Column: Delaware Looks Like A Team Primed For March In Scrap With No. 20 Villanova

Saturday afternoon's battle between Delaware men's basketball and No. 20 Villanova may have been a December non-conference game, but it had all the trappings of March Madness: a big-time arena at a neutral site, a raucous crowd, a blue-blood basketball power, national television, and some really high-quality basketball.

And although they suffered a 78-70 loss, the Blue Hens showed they were a team capable of holding their own on the biggest stage, and a team that could make some serious noise in March.

The Wildcats led by as many as 12 in the first half, and had a 10-point advantage late in the second, but at no point felt comfortable as Delaware scrapped until the final second.

"We're a scrappy team, we don't go down easily. We had a good scout from Torrian [assistant coach Torrian Jones] today," junior guard Nate Darling said. "We were ready to play and just tried to make them a little uncomfortable."

Darling, who dropped a game-high 29 points, saw a good look on a corner three that would have cut the Wildcats' lead to five points rim out with two minutes left in the game. Villanova coach Jay Wright took a timeout on the next possession to sort his team out, but the Blue Hens kept the pressure high. An interception by Darling led to a Ryan Allen three that got Delaware back to within seven points with 45 seconds left, and freshman Ebby Asamoah dished to Darling for a three that cut the Villanova lead to 75-70 two possessions later.

While the final result wasn't what the Blue Hens wanted, going toe-to-toe with a program that won the national championship in 2018 and whose only two losses this season came against teams ranked in the top 15 was enough to inspire some pride in the Delaware camp.

"Really proud of our group," head coach Martin Ingelsby said. "We battled. We went for it, we were fearless."

The loss drops Delaware to 9-2 on the season, but the effort showed at the Prudential Center Saturday makes it seem like the "9" is the number that's much more indicative of the potential for the Blue Hens' season than the "2."

Five Takeaways

Jay Wright, a two-time Naismith Coach of the Year winner, had a lot of praise for his counterpart and the Blue Hens: "Hard-fought game. Give a lot of credit to Delaware. I think Martin had their guys really dialed in. They had a great game plan, they executed it well, they played with great intensity," Wright said. "They really execute well offensively. They're really intelligent, and probably don't get as much credit defensively as they should because they're intelligent defensively…They don't foul, they play with their length, they know personnel. It really did remind me of some of Mike Brey's teams."
Especially early in the game, Delaware had a lot of success driving to the basket and getting points in the paint. Junior guard Kevin Anderson finished with 14 points and was 4-of-4 from the floor in the first half off the strength of his dribble drive. While Darling got the majority of his points from beyond the arc, his ability to get downhill opened up passing lanes for the Hens and the Canadian guard finished with a team-high five assists. The Blue Hens matched their Big East opponents with 32 points in the paint.
In addition to his passing, Darling had his dazzling scoring touch on display once again Saturday. He poured in 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including a red-hot 6-for-11 from 3-point range. His offense got momentum going for the Hens on both ends of the floor on several occasions. "He's fabulous. He gives us such a confidence on the offensive end," Ingelsby said. "He's fearless. We feed off his energy." The Blue Hens shot 57.4% as a team, the second-highest mark by a Villanova opponent this season behind Ohio State, who is arguably the best team in the country.
While Delaware continued to boast a multitude of offensive weapons, its defense kept it competitive against one of the nation's elite teams. Delaware scored 17 points off of 13 Villanova turnovers. "One thing about our team, on the defensive end we're always trying to be locked in," Anderson said. The Wildcats were hot from three out of the gate, hitting four of six shots from deep, but after that point Delaware held them to 6-of-25 (24%) from long range.
Asamoah, the freshman guard from Rockville, Md., provided a really positive spark off the bench for the Blue Hens. While he didn't score, his athleticism and basketball instincts proved valuable on the defensive end, most notably as he flew across the paint to block a shot from Collin Gillespie. "He was great. He's a guy that just keeps getting better. He's a sponge out there, wants to learn," Ingelsby said. "He guards Nate Darling a lot in practice and makes him work." Asamoah's classmate Johnny McCoy also contributed off the bench, knocking down two free throws and finishing with a +6 rating in eight minutes of play.

The Blue Hens are right back in action Monday night as they take on Delaware State at the 76ers Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del., at 7 p.m.

University of Delaware Athletics

Column: Delaware Looks Like A Team Primed For March In Scrap With No. 20 Villanova

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