An Updated History of the Holy War - The Villanova / St. Joseph's Rivalry Resumes at the Palestra Tonight

To the Wildcat faithful- 

Villanova leads the all-time series, 42-24. As members of the Big Five, the margin is considerably narrower: 31-23. Villanova had won eleven of the twelve meetings since the first game took place in 1921, until the formation of the Big Five in the 1955-56 season. 'Nova has done well in recent years, winning nine of the last dozen contests. Most of the SJU victories came during the 1950s and 1960s; Villanova is 26-12 over the last three decades or so.

This year and last year have marked a departure from the previous scheduling in February.  The telecast had often been featured on ESPN and ESPN2; the ESPN networks had featured the Holy War as part of their "Rivalry Week" series in that month. 

The Origin of the Series, Prior to the Formation of the Big Five

Villanova played SJU (then St. Joseph's College) twice, during the Wildcats' first ever season on the hardwood, which took place during the 1920-21 school year. The first contest took place on January 15, 1921, on the Main Line, with 'Nova winning 31-22. In the return game, Villanova completed the sweep by prevailing 24-14. The teams clashed often during the 1920s, but after the 1930 game, the series lay dormant for a long time. In the ensuing quarter-century, the only meeting was in 1939. As to why two proximate Catholic schools would go so long without meeting - can't figure it out.

But when the Big Five got rolling, it was SJU's turn to dominate the series. The Hawks won the first six City Series games and ten of the first twelve. The two schools had the honor of clashing in the first-ever Big Five contest at the Palestra, on December 14, 1955- St. Joe's won, 83-70. Surprisingly, the public did not seem all that interested in the game, as a paltry 2,636 spectators showed up for the historic inaugural. Villanova was ordinary that year, finishing at 14-12, but St. Joe's went 25-6 and reached the NIT semifinals.

The lack of interest is even more surprising, in light of the fact that starting with the 1958 game, every single VU/SJU game attracted a sellout or near-sellout crowd at the Palestra, with the high attendance continuous for all games since then, regardless of venue. The attendance for the 1957 game climbed to 5,659, but then the Palestra was packed to the rafters for Villanova/St. Joe's.

Some Memorable Games in the Series (Villanova victories in light blue, St. Joseph's victories in crimson)

February 12, 1958

Villanova loses to St. Joe's, 86-82, in overtime, after failing to hold a 17 point lead.

January 28, 1961

St. Joe's was a powerhouse, and would finish with a 25-5 record under Jack Ramsay, a deep NCAA tournament run, and a City Series sweep. In the last season for legendary coach Alexander Severance, Villanova would finish winless in City Series play and with a dismal 11-13 record. But the Wildcats nearly pulled off a huge upset, losing only 64-63.

March 3, 1962

New coach Jack Kraft leads the Wildcats to their first-ever City Series victory over the Hawks, prevailing 66-59. The victory gives Villanova its first City Series sweep, with Hubie White leading the way with 23 points and 17 rebounds. Both teams went on to the NCAA tournament, in an era when the tournament field was very small.
 
February 20, 1965

This was the most titanic clash in Holy War history, as in no other year have both schools simultaneously posted such gaudy records. St. Joe's would finish at 26-3, with a 4-0 City Series sweep, and reach the NCAA tournament. Villanova would finish at 23-5 and reach the NIT semifinals. And when they met head-to-head, there was a bizarre incident - a bomb scare at the Palestra. 

According to a perhaps legendary tale, radio broadcaster Les Keiter refused to go off the air during the threat, announcing his intention to stay there all night if necessary. It turned out to be a false alarm, and the Hawks won, 69-62.

January 16, 1966

In one of the most written about Big Five finishes, Hawk substitute Steve Donches connects on a 29-footer at the buzzer to give SJU a 71-69 victory.

January 11, 1969

The legendary Wildcat center Howard Porter turns in one of his most incredible performances, scoring 36 points and grabbing 26 rebounds to help Villanova blow out St. Joe's, 87-62. The 25 point margin was Villanova's most lopsided victory in the series to that point. The performance helps propel Porter to a share of the Geasey Award (the Big Five MVP) with La Salle's Ken Durrett.

February 20, 1971/March 13, 1971

In Villanova's second-greatest season, the Porter-led Wildcats will go 23-6 and reach the NCAA championship game before bowing to John Wooden's UCLA dynasty. But en route, they meet St. Joe's twice in one season, for the first time since 1923. In the City Series game, Villanova triumphs 63-55, although Hawks center Mike Bantom outplays Porter.

The schools would meet again at the Palestra, in the first round of the NCAA tournament (the only time, before or since, the Holy War has extended to postseason play). 'Nova won in a rout, 93-75.

January 27, 1973

In Kraft's final season, Villanova scuffled to a rare losing record at 11-14. St. Joe's went 22-6 and to the NCAA tournament. But the Wildcats shocked the heavily favored Hawks, 79-72, with 43 points coming from Tom Ingelsby- the Geasey winner - and Ed Hastings.

February 22, 1975

Rollie Massimino wins his first game against the Hawks: Larry and Keith Herron each score 19 points in Villanova's 71-67 victory. The attraction of the rivalry was quite evident at this point. Villanova and St. Joe's finished with disastrous 9-18 and 8-17 records, respectively. La Salle and Penn had fantastic seasons, in contrast. But Villanova/St. Joe's drew 9,233 fans, the 3rd-highest total of the ten City Series contests. (Penn/Villanova and Penn/La Salle were the only others to draw more than 7,300).

February 19, 1977

The first City Series game away from the Palestra, as the Villanova/St. Joe's game goes to the Spectrum, to accommodate more fans for both schools. The Wildcats win 92-78, in front of 12,138 fans.

February 23, 1980

For the first time, the Wildcats and Hawks meet while both squads are 3-0 in City Series play. In front of a sold-out Palestra, the Hawks came away with a narrow 60-59 victory to give St. Joe's its first City Series title since 1968.

February 22, 1983

In the second Spectrum game in the series, a record throng of 18,060 witnesses a 70-62 Wildcat victory, the most to ever witness a Holy War.

February 19, 1985

It was the annus mirabilis (in Latin, the "year of miracles") on the Main Line. And perhaps the basketball gods' first sign of favor took place at the Spectrum, in the Holy War.

Villanova entered the game having lost three in a row, while the Hawks had won nine straight. Villanova was 3-0 in City Series play, but SJU was 1-1 and could pursue a share of the Big Five title with a victory over the 'Cats. 'Nova started the game on a 9-2 run, but by halftime the Hawks had overtaken them, 22-19. St. Joe's led 30-23 with 14:18 to go, before 'Nova rallied. Ed Pinckney connected on two free throws to draw the Wildcats even at 44 with 3:08 to play.

It seems odd to write this today, in the era of the shot clock, but SJU nearly succeeded in holding the ball for three minutes to take the last shot. Dwayne McClain rebounded the errant St. Joe's shot with only four seconds to go. On the inbounds play, McClain hit a 18-footer and was fouled. By converting the three-point play, McClain gave Villanova a 47-44 victory- and the outright Big Five title for the first time since 1967.

