Villanova's Press Break Beats Siena

The 2 lowest seeds left in the tournament are #12 WKU and #12 Villanova. I think that Villanova could be the best #12 seed I've seen in a long time (as far as I know, George Mason was an 11 seed in 2006). Anyways, after a shaky start in the Clemson game, Villanova has really hit it's stride. Part of the reason why they've been successful in the first 2 rounds has been their ability to handle pressure. Both Clemson and Siena pressed full-court the whole game and though the Wildcats did turn the ball over, I thought overall, their +/- was even or + against the press. Here are 2 sequences, 1 in the first half and 1 in the second half of Villanova's press break,



2 things I always like to stress for any press break.

1. Use the ball reversal. Not only does the reversal work and is very safe, by continuously reversing the ball against pressure, you wear out the defense in the long run,


2. Have one of your forwards in the middle. This way, you can get a high pass to a tall forward in the middle of the floor. Pivot, then pass over the defense, very effective in breaking even-man front presses.


Summary:

Part of the problem in the Clemson game early on was just the inexperience factor. Villanova plays a number of freshman and those guys tend to get caught up in the moment of their first NCAA tournament. But once they settled down and executed their press break, they came from behind to beat Clemson and Siena never really threatened.

Next up are the Kansas Jayhawks, a whole different beast. The Wildcats unfortunately don't matchup well, but if they can take care of the ball in the half-court and stay in single-digits, Kansas has a tendency to get tight in close games and the Wildcats could steal one.

If you're a big Villanova fan, a 4-out 1-in motion guy, or just like the stuff Jay Wright runs, check out Jay Wright's 5-pack DVD. Talk about your favorite press break at the X's and O's Basketball Forum with other great coaches from around the world.