City of Basketball Love

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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NEWARK, N.J. — The Wildcats are back on track. 

Villanova took their lumps and growing pains in November, losing four consecutive games, but they flipped a switch in December. 

Kyle Neptune’s young squad got off to a fast start and secured their third straight win, beating Boston College 77-56, at the Never Forget Tribute Classic hosted at the Prudential Center.

Villanova played great team defense that shut down Boston College’s offense in the second-half, the offense showed more life too with freshman Cam Whitmore and Mark Armstrong growing ever more confident at the Division I level, helping Villanova best their old Big East rival.

“It's tough,” Neptune said about his young team’s slow start. “If you go look around the country there's not a lot of freshmen who are playing a lot of minutes. There's bigger bodies than high school, way more of a scheme that you have to follow. You have to understand offensive concepts, defensive concepts, you’re playing against bigger bodies, you’re playing against high high high level coaching and it's tough, right?” 

“Especially, when you’re doing it for the first time.” 

Four Wildcat’s scored in double-figures, but none were more impressive than Villanova’s freshman, Whitmore and Armstrong.

The 6-foot-7 Whitmore followed up his 21-point, six-rebound, two-assist breakout performance against Penn with another dominant game Saturday evening. The freshman forward came off the bench for the third straight game, collecting 19 points, seven rebounds, and one steal. 

The McDonald’s All-American missed seven weeks after an October thumb surgery suffered in practice. Whitmore was sidelined until Villanova’s win over Oklahoma on December 3, where he scored seven points in 19 minutes. 

It hasn’t taken him long to show why he’s being considered as a potential one-and-done prospect, one of the best recruits to come through ‘Nova in recent memory.

“I was itching to play,” Whitmore said postgame. “Itching to help the team out and just contribute in any way possible, on the defensive end and offensive end.”  

The Archbishop Spalding (Md.) product had an easy time attacking the rim, beating his defenders off the dribble with a variety of dribble moves. Whitmore shot 50% from the field (5-10) and three (3-6). He also played the third highest minutes for Villanova (26:09). 

Could we see Whitmore in the starting five anytime soon? 

“We’ll go back and see how Cam does in practice this week,” Neptune said about his five-star recruit. “We make decisions the day before the game or day of the game. It depends on the circumstance.” 

“I’m a freshman,” Whitmore added. “Playing at Villanova is kinda difficult. I still have a lot of learning to do.” 

Whitmore’s classmate, Armstrong, didn’t start all of November for the Wildcats, but December has treated the freshman from South Orange (N.J.) fairly well. The 6-2 guard got pushed into the starting lineup in a 70-66 win over Oklahoma, scoring 10 points in the win. Armstrong started the next game against Penn, but had a quiet night, failing to register any points in Nova’s 70-59 victory. 

But playing, 21 minutes away from his hometown, Armstrong performed well in his homecoming. The St. Peter’s Prep (N.J.) product scored Nova’s first seven points and finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.  

“It was just a great atmosphere playing with my teammates and coming back to Jersey,” Armstrong said. 

“It’s the same mindset going into every game, playing Villanova basketball, defense and rebounding.” 

Villanova’s success over the last decade stems from their focus on the defensive end. 

But Neptune’s young team struggled defensively during their stretch of four straight road losses to 20th-ranked Iowa State, Michigan State, Oregon, and Portland. The Wildcat’s defense allowed 70-plus points to Michigan State and Oregon and 80-plus points to Iowa State and Portland. The worst of it was allowing Portland to shoot 56.3% (27-48) from the field in a 83-71 loss. 

Villanova’s defense was troubling to begin the first half. Their ACC opponent shot the ball well, going 47.8% (11-23) from the field and 54.5% (6-11) from beyond the arc. Boston College only trailed 40-30 at the break. 

However, Villanova’s defense looked as stout as ever after Neptune made some adjustments during halftime. The Wildcats then slammed the door shut on the Golden Eagles. 

Nova rotated well to the ball and denied Boston College open looks, running the Golden Eagles off the 3-point line. Boston College shot 33% (11-33) from the field and a tough 13.3% (2-15) from 3-point land in the second half. 

“There were a couple of guys who got loose in the first half,” Neptune said about their defensive adjustments. “We tried to get to them in the second half and be more mindful of who was out there. I thought our defensive intensity to start the second half is what kinda worked in our favor.”  

Nova’s created, on average, 12.2 turnovers per game this season. In Nova’s previous two wins over Oklahoma (7-2) and Penn (6-7), Neptune’s defense forced 13 and 14 turnovers, respectively. 

Villanova used the same formula against the Golden Eagles. The Wildcats’ active hands and aggressive play on the defensive end caused 15 turnovers that turned into 15 points. 

“We’ve got a young team and even our older guys are just in different roles,” Neptune said about his team’s growth on the defensive side. “We just had to learn how to play defense at a Villanova basketball level.” 

“We knew to start the year it would be a challenge and I think to our guys credit their habits have continued to improve. So, our defense has continued to improve and we’ve continued to improve as a team. “ 

Nova’s team and season is still young. Neptune and his staff expected some early season lumps. Their group is talented and learned a lot from their early season losses. Now with three straight wins under their belt, the Wildcats are gaining more confidence. 

Next up for the Wildcats is the Holy War, a trip to St. Joe’s next Saturday, followed by the start of Big East play against St. John’s at home on Dec. 21.

“We knew coming into the year that we got a young team,” Neptune said. “A team with a lot of very talented young guys. We knew their best basketball would be by the end of the season and I think that’s true. I think our team has a lot of room to grow.”