Villanova Wildcats v Queens Royals: 11-8-2025 Game Preview

Photo Credit: Villanova Men's Basketball Social Media

The Wildcats kicked off their 2025 campaign with a 5 point loss to 8th ranked BYU. On Saturday, Nova looks to earn their first win when they host Queens at Finneran Pavillion. Let’s dive into this home matchup for Coach Willard’s squad!

No Luck in Vegas

We are just three days into the College Basketball season, but Villanova is the only Big East squad that has a loss. However, they are also the only side that has faced off against a ranked opponent thus far. The heavyweights like St. John’s and UConn easily took care of Quinnipiac and New Haven, while Xavier struggled to beat Marist and Le Moyne. So, the Wildcats may have a blemish on their record, but the context behind the loss gave us some hope for Coach Willard’s first season.

First, let’s start with the environment. This may have been a neutral court game in Las Vegas, but the BYU fans travelled well and easily outnumbered any Wildcat supporters. Second, Villanova was facing off against the potential top pick in the NBA draft: A.J. Dybantsa, who was playing in front of several scouts.

The first half wasn’t great for the Wildcats, and the slew of preseason injuries certainly played a part in it. Devin Askew was only able to play for 13 minutes, but he missed all three of his shots and was essentially irrelevant for Nova. After the game, Coach said, “Devin hadn’t played in a game in six weeks and he looked rusty. That’s probably my fault for putting him in that spot”.

Also, another important Freshman made his first collegiate start in Acaden Lewis. The highly-touted guard played 22 minutes, but he was only able to earn 5 points and 3 assists, going 1-6 from the field. There was a clear difference between Lewis and the eye-opening Dybantsa, who finished with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Nova is still bringing Askew back into the mix, and they’re missing the Temple transfer, Zion Stanford. It was a tough spot for Lewis to get his first minutes, especially against a big, fast, and physical BYU side. Regardless of the performance, Lewis (and Chris Jeffrey who had 11 points) will develop throughout the season, and I expect a better outing against Queens. The Wildcats entered the half down 42-32, having gone 5-19 from deep.

The second half looked much better for Villanova, as they were able to out-rebound BYU and held them to 29 second half points. However, the standout star for Willard was Bryce Lindsay. The JMU transfer put the Wildcats on his back with a great shooting performance, and he ended the night with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 5-9 from three. Tyler Perkins and Duke Brennan also shined from a physicality standpoint, as they ended the evening with 9 and 15 rebounds, respectively. Personally, I’m really excited to see how Brennan develops this season, especially when he faces off against St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor in Conference Play.

Even with a strong second half, Villanova wasn’t able to close out the Cougars and they fell 71-66. I’m not one to use the expression “moral victory”, but the Wildcats took a potential title contender to the wire, and that should give Nova fans hope for the rest of the season.

Welcome the Royals

Queens kicked off the season with a loss against Winthrop, and they earned their first win against Division III Lynchburg on Wednesday. I was able to watch most of the Queens v Winthrop game, and here’s a few notes I took down from watching the ASUN squad.

Similar to BYU, Queens will be leaning on their size and athleticism. Also, their offense is constantly in motion as they look to get an open shot from three or find an opening to cut to the hoop. Against the Eagles, 29 of Queens’ 33 2-point shots came from inside the paint. Additionally, they went 6/30 from behind the arc, so the Nova guards will be tested on the boards if the Royals can’t find their long-distance shot again.

Stats from CBBAnalytics.com

Multiple players can score for Queens, as they had 5 players in double-figures against Winthrop. Their Senior guard Nasir Mann stood out with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while their Sophomore guard, Yoav Berman, had 19 points. He also isn’t afraid to shoot and went 3-12 from behind the arc. The Royals have a promising Freshman of their own too in Jordan Watford. The 6’5” guard only played 10 minutes against the Eagles but had 4 points and 3 assists in that time. The highly-ranked guard from South Carolina can score from different parts of the floor, and he will look to dish it out from the lane if someone is left open from the 3-point line.

Stats from CBBAnalytics.com

Despite the solid outing from Queens, Winthrop attacked the Royals in two ways. 32 of their 62 shots came from inside the paint, and they ended the night with 30 points from inside the free throw line. However, the biggest difference maker for Winthrop was from their foul shots. The Eagles made 25 of 31 free throws, while Queens only took 16 trips to the charity stripe. Villanova will look to take shots from deep, like they did against BYU, but they should try to replicate some of what Winthrop did. If they can get into the lane and put the Royals into foul trouble, then it should be an easy result for the Wildcats at home.

Stats from CBBAnalytics.com

Considering how often the Royals will get into the lane, there is some concern about how the Wildcats will defend the rim. BYU took 41 attempts from within the paint, with 35 of those shots coming by the rim. As I said above, the Royals will use constant motion and screens to get a good shot, so we’ll see how Willard’s defense rises to the challenge at home.

Stats from CBBAnalytics.com

Final Thought

It’s great to see Bryce Lindsay step up against BYU, and he appears to be as advertised. However, no one expects Lindsay to shoot 55.6% from three each game, nor can Jeffrey be the only other player in double-digit scoring. If Villanova wants to have a successful season, then players like Perkins and Lewis will need to be more consistent. Also, a healthy Askew and Stanford will take the pressure off the others to score. The Wildcats don’t have a ton of Non-Conference opportunities to earn Quad 1 wins, so they can’t afford to drop a game to an ASUN opponent if they want to be dancing in March.