The State of the Nova Nation podcast

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 76-72 win at Seton Hall on Tuesday night to complete the season sweep of the Pirates. The duo discuss Nova's pristine free throw shooting, the offense's balanced effort and Cam Whitmore's strong play of late. They also talk about a few negatives from the game, including Nova's poor offensive rebounding performance. Then, Emma and Pat transition towards a preview...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 79-67 win over Creighton on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. The duo discuss Eric Dixon's dominant 31-point performance, the game-winning strategy from the coaching staff and the team's ability to string together two straight Quad One wins. Then, Emma and Pat preview 'Nova's match up at Seton Hall on Tuesday night while talking about the larger implications o...

Emma breaks down Villanova's 64-63 win at the Cintas Center over Xavier on Tuesday night. She talks about the importance of this win, including it being Villanova's first Quad 1 win of the season, the best road win of the season and the first time Xavier has lost at home in conference play this season. She discusses Justin Moore's game-changing offensive performance, the defense's ability to limit...

Emma and Pat welcome Villanova legend Allan Ray (@ARayfor3) on the podcast for an exciting conversation about the state of Villanova basketball. The trio discuss the team's road mindset, leadership amidst a losing season, and specifics about the team's offensive and defensive game plan. Allan also gives his perspective on Villanova's floor and ceiling for the remainder of the season. Finally, Emma...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 62-50 win over Butler at the Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night. The duo discuss the team's improved defense of late, but the offense's questionable game plan. Then, they preview Villanova's match up against Providence on the road on Saturday to start a crucial stretch of the season for the 'Cats. Finally, Emma and Pat answer a healthy batch of questions from...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 58-54 win over Seton Hall at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night. The duo discuss whether this was Villanova's best win of the season, applaud Eric Dixon and the coaching staff for the great game in the paint, and debate how the rotation looks at full health. Then, Emma and Pat preview Nova's important rematch against Butler on Tuesday night and talk about...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 81-65 victory over DePaul on Wednesday night at the Finneran Pavilion. But most importantly, they discuss the other activities of the night, including honoring Jay Wright pre-game, retiring Jalen Brunson's jersey at halftime, and finding out mid-game that Josh Hart was traded to the New York Knicks. The duo talk about the positives from Villanova's win, like Jus...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 66-61 loss to Creighton in Omaha on Saturday night. The duo start by discussing the few positives from the game, including Eric Dixon's great offensive performance. Then, they focus on the recurring detrimental traits the team has shown throughout the season: inability to close out games, poor play-calling in late-game situations and an emphasis on the 3-pt shot...

Pat recaps Villanova's late night loss to Marquette and explains why the feeling of deja vu is so prevalent for this Wildcat team. He details the themes that have held the Cats' back this season and illustrates how they impacted the game on Wednesday night. He then previews Villanova's next opponent, Creighton, before finishing with some questions from the mailbag. Be sure to subscribe to the show...

Emma and Pat discuss Villanova's 70-65 loss to Providence at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday afternoon, but first, they talk about the most exciting news of the season: Justin Moore's return to play. Nearly a year after his Achilles injury, Moore played in his first game of the season on Sunday. The shooting wasn't great, but the talent and leadership is so exciting to watch. The duo break down t...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 57-49 win over St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. But first, the duo discuss Maddy Siegrist's record-breaking performance on Friday night to become the all-time leading scorer in Villanova history. Then, Emma and Pat talk Villanova's great defensive improvement, how the team played against screens and the ability to stay in the game despite a p...

In a creative episode, Emma and Pat dish out midterm grades for each player on the Villanova roster at this point in the season. The duo work from oldest to youngest and debate Caleb Daniels' offensive responsibility and Cam Whitmore's refinement. They also discuss who has the most room for growth for the rest of the season. Then, Emma and Pat preview Villanova's matchup against St. John's at Madi...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 77-73 win over Georgetown at the Finneran Pavilion on Monday afternoon. The duo briefly discuss the positives from the game, including Villanova's emphasis on playing in the paint and Mark Armstrong's second straight monster performance against Georgetown, before diving into the negatives from this game and the loss at Butler. Emma and Pat mention the team's bad...

