@jaybate-1.0 You may not be able to tell how good they are based on “apparent asymmetries” but I expect that most folks that watch a lot of basketball would say pretty damn good. Per most metrics, they had one of the most efficient offenses in years. They rolled through this tournament winning by double digits. They b****-slapped the 3 best teams in the B12, supposedly the toughest conference in the land. But, maybe this wasn’t the toughest row to hoe on the way to the title. But, it’s not a one time thing, is it? Two years ago they beat 5! ranked teams to win the title, including 4 in the top 10 (of course, our beloved Jayhawks along the way). Only 2 of those games were close. Not sure if they got the benefit of the same “asymmetries” that time? With two titles and a 136 wins over the past four years, Wright and Villanova have had a historically good run…

@Hawk8086 Perhaps the apparent lack of commitment on the court game after game???

@JayHawkFanToo I think you (perhaps not intentionally) highlight the more overlooked aspect of the game. Yes, Villanova opened up a big lead early with the onslaught of made 3s - and carried a 15 point lead at halftime with 13 made 3s. But, as you note, Villanova scored 1 more point in the second half - 48 - with just 5 made 3s. While Villanova is a VERY good offensive team, we managed to make them look GSW-like with really bad defense. They lit us up in the second half with only 15 of their 48 points coming from 3s. This was statistically the worst defensive team under Self (by far) and it showed in this game (painfully so).
The other issue that decided the game was how poorly we played in the first 8 minutes on the offensive end. Getting down 22-4 was a function of them not only making shots (22-2 run after Doke’s first score of the game), but our inability to do so. We played them even after the initial onslaught, but just couldn’t get the stops necessary to ever really close the gap.

@DoubleDD I’ll take that bet…

None of our guys went after the long rebound on Malik’s miss…

Well, in contrast to past years, I don’t feel too bad about the loss - it’s to a better team that played well. We played to our seed and really over-achieved bit. Just wish we had played better than we did…

Surprised and disappointed that they never ever made a run this half…

They have 17 assists to our 6. They really move and share the ball. Would be fun to watch if it wasn’t against us…

Why are we double teaming after someone has picked up his dribble??? It just gives them wide open looks.

@HighEliteMajor Totally agree - for someone who has played ball for as long as he has and was a fairly high recruit…