McClain's 18 points and Harold Pressley's 14 points paced 'Nova, as they each went 7-11 from the floor. Rodney Blake led the Hawks with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

February 19, 1987

"Daddy Mass" had the chance to win his 300th game against the Hawks. It took double overtime at the Palestra, but the Wildcats finally delivered an 88-87 victory. (Once a perennial fixture at the Palestra, it would be the last Holy War at the basketball cathedral for over seven years, until December 1994).

December 12, 1988

The Hawks soar into the Pavilion for the first time ever, facing a powerful Wildcat squad that would reach the Elite Eight come March. But the heavy-underdog Hawks pull off a 53-52 upset over Doug West, Mark Plansky and Tom Greis, thanks to a 15-foot bank shot by the obscure "Pick" Brown. (Villanova finished the season at 24-13, the Hawks at 15-14.)

December 18, 1994

The Holy War, now taking place every other year due to Villanova's 1991-99 withdrawal from the full round-robin, returns to the Palestra for the first time in over six years. #22 Villanova - at the apex of the Kerry Kittles era - is a heavy favorite over a small, slow St. Joe's squad. (The Hawks hadn't reached postseason play since 1986.) 

But Dmitri Domani hits two key free throws down the stretch, to give St. Joe's a 60-57 upset victory. Kittles graduates as the first Wildcat superstar since the 1950s, to never beat St. Joe's (albeit with only two opportunities, rather than four).

Although nobody knew it at the time, it would be the last Holy War for SJU coach John Griffin, who also had been a Hawk player; he resigned at the end of the season, and was replaced by one of his longtime assistants, Phil Martelli. However, St. Joe's would not defeat Villanova again, for another decade.

December 23, 1996

At Christmas time, Villanova coach Steve Lappas, as well as stars Alvin Williams and Jason Lawson, finally defeat St. Joe's. The #10 Wildcats had only one disadvantage - the absence of freshman sensation Tim Thomas, sidelined with an injury. After struggling in the first half, the Wildcats go on a 24-3 run in the second half to win easily, 81-65. (There is a huge Pavilion crowd of 6,672, including a healthy number of Hawk partisans able to obtain tickets, with the VU students on break.)

The victory looks more significant in light of subsequent events than it seemed at the time. St. Joe's - which hadn't been to the NCAA tournament in over a decade - went on to a highly unexpected 26-7 season and Sweet 16 appearance. However, at the time, the 'Nova victory was considered routine, given the Wildcats' vast advantages in talent (even with Thomas out).

December 1, 1998 - Palestra

The Wildcats make it two in a row over the Hawks, 61-49, thanks to 15 points each from seniors Howard Brown and Rafal Bigus. Brown punctuates the game with several acrobatic feats, including a highly memorable tip dunk.

February 17, 2000 - Pavilion

This was the first Holy War to take place, after the joyous announcement during the previous off-season, that Villanova would resume participation in the full-round robin, starting with the 1999-2000 season. 

The Wildcats had been absent from the round-robin, beginning with the 1991-92 season, an eight-year absence.

Marvin O'Connor, who transferred from 'Nova to St. Joe's after his freshman season of 1997-98, takes on his former teammates for the first time. (Intra-Big Five transfers are rare.) O'Connor leads the Hawks with 20 points, but on only 8-24 shooting. Gary Buchanan singlehandedly gives the Wildcats a hard-fought, 68-61 victory, with a 24 point outburst.

December 11, 2000

The Holy War returns to the Palestra. St. Joe's comes close to its long-denied victory over the Wildcats, leading 39-32 at intermission. O'Connor dazzles with 32 points on 11-17 shooting to lead the Hawks. But 'Nova rallies in the second half to come away with a hard-fought, thrilling 78-75 victory. Michael Bradley has a field day in the paint, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Reggie Bryant and Aaron Matthews add 13 for the 'Cats.

February 2002 - Pavilion

In the first Holy War under Jay Wright, Villanova eviscerated SJU at the Pavilion, 102-73, the largest margin of victory for either side in the then-81 year history of the series. Gary Buchanan led the way with 28 points, including a career-high seven three-pointers.

February 2003 - Palestra

Martelli had been the most successful coach at SJU since Jack Ramsay, having won Atlantic 10 titles and reached a Sweet 16 in 1997. He defeated Villanova for the first time in six tries, as the Hawks humiliated the 'Cats, 92-75, at the Palestra. Incredibly, the 17-point final margin does not accurately reflect, how lopsided the game actually was.

During the first eight minutes, the Wildcats committed 15 turnovers and scored three baskets. The Hawks started the contest on a 40-9 run - and the 17-point deficit was actually the closest Villanova drew after that, during the entire game. (One particularly zealous Hawk partisan actually had the opening run immortalized on his Pennsylvania license plate: "SJ40-VU9".)

Jameer Nelson had 30 points to lead the Hawks. Delonte West, who had been the lead story entering the game, after media reports surfaced regarding an altercation he had allegedly had with the SJU trainer, did not start as a result. But playing 26 minutes, he scored 25 points.

February 2004

The #3 Hawks entered the Pavilion soaring as high as they ever have, bringing an unblemished 18-0 mark into the game; they would eventually garner a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament and reach the Elite Eight. However, the Wildcats substantially improved upon the sorry spectacle of the previous year. The overmatched Wildcats fought admirably before finally falling, 74-67.

Nelson and West combined for 45 points, but Mike Nardi led the Wildcat counterattack with 16 points and five assists. A three-pointer from Andreas Bloch cut the Hawk lead to 54-50, with less than nine minutes to play, before what had to have been one of the largest crowds in Pavilion history. But that was as close as 'Nova came to an upset.

February 2005

By a remarkable twist of fate, Super Bowl XXXIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots is scheduled for the previous day. And so Holy War LXII is relegated to the back burner. Lost amidst the avalanche of Super Bowl coverage, it was the probably the least hyped battle between the two schools since the formation of the Big Five.

VU was enjoying its first great year, under Jay Wright, and entered the contest with a #22 ranking. SJU was coming off a remarkable season in which they were undefeated until the Atlantic 10 tournament and ranked #1 for a week. The Hawks had reached the Elite Eight (moreover, coming within a Jameer Nelson shot of reaching the Final Four), and with both teams enjoying a renaissance, it should have had the makings of a fantastic contest.

However, the melancholia of the crowd (for both teams) was too much to overcome. The Patriots' vanquishing of the Eagles, on the previous evening, cast a funereal pall over the proceedings, like a vast, billowing fog through which no other sporting event could shine.

And as it turned out, the game wasn't all that good, anyway. The Wildcats were never challenged in a slow, foul-marred game, which they won, 67-52. Jason Fraser had arguably the finest game of his star-crossed career, coming off the bench to score 14 points, grab 14 rebounds and block two shots, despite being hampered by a heavily bandaged hand and playing only 29 minutes. 

