Villanova's (l-r) Justin Moore, Kyle Neptune and Brendan Hausen address reporters following Friday's victory over DePaul. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
January 12, 2024
Big5Hoops.com
VILLANOVA, Pa – It feels like a make.
Every time.
Every single time.
That’s the mentality of Villanova guard Brendan Hausen.
It’s a shooter’s mentality, one bred with hard work and confidence.
Hausen was feeling it in the first half of Friday night’s easy 94-69 victory over DePaul, burying five 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes – including three during a game-changing 13-0 Wildcats run at the end of the first half.
“I feel like it’s going in every time,” Hausen said after finishing with 17 points.
Every time.
Every single time.
Lately, Hausen has been tickling the twine with that beautiful stroke honed from, he said, “Five hundred thousand shots every single day.”
You listen again. He said what? “Five hundred thousand shots every single day.” Yeah, I got it right.
Hyperbole, surely. I think. Great shooters shoot and shoot and shoot some more so when the red light is on, they can knock them down.
Every time.
Every single time.
Hausen has been doing just that in his last six games. Not every time. But he’s made 60 percent (15 of 28) of his shots from the arc over that stretch. That’s a great sign for Villanova, which has a brutal, three-game stretch upcoming, at No. 11 Marquette on Monday, home versus No. 4 UConn next Saturday and then at St. John’s on Jan. 24 at Madison Square Garden.
They will need Hausen to stay hot.
“I know I can make shots,” he said.
That’s good. That’s the confidence a shooter needs to have. It likely has helped Hausen snap out of early-season struggles that saw him go 8 of 37 from distances over a nine-game stretch before breaking out on Dec. 9 by hitting 2 of 4 from the arc against UCLA.
He’s been firing on all cylinders since. The stroke looked as pure as I’ve seen it all season on Friday night.
“Teammates did a good job finding me,” he said.
One of those teammates was Justin Moore, Villanova’s on- and off-court leader, who was back after a five-game absence due to a knee injury. Moore is just getting his wind back, he said, and had just two points and three assists in 23 minutes. One of those dimes was for a Hausen 3 that made it 29-20 Wildcats with 6:10 left in the first half.
DePaul closed within 29-27 before Hausen keyed a 13-0 run with three 3-pointers that pretty much ended any Blue Demons hopes of an upset.
“Just be ready to shoot,” Moore said of his message for Hausen.
Hausen is ready and willing. He feels like it’ll be a swish.
Every time.
Every single time.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Big5Hoops.com is his second website dedicated to Philadelphia college basketball. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages.