St. John's defense has been working hard in recent weeks.
They got off to a 4-1 start in Big East play, shutting out their opponents and leading the way.
According to KenPom.com, he has risen to 6th in the nation in efficiency, overwhelming the likes of Creighton, Xavier, and Butler on the same floor.
None of their league opponents reached their season average against the Johnnys.
But now comes Villanova, a vastly improved version of the one that gave games to the likes of Columbia University, Virginia University and St. Joseph's University in November.
A Villanova team that has won eight of its past nine games, features the nation's leading scorer in Eric Dixon, and has made significant strides in competing offensively.
“We're going to be as tough a challenge in this basketball game as any team we're going to play,” coach Rick Pitino said Friday at the Garden, where 17,000 fans are expected to be in attendance. He spoke on the eve of the showdown. , if not more. “The way they shoot free throws, the way they shoot threes, it's going to be a challenge because it creates so many problems for the defense.”
Villanova (11-5, 4-1) is the No. 4 team in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage at 41.4%.
They are 10th in free throw shooting (79.3) and 15th in turnovers made (9.7). Its offensive power ranks 10th in terms of efficiency.
To this point, the only opponent St. John's (13-3, 4-1) has had with comparable offensive power is Baylor (No. 16), which lost a heartbreaking game in the Bahamas in mid-November. They defeated the Red Storm in double overtime. .
It obviously starts with Dixon. Dixon was a 6-foot-8, 265-pound jack-of-all-trades forward who averaged 25.7 points and shot an impressive 47.2 percent on 5.7 attempts.
With a mismatched gait, he can hurt you from the inside and the outside. Aaron Scott, who is expected to guard Dixon for much of the game, said the plan is to move him off the 3-point line and have him take challenging 2-point shots.
“It's a group job to protect Eric Dixon,” forward Zuby Ejiofor said.
But Villanova's recent popularity is due to other works. That's because Uga Popler, who moved to Miami, has found his game, and Jordan Longino, Tyler Perkins, and Jameel Bricas are all contributing, making it difficult for the team to focus solely on Dixon. .
The super seniors made just 6-of-20 on Wednesday against two-time national champion Connecticut, but Villanova had 30 combined points from Longino and Poplar and a great final-minute effort from the defensive end. won.
“The mistake people make when playing Villanova is they focus too much on Dixon and the other four or five guys in the lineup just kill you,” Pitino said. “The reason Dixon is having a great year is because we have a great cast.”
But a similar argument could be made about how Villanova will fare against St. John's.
They haven't even dealt with this type of defense. A group with size, versatility and switching ability at the position led to a 10-point road win over Xavier on Tuesday.
The Musketeers entered the tournament ranked 13th in the nation in 3-point shooting, but held the Johnnies to 4-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Afterward, Xavier coach Sean Miller praised St. John's effort and toughness.
Lately, Pitino has witnessed the Red Storm's helmet mentality and desperation plays that led to wins despite struggling offensively from 3-point range.
“There was a one-man club, but after that, [Sadiku Ibine Ayo] Joined Zuby and then Deivon [Smith] join them and [Simeon Wilcher] I participated,” Pitino said. “And everyone is joining the Zoobie club.” [with] Incredible work ethic. We started out as a one-man band, but now we have a very large band. ”
The band will face a big test on Saturday night. It is expected to draw one of the largest crowds in the Pitino era. Expectations have increased in recent days after Villanova and St. John's picked up important wins earlier this week.
Scott said he was “excited.” “But I'm more excited to win. We have to lock in.”