The Hawks' Pat Carroll, a superb outside shooter, would miss his first 13 shots, as SJU had mustered only 20 points with less than 14 minutes to play.

Finally, the Hawks' band would play, during garbage time, a mournful version of "Fly, Eagles, Fly", accurately reflecting what was on the mind of the Palestra crowd... 

February 7, 2006 - Palestra

It was the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the Big Five. And as fate would have it, both teams entered the sold-out, packed-beyond-capacity Palestra, with perfect 3-0 City Series marks: the winner would take the 50th Big Five title. This represented only the fourth time in the Big Five's half-century history, that two schools would enter a City Series contest, with both having 3-0 records.

And despite a terrible first half, Villanova ended up withe the chance to savor another City Series sweep. Despite the unavailability of a tonsillitis-stricken Mike Nardi, the #4 Wildcats were heavy favorites over the Hawks. And so there was much astonishment in the venerable building, when St. Joseph's dominated the first half. Villanova was trailing by double-digits, 34-22, at halftime.

But Villanova rallied to defeat the Hawks, 71-58, for the second year in a row, capturing the City Series crown. "Nova annihilated SJU after intermission, winning the second half by more than doubling up the Hawks, 49-24. The Wildcats shot a stunning 68% in the second half, after scuffling to an anemic 30% in the first half.  

Kyle Lowry, playing in his second (and since he ultimately left early for the NBA, final) contest with SJU, scored 25 points, including 17 in the second-half counterattack, which featured a 21-3 Wildcats run. The gifted senior backcourt of Allan Ray and Randy Foye also contributed 14 points apiece. For SJU, Chet Stachitas had 19 points, with Abdulai Jalloh adding 15 points and Dwayne Lee recording 11 points. 

February 6, 2007 - Pavilion 

Villanova 56, St. Joseph's 39 

The Hawks are held to their lowest Holy War total in 68 years, as Villanova completes a City Series sweep - read my full game story here.  

February 4, 2008 - Palestra 

St. Joseph's 77, Villanova 55  

St. Joseph's prevents Villanova from sweeping the City Series, with a 77-55 victory.  Pat Calathes and Rob Ferguson each score 20 points to lead the Hawks, while Darrin Govens adds 16; Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds score a dozen points apiece, for the Wildcats. 

December 11, 2008 - Pavilion 

#12 Villanova 59, St. Joseph's 56 

The Wildcats rally from a 35-26 halftime deficit against the underdog Hawks, triumphing 59-56.  Reynolds scores 18 points, including the winning free throws with 4.8 seconds to play, to cap the comeback.  Govens has 18 points to lead the Hawks. 

Another chapter written, tomorrow night, at the Palestra.  I'm going to be adding some new content to this, so please check back... 

For a preview - I recommend VUHoops' Holy War Preview 67.0... - 

Go Wildcats!

#3 Wildcats Top Terrapins with a Terrible, Attenuated Ending, 95-86, in BB&T Classic

To the Wildcat faithful-

This was only the fourth time that Villanova and Maryland have faced each other, and the first time since 1986.  In previous posts, I discussed the enormous historical importance, of the three previous games in Villanova history - two meetings during the magical 1985 national championship season, and the first game ever at the Pavilion in 1986.

(Above - Testudo, the Maryland Terrapin, was one of the few positive aspects of watching this game.  The Wildcat, for his part, got into the Christmas spirit, sporting a Santa hat, on the floor of the Verizon Center.)

Well, this game will not be joining those, in the Villanova lore.  Most decidedly, in fact.  But, at least, it was for charity.

The Wildcats and Terrapins battled in an ugly, foul-marred, brick-laying contest, with #3 Villanova prevailing, 95-86.  The teams combined to commit an appalling 47 fouls, many coming down the stretch - and ironically, committed by the Wildcats, the team holding the big lead.   At one point in this stretch, Antonio Pena lost his footing at the other end of the court, and was fortunate not to sprain an ankle, likely due to moisture on that spot.

Nor was the ugliness confined to the players on the court.  One spectator had the temerity, audacity, and stupidity, to throw a plastic beer bottle onto the floor, at the 8:13 mark of the second half, due to his annoyance at one of the 23 fouls whistled on Maryland.  Fortunately, the culprit was identified by other fans, and ejected quickly from the Verizon Center.  Naturally, the game was halted for a while, so that the bottle and its contents could be scrubbed off the floor (with Scottie Reynolds helpfully scrubbing, alongside the kid with the mop).   The unseemly episode seemed to epitomize the evening.    It wasn't pretty.

The coaches didn't help, either.  Gary Williams ordered a foul committed, with ten seconds to play and Maryland trailing by seven; Jay Wright called a timeout with 16.5 seconds to play and his team ahead by seven.

But a win's a win.  This was a major test for Villanova; a de facto road game against a quality opponent, a Maryland squad that started the season in the Top 25.  The Wildcats were in control for most of the game, and improved to 8-0 overall.  Maryland fell to 5-3 overall.

What were the keys to the Villanova victory?

The biggest one was offensive rebounding.  The Wildcats clobbered the Terrapins on the glass, outrebounding them 20-7 on the offensive end, and 45-33 overall.  Another was turnovers; the teams combined for 33 turnovers, but Villanova forced 19 of them.

As a result of the extra possessions, generated by offensive rebounds and turnovers, the Wildcats took 75 field goal attempts to Maryland's 53, a stunning disparity, and it was what permitted Villanova to score 95 points and hold a lead throughout the contest.

This was particularly important, on the number of three-point shots.  The Wildcats took an astonishing 39 three-point attempts, and made 16 of them, a 41% success rate.  The 39 three-point attempts are a school record, and the 15 three-point field goals are only one short of the school record.  The old record for attempts was 38, against Minnesota on November 25, 1994.  The record of 16 three-pointers was set against Lehigh on November 27, 2005.

Looking at the Box Score

Reynolds - returning to his native, Washington, DC area - had a team-high 25 points, while playing all but two minutes of the contest.  He did so on 7/18 shooting overall and 3/10 from beyond the arc, and converted eight of 11 free throws.  He also dealt eight assists against five turnovers, and grabbed five rebounds, while staying out of foul trouble (not easy to do, tonight).

Both Coreys also had big nights for the Wildcats.  Fisher had 20 points on 6/13 shooting, including a superb 4/6 from three-point range, and threw in four rebounds, two steals, and two assists against one turnover.

Stokes also delivered significantly for Villanova.  The Bayonne Bomber returned to form, dropping 18 points on 6/13 shooting overall, and 5/11 from beyond the arc, plus three rebounds and three assists, prior to fouling out - he saw 31 minutes. 

Taylor King came off the bench for 13 points. He had a rough shooting night (5/17 from the floor) but made up for it with three triples in eight attempts.  He also threw in half a dozen rebounds and three steals, in his 30 minutes. 

Pena continues to solidify his role as a vital cog in the Villanova frontcourt, as he finished with eight points and 11 rebounds, another solid performance.

Maurice Sutton was able to absorb five fouls, and provide some defense, but he fouled out, having played just 17 minutes.

The Maryland Side of the Box Score

The Terrapins have a high-octane offense, a fact amply attested to by the 86 points, which they did with just 53 shots.  Maryland shot 52.8% from the floor and 47.4% from three-point range, which will win you most games.  They could not overcome, however, their high turnover rate and their inability to keep Villanova from getting second chance points.

Sean Mosley was named the P.F. Chang's Hungriest Player of the Game (a plug for the restaurant chain, which I've decided to include simply because I think the title is a good gimmick), which he undoubtedly deserved.  Mosley torched the Villanova defense for a career-high 26 points on torrid 11/14 shooting from the floor.

Eric Hayes also had a season-high 20 points, on 6/13 shooting, including five triples in nine attempts.

Jordan Williams posted a double-double with 19 points and a dozen rebounds.

However, the Terrapins' best player, Greivis Vasquez, did not have a strong performance, and was another reason for the Villanova victory.  Vasquez was effectively contained by the Wildcats defense.  He finished with a dozen points on 3/9 shooting, and foul trouble limited him to 27 minutes.  He dealt seven assists, but also committed seven turnovers.  Late in the game, his fifth foul came on a Villanova inbounds play, before the whistle even blew, a very poor choice on his part, and his exit probably sealed Maryland's fate...

We will have the chance to face Maryland again next season, most likely at the Wachovia Center.  In addition to providing Villanova with a quality, marquee opponent at home next season, Maryland is a fun team to write about.  In addition to having a turtle as a mascot (among the most distinctive in the NCAA), the colors of the Maryland uniforms are also particularly cool.  The red and white, with the black and gold piping and trim, represent the colors of the Maryland state flag, the most vivid of any of the 50 states. 

Next Up for the Wildcats

The Wildcats next take on St. Joseph's in the annual Holy War, at the Palestra.  The history of the Holy War will be upcoming this week, so check back...

For more on the Maryland game - Brian at I Bleed Blue and White has Post Game Notes.... and check out the other fine Villanova blogs on the sidebar...

Go Wildcats!

Questions, comments, etc.?  E-mail: villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com

#3 Wildcats @ Maryland in 15th Annual BB&T Classic - Preview - Sunday, December 6, 7:30 PM

To the Wildcat faithful-

Yesterday, I took a detailed look, at the short history of the Villanova / Maryland series.  Although it consists of only three games, all three play a large role in Villanova basketball history...

Also, apparently there will be a fifth game of the history, in 2010-11.  According to the Maryland blog Turtle Waxing's Twitter page, Maryland coach Gary Williams indicated on his radio show that the Terrapins will be coming up 95 to take on the Wildcats next season (presumably at the Wachovia Center.)

(Above - Testudo, the formal name of the Maryland Terrapin.)

Today, I'll analyze Sunday night's contest at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.  This game is a de facto home game for the Terrapins, as it is played near the College Park campus, in suburban Maryland - much in the same way that the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia serves a de facto home court for the Wildcats.

The 15th Annual BB&T Classic

The Wildcats and Terrapins will be battling in the second half of the doubleheader.  The first game, scheduled to tip-off at 5:00 PM Sunday, will match George Washington, located in DC, against Navy, located in Annapolis, Maryland.  Villanova is the only non-DC sphere of influence school involved.

The BB&T Classic was launched as a charity event in 1995, largely through the efforts of the prominent sports journalist John Feinstein, a Duke graduate based in the DC area.  Its original title was the Franklin National Bank Classic.  It has varied in format over the years - sometimes a tournament, other times a doubleheader or tripleheader- but the basics have remained the same.  Both Maryland and George Washington have participated in all 15 BB&T Classics, since its inception.  I speculate that Feinstein, an admirer of the Big Five in Philadelphia, used it as the model for the Classic.

The Viewpoint on the Maryland Terrapins

Maryland coach Gary Williams is from the Philadelphia area.  He grew up in Collingswood, NJ, and attended Big Five games at the Palestra.  He originally hoped to play for Penn, but ultimately ended up playing at Maryland.  A long coaching odyssey ensued, in which he would coach at Boston College and Ohio State before returning to his alma mater.  When he came back to take over the reins, he inherited a program in shambles, as the result of NCAA probation, due to extreme corruption and violations committed by his two predecessors.  In a remarkable resuscitation, he took the Terrapins to their first Final Four in 2001, and their first national title in 2002.

It didn't come easily, though.  Williams arrived in 1990, amidst the wreckage of probation, and his first four seasons, in no small part due to life in the rugged ACC - were very difficult.  The program turned the corner in 1994, when the Terrapins reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in six seasons, as a #10 seed - and made it to the Sweet 16, to boot.

The 1994 Sweet 16 was the first of 11 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances for the Terrapins.  Prior to the 2001 season, Williams had gotten to the Sweet 16 four times in six appearances, but Maryland had received many high seeds, and had yet to get past that round.

In 2001, they reached the Final Four, where they faced archrival Duke.  The Terrapins were not able to hold an enormous first-half lead, and fell to the Blue Devils, the eventual winner.  But they made up for it the following season, when they brought the national championship back to College Park.

The Terrapins returned to the tournament in 2003 and 2004, making it 11 appearances in a row.  In that span were seven Sweet 16s, two Final Fours and a national title.

Maryland's stature as a national titan, however, has eroded over the last five years.  In both 2005 and 2006, Maryland went 19-13 and headed to the NIT.  In 2007, the Terrapins finished the season in the Top 25, garnering a #4 seed in the NCAA tournament, but were eliminated in the second round.  In 2008, Maryland went 8-8 in the ACC, but did not receive an NCAA bid.  And last season, Maryland was very much a bubble team, finishing with a 7-9 record in the ACC, 20-13 overall.  (The previous year, an 8-8 conference mark had only brought a NIT bid).

The Terrapins did secure an at-large bid, last season, sliding in as a #10 seed.  In my personal opinion, when I went through the bracketology, I thought that Maryland deserved the bid, but the Terrapins were certainly sweating out Selection Sunday, with a RPI of 55.  The Terrapins upset #7 California in the first round, but they were eliminated in the second round.by #2 Memphis.

Of course, Maryland remains a very difficult opponent with a very talented coach, and the Terrapins will be a challenge for Villanova.

Maryland, nationally ranked earlier this season, brings a 5-2 record overall into the game.  The Terrapins breezed past three opponents in College Park, walloping Charleston Southern, Fairfield, and New Hampshire by wide margins.  Maryland - then ranked #21 - participated in the EA Sports Maui Invitational, topping host Chaminade in the opener.  The Terrapins subsequently fell to Cincinnati and Wisconsin in the later rounds.  Their last game was a victory @ Indiana, their fifth victory of the year.

I would not put too much stock in four of the victories, as the intriguing Maryland blog Turtle Soup wrote in its basketball preview:

Easy Wins aka Cupcakes aka Teams that if we lose to will cause me to put a hole through my flatscreen TV


(Note: I realize that we have lost to cupcakes in each of the last two years so my flatscreen is not feeling safe right now)

The author included the aforementioned Charleston Southern, Fairfield, New Hampshire, and Chaminade, in the group.  For further reading on Maryland, I'd recommend the full preview, which provides a great overview of the overall expectations and analysis for the Terrapins this season.  

In the preseason ACC poll, the Terrapins were projected to finish fifth in the 12-team conference, which seems to dovetail well with their record and ranking.  The big gun is Greivis Vasquez, a senior guard, who was named pre-season All-Conference, and who came in second in voting for the Preseason ACC Player of the Year. 

Ironically, three of Villanova's most recent players were recruited out of Maryland's backyard - two members of the Class of 2009- Dante Cunningham, now with the Portland Trail Blazers, and his good friend Dwayne Anderson, were both from Silver Spring, Maryland.   Also, current standout Scottie Reynolds is from Herndon, Virginia, on the other side of the Potomac.

Other Previews 

VUHoops has a great collection of links from other sportswriters on Villanova / Maryland...


I Bleed Blue and White has preGame Villanova / Maryland...

And for a fresh, outsider's look on Villanova, I'd recommend this preview from the Washington Post...

I'll have a full recap after the game. 

Also, a hearty congratulations to the Villanova football team, who throttled New Hampshire, 46-7, yesterday, in blizzard-like conditions at Villanova Stadium, to advance to the next round of the national playoffs....

Go Wildcats!

E-mail: villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com

#3 Wildcats / Maryland Terrapins Series History - Two Games in the Magical 1985 National Championship Season - and the First-Ever Game at the Pavilion

To the Wildcat faithful-

As the #3 Wildcats aim to extend their 7-0 record, against the University of Maryland Terrapins, on Sunday night, I thought that it might be interesting, to look at the extremely short series history.  The schools meet for the first time in a generation on Sunday.

(Above- Testudo, the formal name of the Maryland Terrapin)

Although the rivalry is only three games long, two of them rank prominently in the annals of Villanova's storied history.    Two games are inextricably intertwined with the most revered Villanova season - 1984-1985 - which culminated in the national championship, on April 1 of that year.

And the third meeting was... Villanova's first-ever game at the Pavilion, which took place on February 1, 1986, less than a year after the Wildcats won it all, in Lexington, Kentucky, stunning Georgetown in the national title game.

Villanova / Maryland Series History

Despite the fact that the schools are geographically close - the University of Maryland is located in College Park, within the DC media market - they have met only three times.  And only two of those games were planned, in fact.

It's only 131 miles or so, between the two schools, all of it highway on I-95 and I-476, but they didn't meet at all, until 1985.  Ironically, Villanova spent its first 64 seasons of competition without playing Maryland-  but then played the Terrapins twice - once in the regular season, as well as the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, in 1985.

January 27, 1985 - Cole Field House, College Park, MD - Maryland 77, Villanova 74

In the January 28, 1985, edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, writer Jayson Stark - now far better known for his outstanding baseball coverage on ESPN and ESPN.com - concluded his game story, with an eerily prescient paragraph:

Strangely, these two teams had not crossed paths before. And unless the tourney trail brings them back together, there are no immediate plans for them to meet again. So you will have to read what you want into what transpired yesterday at Cole Field House.

Maybe 14,500 people filed out singing hosannas for the grand old ACC. But [Ed}Pinckney knew differently. And if there's any justice, he'll get another shot at this debate come the middle of March.

On January 27, in front of a national television audience - and a spirited,14,500-strong throng at Maryland's beloved Cole Field House - the Terrapins - coached by Lefty Driesell - topped the Wildcats narrowly, 77-74.  The Terrapins improved to 16-5.  The Wildcats, ranked #14 nationally, fell to 13-4.

But Ed Pinckney nearly- singlehandedly - led the Wildcats to glory - prefiguring his later performances in March.  Pinckney scored a career-high 29 points, with 17 of them coming in the final eight minutes, powering a valiant Villanova comeback that fell just short.  The Wildcats, guided by Rollie Massimino, trailed by a dozen points with 9:33 left in the second half- a much larger deficit than today, since there was no three-point line and no shot clock.

Nevertheless, Pinckney almost got them all the way back.  He scored to make it 58-56 with 4:57 to play, and Villanova still trailed only 64-60, with 3:07 to go.  But Pinckney's heroics weren't enough - in addition to the career-high in points, he also dominated the paint, hauling in 16 rebounds.

Perhaps even more amazingly, Pinckney did all of this- despite a bad ankle, a cold, and foul trouble, which limited him to just ten minutes in the first half.  The foul trouble rendered it impossible for him to contain the Terrapins' superstar, junior Len Bias, who exploded for 30 points, a career-high.

March 22, 1985 - Sweet 16, NCAA Tournament, Birmingham, Alabama - Villanova 46, Maryland 43

Rollie Massimino did not want this game played in the 70s, as the January meeting had been.  And so he utilized his vaunted stallball, and the game was played in the 40s.  And there was a different outcome.  The eighth-seeded Wildcats advanced to meet second-seeded North Carolina in the Elite Eight.  Villanova ended the season of #3 seed Maryland, 46-43.

How did they do it?  Massimino clamped down on Bias.  Bias - now the ACC Player of the Year - had posted a career-high 30 points back in January, and he carried a 52-game streak of scoring in double figures, into the contest with Villanova.  The streak didn't make it to 53.

Using the game film of Georgetown / Maryland as his guide, Massimino devised a game plan for Pinckney to shut down Bias, with Pinckney playing the role of Patrick Ewing.  And it worked perfectly.  Bias managed just eight points, on 4/13 shooting from the floor.  In frustration, he committed his third and fourth fouls against Wildcat junior Harold Pressley, in quick succession, further evidence of the effectiveness of the defense.

Villanova trailed 20-19 at halftime, but opened the second half on a 11-0 run to take a 30-20 lead, which they never relinquished - seven of the 10 points were from Pinckney.  The Wildcats didn't shoot any better than Bias - as a team, they were 17/46 from the floor - but it was enough to win.  Pinckney added 16 points of his own, on 5/7 shooting, to his suffocating defensive work.  The only Terrapin to have a fine day was Adrian Branch, who shot 9/19 from the floor to finish with a game-high 21 points - nearly half of Maryland's entire total of 43.  (The other Terrapins combined to shoot 10/27 from the floor.)

Other standouts for Villanova were senior Dwayne McClain (a dozen points) and Pressley (seven points, 10 rebounds).  Another major factor was rebounding; in keeping with Rollie's style, Maryland pulled down only a single offensive rebound in the entire game, being outrebounded 40-29.  (Villanova had only six more points than rebounds!)

And the rest is history. The Wildcats went on to sweep their next three opponents - North Carolina, Memphis State, and Georgetown, capturing its first national championship.

February 1, 1986 - The Pavilion - Villanova 64, Maryland 62

The following season saw the return game of the home-and-home series, as the Terrapins visited the Pavilion in its inaugural campaign.

The Wildcats had lost enormous experience in Pinckney, McClain, and Gary McLain, but brought a 14-9 record into the game; Maryland, which still had Bias, now a senior- took a 10-9 mark to the Pavilion.  Bias scored 25 points, with 17 of them coming in the first half.  Villanova was able to contain him, though, in the second half, even without the departed Pinckney.  Bias took only three shots in the final 15 minutes.

It was a thriller for those 6,400 Villanovans fortunate enough to be there.  The first half witnessed ten lead changes and four ties.  The Wildcats took a 37-29 lead into the locker room, the result of a 8-0 run, sparked by a technical foul on Driesell. 

In the second half, led by Bias, Maryland rallied to take a 48-44 advantage.  Villanova tied it, and then the teams kept trading baskets.  The game was tied at every two-point increment from 48 to 62.  Maryland's Keith Gatlin gave the Terps their final lead, 62-60, on a long jumper with 1:29 to play.  The Wildcats' freshman (and eventual star) Doug West tied it on a layup, assisted by Mark Plansky, to retie it at 62 with 1:13 left.

After Maryland drained nearly all the time off the then-45 second shot clock, Gatlin missed and Plansky grabbed the rebound, and Villanova called timeout with 28 seconds left, to hold for the last shot.  The plan was for Kenny Wilson to get it to Pressley, and it worked - Pressley had a uncontested layup for the winning basket.  Maryland pushed the ball up without calling timeout, but Wilson forced a turnover, ending the game.

As Stark put it, in his lead in the Inquirer story:

It is going to be their home from now into the 21st century. But as many times as the Villanova Wildcats may trot out onto the hardwood floor of the John E. duPont Pavilion in the future, they are going to have a hard time topping the show they staged yesterday to open the joint.

They played a game yesterday that any team and any arena in America would have been proud to call its own.

The rafters shook. The tempers raged. And as each minute ticked by, the drama welled larger and larger in the jittery stomachs of all 6,400 folks in the building.

And, finally, they ground on down to the spectacular finish you could see coming all day. They finished it with Harold Pressley scoring inside with 9 seconds to play, and then with freshman guard Kenny Wilson poking the ball away from Maryland's John Johnson with 2 seconds left.

They finished it with Villanova on top, 64-62. And when it was over, you had to hand it to old Roland V. Massimino, the great coach and theatrical- production wiz. When this guy opens a building, he sure doesn't mess around.

And so, in front of 6,400 fans, Villanova hung on for a nailbiting 64-62 victory, one of many Pavilion victories to come over the next three-plus decades.  It was the first of Villanova's now-200+ victories, in the on-campus venue.

More on the 2009 game with Maryland to come - and check out the other fine Villanova blogs on the sidebar.

Go Wildcats!

#3 Wildcats, Pena Incinerate Drexel Dragons, 77-58, At Pavilion; Pena Sets Career High With 19 Points

To the Wildcat faithful-

The last time the Drexel Dragons roared into the Pavilion, the underdog Dragons, ironically, became the dragon-slayers.  On December 9, 2006, Drexel stunned Villanova, defeating the Wildcats for the first time ever, after 17 losses, dating all the way back to 1924.

Had the Dragons pulled off another upset - this time over the third-ranked Wildcats - it would have been national news.  But it was not to be.  This, year it was the Dragons themselves, who were slain.

The #3 Wildcats had little trouble, in vanquishing their third straight crosstown rival, on Wednesday at the Pavilion.  An overmatched Drexel Dragons squad fell, 77-58. 

The Wildcats improved to a perfect 7-0 on the young season.  Drexel fell to 3-5 overall.  Villanova now owns victories over Penn, La Salle, and Drexel, among the Greater Philadelphia programs.

The game was ugly in the early going.  Drexel made just five of its first 26 shots; Villanova just six of its first 24.  But 'Nova led, 24-13, nonetheless, despite being outrebounded 20-18...

Villanova nearly doubled up Drexel at halftime, taking a comfortable 34-18 lead into the break. 

Inside the Box Score

Antonio Pena - seeing more and more minutes in the paint, with the news of Mouphtauo Yarou's hepatitis - recorded a double-double.  Pena finished with 19 points and 11 boards, to lead the Wildcats in both categories.  The 19 points represented a career-high for the forward, shouldering more and more of the load underneath.

However, Pena was far from the only Wildcat, to distinguish himself tonight.  Taylor King continues to impress, coming off the bench.  The Duke transfer dropped in 16 points on 6/11 shooting, including 4/6 from beyond the arc.  King added five rebounds, a pair of steals and a blocked shot - and did it all, in just 23 minutes of action.

Scottie Reynolds had an outstanding game in the backcourt - and he was the only Wildcat remaining, from the aforementioned Drexel upset, in December 2006.  (He played 20 minutes, was 0/5 from the floor, and scored a single point.)  Times certainly have changed, since he was a freshman: Reynolds is now enshrined in Villanova history, as a result of The Shot that catapulted the Wildcats to the Final Four, last March.

Tonight, the senior star scored 14 points on 4/7 shooting, but he really filled in the box score: Reynolds had eight rebounds, six assists, a steal, and just two turnovers in 27 minutes.

This worked out well, as neither Corey had his shooting touch this evening.  Fisher had a very rough shooting night, making only one of his six attempts and finishing with five points.  But Fisher came up big in other areas: five assists and four steals, against one turnover in 25 minutes.

For Stokes, it was largely the same - poor shooting, contributing in other ways.  In 30 minutes, the Bayonne Bomber was anything but: 2/8 from the floor, finishing with seven points.  But Stokes added five rebounds, an assist and a block.

Looking at the role players:

Along with Pena, Maurice Sutton will have to play a lot of minutes in Mouph's absence.  Sutton plugged away tonight, chewing up 23 minutes underneath and providing some interior defense.  Sutton finished with two points, three rebounds, one steal, a turnover (and most importantly) three blocked shots.

Dominic Cheek received 20 minutes tonight, and his game was respectable: three points on 1/4 shooting, four rebounds, two turnovers, one steal, and two blocks.

Maalik Wayns, in 17 minutes, provided some offensive spark: seven points on 3/4 shooting.  He did commit three turnovers against one assist, though.

Isaiah Armwood saw 7 minutes, had two points on 1/2 shooting, and one rebound.

Russell Wooten - the only walk-on Wildcat, now that Jason Colenda has opted to leave the team - saw 2 minutes of action, to Jay Wright's credit.  Wooten scored two points on his lone shot and grabbed a rebound.  How it happened: with 16 seconds to play, Wooten rebounded a miss by Cheek, and laid it in to get in the scoring tally.  Congratulations to Wooten - the Pavilion crowd went wild.

As a team, Villanova blocked eight shots and committed only 15 fouls.  The low foul total is partly attributable to the lopsided score, but given the foul trouble the team encountered regularly en route to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic title, it's an encouraging sign.

