty. That versatile Villanova junior guard Justin Moore suffered a torn right Achilles tendon late in the Elite Eight victory over Houston certainly qualifies as a significant loss.
But Jay Wright’s Wildcats are still capable of overcoming Bill Self’s Jayhawks in the Final Four on Saturday night (6:09) in New Orleans to earn a spot in Monday’s championship game against the Duke-North Carolina winner.
Here’s the recipe:
Make it ugly
For 30-7 Villanova to get past 32-6 Kansas, the Wildcats are probably going to follow the script they used to outlast Houston 50-44. Each team shot below .300 from the field and .250 from 3-point range — the Cougars went just 1 of 20 — in a grind-it-out, halfcourt-dominated contest.
Plenty of missed field goals and not a lot of fast-break opportunities might not be the most exciting basketball to watch, but it’s probably ‘Nova’s best chance.
Kansas’ offensive approach is much different than Villanova’s. The Jayhawks attempted 402 more 2-point field goals than the Wildcats this season but 207 fewer 3-pointers. ‘Nova cannot afford to allow Kansas to shoot anywhere near its season average of .478 from the field or score the 76 points it’s averaging in the four tournament wins (compared to the Wildcats’ 66).
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“We know Kansas is a great team with a lot of great individual pieces that come together very well to make them the team they are,” said redshirt sophomore center Eric Dixon. “We’re expecting a tough battle with them.”
Hit free throws
Villanova making all 15 foul shots in its Elite Eight win over Houston improved its season percentage to .830, which is the best in NCAA history. Kansas is in the middle of the Division I pack at .719, so this could be an area that helps the Wildcats if they can stay close.
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Stay close on boards
Kansas is an excellent rebounding team, averaging 38 per game and accumulating 205 more boards than its foes to Villanova’s 34.9. The Jayhawks have two players averaging more than 6.5 rebounds — sophomore forward Jalen Wilson (7.4) and senior big man David McCormack (6.8) — which is two more than the Wildcats.
“We are preparing for a great Kansas team that has proven themselves all season in every situation,” Wright said. “They’re going to be one of the fastest, quickest teams we’ve played against.”
Houston averaged 7 more rebounds than its opponents in 2021-22, but one of the reasons Villanova advanced was the Cougars’ narrow 39-38 margin on the boards. A similar rebounding result would benefit the Wildcats.
Keep Agbaji in check
Kansas senior guard Ochai Agbaji, a consensus All-American, is a terrific player who projects to go in the middle of the first round in the NBA Draft as a 3-and-D guy. The Jayhawks’ leading scorer at 18.9 points, Agbaji can score inside the 3-point line and behind the arc. He has 96 made 3s, which is twice as many as anybody else on the team.
Agbaji is extremely competitive and doesn’t hesitate to take big shots at crunch time.
Make up for Moore’s absence
Junior guards Bryan Antoine and Chris Arcidiacono, a Neshaminy graduate, have an opportunity to contribute with more minutes than usual in place of Moore.
“It’s very tough that we lost Justin,” said graduate student Jermaine Samuels, a forward. “And it does hurt a little bit. But a lot of people don’t see the hours they put in after the games, before the games, and they’re ready to go and they’re ready to contribute.”
It’s also essential the other five players from Wright’s typical six-man rotation — graduate student Collin Gillespie, a guard, Samuels, Dixon, senior forward Brandon Slater and sixth man Caleb Daniels, a redshirt senior — stay out of foul trouble so they can play substantial roles.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly
