Welcome to The Sports Bank’s fourth annual college basketball season preview series where we break 111 teams in the 111 days leading up to the opening tip-off of the 2013-2014 season. We will rank the 84 power conference teams (including the new Big East and American Athletic Conferences) and top 27 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
The Villanova Wildcats return four starters from a year ago and while they figure to be players in the new Big East, are still a level behind some other teams in the conference.
VILLANOVA WILDCATS
Last Season: T-7th, 10-8 in Big East, 20-14 overall
Predicted Big East Finish: 5th
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Daniel Ochefu (So)
PF: Jayvaughn Pinkston (Jr)/Kris Jenkins (Fr)/Darryl Reynolds (Fr)
G/F: James Bell (Sr)/Josh Hart (Fr)
SG: Darrun Hilliard (Jr)/Dylan Ennis (So)
PG: Ryan Arcidiacono (So)/Tony Chennault (Sr)
Gone: C-Mouphtaou Yarou, C-Maurice Sutton, PG-Ty Johnson (transfer-South Carolina), SG-Achraf Yacoubou (transfer-St. Louis), G/F-Mislav Brzoja (transfer-Evansville)
2013-2014 Outlook:
Nova brings back their starting backcourt of Ryan Arcidiacono and Darrun Hilliard. Arcidiacono carried a major load as a freshman starting point guard and performed rather admirably. He still made his share of rookie mistakes but with a year of experience under his belt, should be even more seasoned this year. With increased playing time, Hilliard capitalized on his opportunity and became a dependable scorer.
Jay Wright has solid depth at guard led by Rice transfer Dylan Ennis who sat out last season. Rice started at the point for the Owls and earned Conference USA All Freshman Team. Former Wake Forest transfer Tony Chennault contemplated transferring again in the off-season but decided to stick around at Villanova and adds experience in the backcourt. The Wildcats should frequently use a three guard line-up which will help take some of the pressure of Arcidiacono.
James Bell returns to start on the wing and is the team’s most efficient three-point threat. His strength and physicality will allow him to play some four when Nova uses a three guard look. Bell will be pushed for minutes by freshman Josh Hart who brings a ton of energy to the floor.
Jayvaughn Pinkston anchors the interior and is an inside/outside threat who can throw his wide body around inside or step out to the perimeter and knock down outside shots. Daniel Ochefu figures to replace Mouphtaou Yarou as starting center. Like Yarou was early in his career, Ochefu is known for his rebounding and shot blocking but is still a work of progress on the offensive end. Undersized but physical freshman Kris Jenkins will play a major role off the bench with fellow newcomer Darryl Reynolds expecting to compete for minutes as well.
Balance will be key for the Villanova Wildcats once again as they really lack a true go-to scoring option. The team must also stay healthy since they only have ten scholarship players and an injury, especially in the frontcourt, would be costly. Still, Nova has enough firepower to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament if they can hold off some of the other middle of pack Big East teams.
Player to Watch: Jayvaughn Pinkston
Despite just standing 6-7, Pinkston has developed into an efficient scoring option due to his strength and willingness to outwork his opponents. Without a true backup center, Pinkston should see some minutes at the five when Wright opts to use a smaller line-up.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/17 vs. Towson
11/28 vs. USC (Battle 4 Atlantis)
11/28 vs. Kansas/Wake Forest (Battle 4 Atlantis)
11/28 vs. Tennessee/UTEP/Iowa/Xavier (Battle 4 Atlantis)
12/7 at St. Joseph’s
12/15 vs. La Salle
12/28 at Syracuse
2/1 at Temple
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#35 Oregon
#36 St. Louis
#37 La Salle
#38 San Diego State
#39 Stanford
#40 Arizona State
#41 BYU
#42 Pitt
#43 California
#44 Iowa State
#45 Providence
#46 Cincinnati
#47 UNLV
#48 Purdue
#49 LSU
#50 Illinois
#51 Xavier
#52 Boston College
#53 Ole Miss
#54 Missouri
#55 Washington
#56 Saint Mary’s
#57 Maryland
#58 Butler
#59 Minnesota
#60 Florida Gulf Coast
#61 Akron
#62 Temple
#63 Alabama
#64 Florida State
#65 Arkansas
#66 N.C. State
#67 Kansas State
#68 Davidson
#69 Dayton
#70 Miami FL
#71 SMU
#72 Texas A&M
#73 Long Beach State
#74 UMass
#75 Northwestern
#76 Indiana State
#77 Georgia Tech
#78 Oklahoma
#79 Richmond
#80 Manhattan
#81 Belmont
#82 Texas
#83 Houston
#84 Washington State
#85 Iona
#86 Oregon State
#87 Louisiana Tech
#88 Towson
#89 Wake Forest
#90 Central Florida
#91 Rutgers
#92 Drexel
#93 USC
#94 Charleston
#95 Seton Hall
#96 Vanderbilt
#97 George Mason
#98 Clemson
#99 Penn State
#100 Nebraska
#101 West Virginia
#102 South Florida
#103 Mississippi State
#104 DePaul
#105 South Carolina
#106 Texas Tech
#107 TCU
#108 Virginia Tech
#109 Georgia
#110 Utah
#111 Auburn
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu to Milwaukee. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet , AND the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft. (Yup, nearly 3peat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.