Villanova, Oklahoma about to find out how good they are
HONOLULU — Bloch Arena was big enough for Elvis back in 1961, when The King came to play a benefit concert for the Pearl Harbor war memorial. Now the Naval base band box will try to contain top-10 college basketball teams Oklahoma and Villanova in what everyone understands is a big game. Talk about a sweet, Hawaiian barn burner.
The No. 6 Sooners (5-0) and No. 8 Wildcats (7-0) are eager for this high-stakes, early-season showdown, especially since college hoops prognosticators say both programs have the goods to be national title contenders come March. This FS1 2015 Pearl Harbor Invitational matchup between the Big 12 and Big East heavyweights will tip off at 7 p.m. ET and is the marquee college game of the day. Navy (7-2) takes on No. 15 Oregon (6-1) in the second game, with tipoff set for 9:45 p.m ET.
Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose team was the Big East champ last season with a school-record 33 wins, was positively beaming following the Wildcats’ spirited Sunday practice in the 4,024-seat arena. After losing in the third round in the 2015 NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed, Wright relishes this December test.
“You look at the schedule when it comes out, and you look and see you’ve got some early games against Georgia Tech and Stanford and then St. Joe’s, and you say, ‘Man, I hope I don’t go into that game (against Oklahoma) 4-3," Wright said. "But when we win the St. Joe’s game, I say ‘This is perfect.’ We’re playing well. We’re playing great teams. We get a shot early to see where we stand. You don’t want to be 8-0 at this point in the season and not really be tested. So this will tell us where we are.’’
Villanova features one of the best backcourts in the NCAA this season, anchored by a three-guard lineup that includes freshman standout Jalen Brunson and junior star Josh Hart.
"Oklahoma is a great team with great guys like Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Isaiah Cousins," Hart said, adding: "It should be a great game."
Brunson was just named to the watch list for the 2016 Wayman Tisdale Award, which is given to the freshman of the year. The 6-foot-3 point guard from Lincolnshire, Ill. — and the son of former NBA journeyman Rick Brunson — was named to the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award (nation’s best point guard) in October.
Brunson is a top-notch talent who controls the tempo of the game and can score with both his jump shot and with drives into the lane. The Wildcats have every reason to believe this could be his coming-out party, and Brunson has a load of talent to run with him — including Ryan Arcidiacono (the reigning co-Big East Player of the Year) and Hart in the backcourt and 6-11 Daniel Ochefu and 6-6 Kris Jenkins up front.
In its last three games, Villanova has defeated Stanford 59-45, Georgia Tech 69-52 and Saint Joseph's 86-72, but the Wildcats face a tall order in Lon Kruger’s Sooners. Oklahoma is No. 1 in the country in opponents shooting percentage (.326), including a .254 mark from 3-point range. The Sooners are also tops in defensive rebounding and third overall on the boards.
Oklahoma is led by Hield, a senior guard who chose another run at March Madness with the Sooners over the NBA. Hield is averaging 21.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range. Like Villanova, Oklahoma is backcourt-centric, with point guard Jordan Woodard and Isaiah Cousins as a defensive specialist and 45.5 percent 3-point shooter. Just like last year, the Sooners already have impressive wins over Memphis (84-78) and Wisconsin (65-48).
Then again, the Wildcats boast the best defense in the Big East, holding opponents to 56 points per game, 35 percent shooting from the field and 27 percent 3-point shooting.
“It’s going to be a challenge to see how well we are going to play, if we are going to play good basketball,” Cousins said.
Though the game is a huge measuring stick for both teams, and for the college basketball landscape this season, the trip to Hawaii on the 74th anniversary commemoration of the bombing of Pearl Harbor has not been lost on either team.
“A great opponent like that and the educational aspect of it, touring Pearl Harbor and the different facilities,” Kruger said. “We’ll get a chance to appreciate the veterans and the opportunity to say thank you for all they’ve done. It will be a good trip all around.”
Wright, too, said the historical significance of Pearl Harbor will be part of the Wildcats’ experience in Hawaii.
"My dad talked about it all the time when we were kids," Wright said. "My dad was in the Army, so it's big to me. I think my guys know about it, but we gave the the guys a video of the history of it before we went over. This way, they can know about the events and they were ready to experience it all when we got here.’’