Four things we learned from Villanova’s 84-67 exhibition win over George Mason

Villanova is two games into its three-game exhibition slate after an 84-67 victory on Saturday afternoon over George Mason, ahead of the real games beginning in two weeks from Sunday in Rome.

A basketball season with heightened expectations is rapidly approaching.

Here’s what we learned from Saturday’s contest:

Luigi Suigo, the 7-foot-3 Italian big man slated to be a lottery pick in next year’s NBA draft, picked up his second foul 1 minute, 16 seconds into the game, but Villanova coach Kevin Willard didn’t give him the immediate yank. In fact, Suigo played eight more minutes in the first half with two fouls.

“He’s got to learn,” Willard said. “He’s a freshman. He’s 19. I think everyone sees a 7-foot-3 kid and automatically thinks he’s a grown man. A 19-year-old from Italy who has never played high-major basketball, he has to figure it out a little bit, and we have to be patient with him and you have to go through some growing pains a little bit.”

The signs of those growing pains were easy to spot on Saturday. There was some good: Suigo’s ability to pass out of double-teams in the post is a major asset. His first post touch after spending two minutes on the bench shortly after his second foul drew two defenders. Suigo kept the ball high and used his eyes to spot Buddy Simmons, who hit a corner three-pointer.

He also recorded a block and steal on the first possession and had another block in the first half. Suigo’s inside presence is a shot-deterrent, but Willard wants him to be more active on the defensive end.

Suigo finished with six points on 2-for-6 shooting (he was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line). He added six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal in 20 minutes before fouling out with three minutes left. Suigo, however, was the only Villanova player with a negative plus-minus.

“He’s still learning how to be impactful, and that’s the good thing about him,” Willard said.

» READ MORE: Kevin Willard believes his new-look Villanova team has closed the gap between the Wildcats and Big East powers

Willard didn’t have to watch a lot of film before Villanova signed Ohio State transfer Devin Royal. He had coached against Royal at Maryland and had seen plenty, so the versatility Royal is showing early isn’t that much of a surprise.

Royal, who scored 20 in Villanova’s exhibition opener last week at Rutgers, led all scorers Saturday with 25 points. He went 8-for-14 from the floor and made eight of his 11 free throws. He also added eight rebounds and two steals and was plus-16.

More importantly for Villanova is how Royal scored. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward was physical in the post and scored through contact. He put the ball on the floor from the wing and scored while driving. He made one of his two three-point attempts.

He even played a little center when Villanova went with a small-ball look.

“I feel very confident,” Royal said. “I feel like we play a lot during practice, we get up and down and you get to know your teammates well. I’ve just been working. The shots I take I’ve been working on them a lot, and I feel very confident.”

Kwame Evans Jr. (left leg) did not play and is considered day to day. He likely will start at power forward and might see a lot of backup center minutes when Suigo is on the bench.

But his absence over the last two games has allowed Willard to get a little creative with his lineups and rotations. Cornell transfer Jake Fiegen and Simmons, a St. Bonaventure transfer, started in the backcourt next to returning top scorer Tyler Perkins, who had 20 points on Saturday. Last week, it was freshman Adam Oumiddoch and Illinois-Chicago transfer Elijah Crawford in the starting lineup.

Eight Wildcats played at least 10 minutes, and 10 played at least five minutes. The rotation won’t be that deep in the middle of the season, but this team can play different ways with different units.

The most versatile team Willard has ever coached?

“I think this is probably one of the most versatile teams,” Willard said. “I like the fact that I can post up [Perkins] and [Royal], Luigi, when [Evans] gets back. I’m still trying to figure out what the best lineups are and all that stuff. But I love the fact that we have guys that can shoot it at all four spots, and can post up at all four spots.”

Willard said he wished his team was shooting a little bit better through two exhibitions, but expects that to change soon. The Wildcats were 10-for-31 from deep on Saturday, and Fiegen, a sharpshooting guard, went 1-for-9. They did make up for a bad shooting day with some solid defense and ball control. Villanova forced 17 turnovers against seven of its own.

Evans seems to be on track to be ready for the opener in Rome, but what about Matt Hodge, who is recovering from ACL surgery?

“He looks great,” Willard said. “The only thing he’s not allowed to do right now is contact.”

Willard wouldn’t put a timetable on it, but said he was “very confident” Hodge will contribute this season.

In an alternate universe where the NCAA rules hadn’t changed to allow for players to have five years of competition in a five-year window, Hodge probably would have redshirted. It’s why Villanova went out and made sure to shore up its forward spots in the portal, Willard said.

“I talked to [Hodge],” Willard said. “I said we were going to bring in two really good players because I have to have insurance. But he knows he’s a huge part of this. When he’s ready and he’s healthy and he’s confident in his knee, he’s going to come back and help us because he’s a really good player.”