Shooting accuracy, both overall and from three-point range, was also a strength for the Wildcats.  Villanova was extremely accurate: 24/52 (46.2%) from the floor, and a stellar 7/15 (46.7%) from beyond the arc.  The Wildcats were also strong at the foul line: 22/30 (73.3%).  The big star at the line, ironically, was Pena, who was 11/16 there.

The Drexel Side of the Box Score

There were some fine performances.  Derrick Thomas (yes, the same name as the legendary Kansas City Chiefs linebacker) had a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers, in only 26 minutes.  On a minute-per-minute basis, Chris Fouch was even more impressive.  Fouch came off the bench to score 20 points on 6/9 shooting, including 5/8 from three-point range.  He added two rebounds and four assists, and did it all in just 20 minutes.  Samme Givens just missed a double-double, with nine points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes.

What really killed Drexel tonight, was field goal and free throw accuracy.  The Dragons were only 18/58 (31%) from the floor, a credit to the Villanova defense.  But the Dragons were also 11-20 (55%) from the line, which Villanova, obviously, had nothing to do with.

The Game Action

Villanova raced out to a 11-0 start, and it appeared that the game would not be close, initially.  But the game stayed close for a while, because neither team scored much, early.  Drexel rallied, although the closest Drexel got was an 18-13 margin, which came after a triple from Gouch with 4:50 to go in the first half.

The Villanova lead ballooned to as much as 28 points, in the second half; that zenith came with 9:28 to play, after a pair of free throws from Pena.  The Wildcats led at that point, 58-30.  It's quite a game when the opponent takes 30:32 of the game just to get to 30 points, and then scores 28 points in the final 9:28, but that's what happened.

The final score - a 19-point Villanova victory - is actually a bit misleading.  The Wildcats still held a 26-point lead - 73-47 - after a triple by Wayns with 2:24 to go.  Drexel ended the game on an 11-4 run to pull to within 19.  Two of the four Villanova points came memorably, from Wooten.

Closing Thoughts: Drexel Vis-a-Vis the Big Five

In the preview, I discussed the question of why Drexel was not included in the Big Five, back in the 1950s.  During the 1990s, when Villanova had withdrawn from the full round-robin and played only two City Series foes a year, a not-uncommon battle cry within the Greater Philadelphia sports community was "Kick out Villanova and bring in Drexel!"

Drexel certainly would have taken the deal.  I speculate, however, that the idea was never seriously considered.  Villanova's decision to withdraw for a decade, was a complete and unmitigated disaster, and not just in retrospect.  I give the school great credit for recognizing the mistake and correcting it after a decade.

However, looking at it from the perspective of the other four schools, there was no way that they were going to cede their shot at Villanova - even if it was only every other year - for the right to play Drexel every year.  During Villanova's absence, the other four continued to play each other annually, although not all counted as "official City Series" games.  St. Joseph's, La Salle, and Temple were all in the Atlantic 10, and would have played each other annually, even if they didn't want to.  Drexel appeared regularly on some of their schedules, anyhow...

This was Villanova's last home game until Christmastime, on December 23.  They will next face the ACC's Maryland Terrapins on the road, on December 6.  I will have a full preview...

Go Wildcats!

#3 Wildcats Host Drexel Dragons at Pavilion - Dragons Try to Make It Two in a Row - A Preview

To the Villanova Wildcat faithful-

The Wildcats - exalted to #3 in Monday's AP poll - will host the crosstown rival Drexel Dragons at the Pavilion, on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM... In terms of television, unfortunately, the game will only be available on Villanova: All-Access....  and of course, Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby on radio...

Drexel hopes to defeat the Wildcats for the second straight time.  After losing all 17 previous contests to Villanova, the Dragons scorched the Pavilion with an upset, back in December 2006... here's my game story...

A preview of tonight's game...

The #3 Wildcats take a perfect 6-0 mark into the game.  It will be their last home game for three weeks, however.  The program suffered a setback recently, as reported by The Villanovan Sports Blog, with the discovery that freshman center Mouphtaou Yarou has contracted hepatitis B.  (This was widely rumored, but not officially confirmed by Villanova until yesterday.)  Of course, we wish him a speedy recovery.  There is no timetable for him to return.

Looking at Drexel...

James E. "Bruiser" Flint

The Dragons carry a 3-4 record to the Pavilion.  They are coached by James E. "Bruiser" Flint, a 1987 graduate of St. Joseph's, who became an assistant to John Calipari at Massachusetts, during the Minutemen's heyday in the mid-1990s.  Massachusetts reached the Final Four in 1996, after being ranked #1 for most of the year, but fell to the other superpower that year, Rick Pitino's Kentucky, in the Final Four.

Calipari resigned after that season, and Flint replaced him.  He could not replicate Calipari's record, though, in spite of the brand-new Mullins Center.  Flint got the Minutemen to the NCAA tournament in each of his first two seasons, but they were eliminated in the first round each time.  In his third season, 1998-99, they missed postseason play completely.  After a NIT bid in 2000, they missed postseason play once more in 2001, after which Flint was fired.

This is where Flint intersects with Villanova history.  While Flint was at the helm in Massachusetts, the teams played a home-and-home series, with Villanova triumphing at the Pavilion, 66-55, on December 15, 1998.  Massachusetts won the return game, on December 16, 1999, by a single point, 52-51.  It was widely believed (and accurately, as it turned out), that Flint would be fired, unless Massachusetts reached the NCAA tournament during 2000-01.

Coincidentally, at the same time, Lappas's position at Villanova was becoming untenable, as the team had missed the NCAA tournament by one game in both 2000 and 2001.  According to unconfirmed reports, Villanova had privately told Lappas that if he didn't make it to the tournament in 2002, he would be fired.  Lappas - knowing that with much of his talent leaving, the odds of that wouldn't be high - decided that he would be interested in seeking the vacancy at Massachusetts, succeeding the ousted Flint.

And so, everyone won - Lappas ended up at another program, Villanova didn't have to buy out his contract.  And most importantly, Villanova was able to offer the job to Wright, who was on the verge of leaving Hofstra to take the head coaching job at Rutgers.

Flint decided to return to Philadelphia, where he had grown up and also played at SJU.  (When SJU's John Griffin abruptly resigned after the 1995 season, SJU narrowed its coaching choices to Phil Martelli and Flint, and ultimately went with Martelli.)  He was introduced as the new coach at Drexel, succeeding Bill Herrion, in 2001-02, the same year Wright began at Villanova.

Flint has done well at Drexel, and this is now his ninth season.  In his first six seasons, he piloted the Dragons to four NIT bids, an impressive feat for a CAA program.  His seventh season, 2007-08, was pretty rough; the Dragons suffered a 20-loss season, going 12-20 overall and 5-13 in the CAA.  But last year, they rebounded, going 15-13 overall, 10-8 CAA, although they did not receive a NIT bid.

Flint vs. Wright - The Best-Dressed Coaches in the Land?

