​Cover Photo: Getty Images


The Villanova Wildcats are watching their season crumble. A season, that at one time showed some promise after winning it all last year, now shows signs of a team that could struggle come tournament time in March. 


It's not just that the Wildcats are losing (they've lost three straight). They're getting physically outplayed by the opposition. 

The latest disappointment came against Xavier on Sunday. Villanova fell apart down the stretch, allowing a 17-0 run by Xavier in the second half. Overall, the Wildcats were outscored 39-24 in the second half and ended up losing by 12 points after leading by three at halftime. 


Even more telling: Nova didn't attempt a free throw until there was 2:12 left in the game. That points to a team not attacking the rim, which is critical to success in the NCAA Tournament. 

Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports points out Villanova's dependency on the 3-point shot. On Sunday against Xavier, Villanova shot 27.8 percent from 3-point range. That dependency on one element of the game is easier for opponents to prepare for in March. 


Come tournament time, defense becomes more important and mistakes are amplified. One-dimensional teams usually don't make long tournament runs and that is what Villanova is showing signs of. 


If they can't find other ways to succeed, or they don't shoot lights out early in the tournament, the Wildcats are in danger of an eaexit during the opening weekend of March Madness. 

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David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.