Pat breaks down Villanova's defeat at the hands of DePaul through listener questions. He evaluates what went wrong, what stood out and where the Wildcats go from here. The mailbag also touches topics such as what should our season expectations have been, how could things have been different, as well as what impact Jay Wright could have brought the team. He then finishes with a look ahead to the 'C...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 88-80 loss to Xavier at the Finneran Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. The duo discuss whether the offense or the defense was more to blame while highlighting Cam Whitmore's explosive 26-point performance, the talent on Xavier's roster and the volume of 3-point shots attempted by the 'Cats. Then, Emma and Pat preview Villanova's matchup at DePaul on Tuesday night...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 73-57 win over Georgetown on Wednesday night. While the first half was ugly, the duo discuss how the 'Cats rallied in the second half by playing fundamental basketball. They talk Mark Armstrong's coming out game, Jordan Longino injury repercussions and Caleb Daniels' resurgent shooting performance. Lastly, Emma and Pat preview Nova's marquee matchup against Xavi...

Emma and Pat discuss Villanova's current standings in the Big East after the 'Cats drop a 68-66 game against Marquette at the Finn. At 1-2 in conference, the duo discuss Caleb Daniels' offensive play of late, the worsening team defense and Kyle Neptune's decision-making in the last few games. Emma and Pat break down how Villanova can turn this season around by improving its defense, taking better...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 74-66 loss to UConn in their instant reaction podcast after the game on Wednesday night. The duo discuss Villanova's strong defense against one of the best offenses in the country, Eric Dixon's dominant performance against Adama Sanogo, freshmen woes and UConn's ability to wear Villanova down and force mistakes. Emma and Pat discuss whether this loss was a moral...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 78-63 win over St. John's on Wednesday night at the Finn. The duo discuss how the team bounced back from a rough first 10 minutes, and how 'Nova dominated the final 30 minutes of the game. They talk about Jordan Longino's growth, Eric Dixon's battle against Joel Soriano in the paint and Brandon Slater's continued offensive onslaught. Lastly, Emma and Pat answer...

Emma and Pat recap Villanova's 71-64 win over St. Joe's in the Holy War battle on Saturday afternoon. The duo discuss Chris Arcidiacono's breakout performance, Villanova's ability to win without good play from Cam Whitmore and Brandon Slater's offensive jump. Then, they preview 'Nova's Big East home opener against St. John's on Wednesday night. Emma and Pat break down St. John's strength of schedu...

Emma and Pat are joined by Road to the Garden podcast host and VUHoops writer Tommy Godin (@tommygodinjr) to take a look back at Villanova's nearly complete non-conference slate of games. First, Tommy discusses his path to VUHoops and talks about how Road to the Garden came about. Then, the trio discuss the current state of the 'Cats, including Mark Armstrong's unsung greatness, playing time for t...

Emma and Pat break down Villanova's 77-56 victory over Boston College on Saturday evening. The duo discusses Cam Whitmore's continued greatness, Mark Armstrong's strong play of late and the defense's improvement as the team gets its first dominant win of the season. They talk about how the team needs to continue to force turnovers on defense, make the extra pass on offense and tinker with the rota...

Emma and Pat record a game recap from Villanova's 70-59 win over the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday night at the Finneran Pavilion. The duo discuss the team's disappointing slow start, but the adjustments the offense and defense made to take the lead against Penn. They talk improved 3-pt defense, Dixon's early foul trouble and the defense's ability to force turnovers and turn defense into...

Emma and Pat recap all of the action from Villanova's exciting 70-66 win over Oklahoma at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday. The duo start off by discussing Cam Whitmore's collegiate debut. They talk about his explosiveness, defensive intensity and how his potential raises the ceiling of the team. Other topics from the game include Caleb Daniels' huge scoring performance, Mark Armstrong's first s...

Emma and Pat welcome their first guest of the season, Chris Notaro of "Nova Tip Time," onto the show. First, Chris talks about the origins of Nova Tip Time and how his pre-game show has grown over three seasons. Then, Emma, Pat and Chris discuss the team's current status after the weekend in Oregon and wonder whether Cam Whitmore will make his collegiate debut on Saturday against Oklahoma. The tri...