VILLANOVA VS. MORGAN STATE

HOW TO WATCH

Time: Tuesday, November 6, 7 p.m. ET

TV: FS1

Watch Online: Fox Sports Go

The Villanova Wildcats are back. The defending National Champions open up their title defense in their fancy schmancy newly renovated Finneran Pavilion on Tuesday night. While much of the world will be watching the Champions Classic and paying attention to other fixtures around the world, ‘Nova Nation will have their full attention on the Cats.

The Wildcats have a new look to them this season. Gone are Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Omari Spellman and Donte DiVincenzo. But fear not, as Eric Paschall and Phil Booth are still here to carry the load. Collin Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and Dylan Painter are all sophomores, and Tim Delaney is now a junior. They all grow up so fast, don’t they?

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some newcomers to look for, either. No sirree. The Wildcats have quite a few, in fact. Namely, point guard Jahvon Quinerly. Quinerly, as you might remember, was originally an Arizona Wildcats commit. But because of the FBI investigation surrounding the UofA program, he decommitted and eventually settled in with ‘Nova. The former Hudson Catholic (NJ) guard had a prominent high school career and will look to continue that at ‘Nova. Hell of a place to do so, we think.

Other freshmen to watch are guards Brandon Slater and Saddiq Bey and wing Cole Swider. All of whom were talented players in high school who’ll be looking to make their mark on the program. Given how this game may transpire, it’s likely we’ll see these freshmen get some burn in this game.

Joe Cremo is another name to watch for. Cremo comes to Villanova after spending a few years with the Albany Great Danes. He averaged a robust 17.8 points per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 45.8 percent from the 3-point line and 81.9 percent from the free throw line. So, basically, he’s cut from the same cloth as all the other great Villanova guards of late.

Villanova’s first game of the season will be against the Morgan State Bears. Todd Bozeman’s club enters the season ranked 343rd out of 353 on KenPom.com. They were picked to finish sixth in the MEAC this season, which is right where they’re at on KenPom’s MEAC projection, too. They are a bit of a veteran team, with three scholarship seniors and six scholarship juniors per Verbal Commits. None, however, were picked to the All-MEAC Preseason Teams.

Morgan State’s leading returning scorer is Martez Cameron. Cameron scored 8.6 points per game as season ago, which was good for third behind Phillip Carr and the prodigious Tiwian Kendley. Cameron is a senior who, along with Antonio Gillespie and Tyler Streeter, are the senior veterans who will lead the team this year. Those three will probably be the ones to watch for the Bears in this meeting with the Cats.

Look for David Syfax to try and be a presence on the boards. Last season he was among the leaders on the team in OR% (7.4) and DR% (17.2). The 6-foot-7 junior will try and do the same, although he will obviously have quite the challenge ahead of him against the Wildcats.

All told, Villanova should be 1-0 after this game. It’s a mismatch in a lot of ways, so Villanova will likely win handily and celebrate in their newly renovated digs.