Let’s go ahead and help Kansas fans backpedal from the ledge; this is not 2018 Villanova.

Those Wildcats had at least five NBA players and were a matchup nightmare for a Kansas team that started an immobile center in Udoka Azubuike. That night in the Final Four, the Wildcats had six players in double figures, and all six made multiple 3s on their way to a 95-79 win. That game, almost by itself, made 2020 Kansas the national title favorite by turning Azubuike into a mobile center, realizing his future in basketball would be tied to the ability to be capable of guarding on the perimeter.

This version of the Wildcats doesn’t have nearly as much shooting or as many pros and is really in a bind now with the loss of second-leading scorer Justin Moore.

“If they had Justin Moore,” a coach who has played Villanova said, “I’d say it’d be a fistfight.”

Of course, no matter the personnel, it’s always difficult to match up against both of these teams. Both are programs where the faces change but winning continues. To help break this match down, The Athletic interviewed two coaches who have faced Villanova and two who have faced Kansas.

(Note: any quotations in this story are analysis from those coaches.)

Who will guard Gillespie?

Bill Self showed his hand in the Miami game that he’s willing to go against typical cross matches. He smartly hid David McCormack on Miami’s Jordan Miller, a non-shooter, taking away Miami’s ability to put McCormack in pick-and-pop actions. Self could make a similar choice with Gillespie.

The challenge of guarding the Villanova point guard is that he likes to back his man down into the post. You’re in jail if Gillespie forces help.

“If he’s allowed a contested-free dribble down, that’s when he really generates an advantage. But when he has to fight you for every inch into his post-up, it’s slower and you’re able to cause confusion. If you pick him up lower and that first bump he generates two or three steps, now you’re in his wheelhouse, because now you’re going to foul him. But if you can fight him and fight him and fight him — tick, tick, tick, tick, tick tick — he’s a lot less likely to generate a shot fake. If you fight him from the 20-foot mark to the 10-foot mark, he doesn’t want to shoot that. He wants to get to four feet. Now he can pass or score. He ain’t shooting a turnaround.”

Even if Self tells his guys not to help, it’s going to be difficult to see one of the little guards banging and not be inclined to cheat over. KU’s starting point guard Dajuan Harris is listed at 6-1 and 170 pounds. Sixth man Remy Martin is 6-0 and 175 pounds. (Let’s just say those measurements are generous.)

So if Self wants someone more capable of fighting Gillespie, one possible solution is to shift Christian Braun or Ochai Agbaji over. They have the length and strength to deal with Gillespie’s backdowns. But that creates another possible problem for Kansas.