Toohey: ’Nova focuses on challenge of Butler
There are a lot of phrases Villanova basketball players like to use, with the notion of “playing Villanova basketball” being at the top of the list.
It’s an idiom that learned early, repeated often and deeply ingrained in the culture under Jay Wright. Another oft-used expression is playing “94 x 50 feet,” which basically means to disregard the crowd and the outside noise and worry only about what happens on the length and width of the court.
That won’t be a problem when the Wildcats host Butler Wednesday in their first home game of the season at the Finneran Pavilion (7 p.m., FS1). There will be no fans in the stands, so the only sounds will be the bouncing of the ball, the squeaking of sneakers, the communication from the coaches and between the players, the referee’s whistles and the horns to stop play.
Villanova got a taste of what it’s like to play in an empty gym in last Friday’s 76-63 victory over Georgetown in both teams’ Big East opener. There were no fans in McDonough Arena to see the Wildcats rally from an 18-point, first-half deficit.
But that was an away game, where the seventh-ranked Wildcats are used to playing in front of a hostile crowd, where sticking to the “94 x 50 feet” mantra was a little easier than usual because they didn’t have to contend with the crowd. Georgetown lacked the juice from the home crowd to keep the pedal on the gas against the Wildcats.
Home games, though, are different. The crowd is behind you, not against you. This being Villanova’s home opener after six road games, including four in “Bubbleville” in Connecticut, Wright is unsure what effect it’ll have on players.
“I’m really concerned,” Wright said. “We’re not talking about it a lot because there’s nothing we can do about it, but I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say, we’re watching film of last year’s Butler game at home and the place is packed so they’re looking at film and then they’re walking into the place and it’s empty. I hope it’s not going to have any effect on us.”
The players, as has become a common phrase among them this year more than ever, are just happy to be playing.
“The last time we probably played was a closed scrimmage last year,” guard Collin Gillespie said when asked about facing an empty Pavilion. “It’s something that is new to us, but something that we’ve definitely done before, just treating it kind of like a closed scrimmage.
But the guys will be ready. We’ll be locked in 94 x 50 feet, trying to play Villanova basketball as best we can.”
Those scrimmages didn’t count. This one does.
“These are kind of crazy times,” sophomore forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl said. “It’s a very unique opportunity we’re in. Every opportunity we have to go out on the court we’re excited to do that.”
The players, coaches and everyone involved in college basketball better get used to it. It’s all part of
the bizarre nature of playing a season in the middle of a global pandemic.
Butler is playing just its second game of the season and first in 21 days after being shut down due to COVID-19 protocols. The Bulldogs have not played since beating Western Michigan, 66-62, on Nov. 25. Because of that, Butler will play four games in the next eight days.
Butler isn’t alone among Big
East teams in being impacted by COVID-19. DePaul hasn’t played a game yet. UConn has only played three times. Xavier paused team activities after a positive test four days ago.
And the changes mean that the Wildcats will do something they probably have never done before, which is play a regular-season game, one that counts, with no fans in the stands. It’s not ideal and will put one of their mantra’s to the test, but it beats the alternative.
“You’re always excited to play a game, but more than ever this year,” Wright said. “Every chance you to get to have a game day you’re super excited.”