Flint has always been among the - and I would say the most - well-dressed coaches in all of college basketball.  As far as I can tell, he has never coached against Wright before.  Accordingly, Wright faces an opposing coach in Flint, whose wardrobe rivals, and arguably surpasses, his own, in terms of quality and style.  Regrettably, with the game not on TV tonight, I'll have to wait till the 11 PM news to comment on this major confrontation on the sidelines.

2009-10 Season So Far - 3-4 overall

Drexel dropped its first three games, as the Dragons struggled to ignite their breath.  They fell @ SJU, Flint's alma mater, in the season opener, and the inaugural game for SJU's renovated Hagan Field House.  They also lost @ Niagara and @ Rutgers.

They then made the shortest road trip in all of college basketball - namely, the Penn / Drexel rivalry.  The Dragons crossed the street to the Palestra, and defeated the Quakers, 58-49, for their first win.  They then won home games against Vermont (Rollie Massimino's alma mater) and Toledo, before losing to Cornell on Sunday.  Tonight will be Drexel's third battle against a Big Five member.


Outlook

This is certainly a game that Villanova should win easily.  Drexel has losses to Niagara, Rutgers, and Cornell, and for the third-ranked team in the nation, playing on its true home court, it's a must-win.  But of course, when local teams are involved, one never knows...

Villanova / Drexel Series History

Villanova won the first 17 meetings in the series.  One of the sole dubious distinctions, in Jay Wright's eight-plus seasons at the helm on the Main Line, is that he is the first coach to lose to Drexel.  This is even more ironic, in light of the fact that Wright began his coaching career as an assistant at Drexel, under the late Eddie Burke.  (Wright once mentioned his pleasant memories of participating in Burke's "Dragon Wagon", a means of publicizing the University City school's program.)

The series is nearly as old as Villanova basketball itself.  The Wildcats launched their program under Michael Saxe in 1920-21; the Wildcats met the Dragons for a home-and-home series, in just their fourth series of intercollegiate play.  On February 6, 1924, the host Wildcats defeated Drexel, 29-25; on March 5, in the return game at Drexel, the Wildcats swept the series, triumphing 25-22.

With two close games, the teams probably decided that it was worth facing each other the following season.  However, the game was incredibly lopsided; on March 7, 1925, the Wildcats genuinely slew the Dragons, by a 50-11 score (not a typo).  Perhaps due to this inequity, the series then lay dormant, until the 1950s.

The series was revived for four years during that decade, with two home-and-home series.  The Wildcats managed to win all four, now 7-0 against Drexel.  The fourth and final game was on January 21, 1959, @ Drexel.  The Wildcats cruised to a 62-46 victory.

For reasons which aren't entirely clear, the series ended for the next two decades.  The formation of the Big Five in 1955-56 may have had something to do with it, although Villanova was still playing Drexel in the third and fourth seasons of the Big Five.

The series resumed on February 4, 1980, after a Rip Van Winkle-esque 20 years' passage.  Rollie Massimino guided the Wildcats to a 94-76 victory @ Jake Nevin Fieldhouse.

Five years later, halfway through the 1980s, the teams began meeting regularly, playing six games from 1985 to 1990.  During the Wildcats' magical 1985 NCAA championship season, they faced Drexel for the first - and only - time at the Palestra, winning 63-55.

The series then shifted to the then-brand-new Pavilion, where it has remained ever since.  During Christmas time in 1986 (the Pavilion's second season), the visiting Dragons fell, 62-50.  On February 22, 1988 - a year which saw the Wildcats reach the Elite Eight - Villanova won, 90-73.

The Dragons would visit the Pavilion for the next three years, culminating in a Thanksgiving time victory by the Wildcats on November 26, 1990, 92-71.  Villanova had now won all 15 contests.  However, the series would now lie dormant, until Wright became head coach after the 2000-01 season, succeeding Steve Lappas.

Drexel's reappearance at the Pavilion, after a dozen years had passed, likely had a great deal to do with Wright's gratitude to the Dragons, as well as his desire to rebuild Villanova's relationships within the Greater Philadelphia basketball community.  (Villanova had just announced its intention to restore the full round-robin City Series, prior to the 1999-2000 season.)

Accordingly, on November 22, 2002 - the beginning of Wright's second season on the Main Line - the Wildcats breezed by the Dragons, 64-41.  It was Drexel's fewest points against Villanova since 1959.

The next meeting came as a surprise.  The Dragons made an unplanned appearance at the Pavilion on St. Patrick's Day, 2004, in the opening round of the NIT.  It was the first time that the schools had met in a postseason tournament.  The Wildcats won, 85-70, Villanova's record was now a sterling 17-0.  My game story - Wildcats Slay Dragons, 85-70, in NIT Opener...

In 2005-06, Villanova made a Sweet 16 run, and the Dragons reappeared on the regular-season schedule for the first time in three years.  Although the Wildcats had lost key players such as Allan Ray and Randy Foye, it did not seem likely that the 18th game of the series, scheduled for December 9, 2006, would be much trouble.

But, ironically, Wright became the first Villanova coach to fall to the flames of the Dragons.  In one of the biggest victories in Drexel basketball history, the Dragons stunned the Wildcats, 81-76, at the Pavilion... 

That was the last meeting between the schools, until this evening.

Speaking of that...

A Logical and Frequent Question - Why Isn't Drexel in the Big Five?

It's time to address that.  Here is the best answer I can offer, although it's not definitive...

Drexel did not become part of the Big Five, because it was not playing big-time basketball at the time it was proclaimed.

This, to me, is the most plausible answer.  It would have made more sense to include the Dragons, if they had been.  Any conference arrangement is necessarily awkward, if it has an odd number of teams (ask the Big East!)  An inclusion of Drexel would have solved that problem.  This was particularly problematic due to the fact that there were frequent doubleheaders, and six teams would have been easier to schedule than a round-robin of five teams.

Further evidence is the fact that shortly after the Big Five was formed, Villanova was no longer playing Drexel - and it would have been logical to continue playing the Dragons, if they had been a big-time program.

Worth noting: In 2002, Drexel was invited to participate in the Big Five Classic at the Palestra, which made a great deal of sense, given their membership in the basketball community and the fact that an even number of teams was needed to stage the tripleheader.

The Drexel Dragon - "Mario the Magnificent"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tncowart/ / CC BY 2.0

Personally, the Dragon is one of the best mascots in college basketball.  Surprisingly, given its status as a fierce, mythical creature, it is not widespread as a nickname.  I'm not aware of anyone, other than Drexel, who uses it.  If you visit the University Campus, there is a very nice sculpture of the Dragon at the southeast corner of 33rd and Market Streets.  Unveiled in December 2002, it's worth checking out on your way to or from the Palestra.  (Its official name is "Mario the Magnificent", as a courtesy to a prominent alumnus who had that first name.)

I'll have a full recap after the game...

Other detailed previews, worth checking out-

derp @ VUHoops - A Look at Drexel

Chris @ I Bleed Blue and White - preGame: #3 Villanova vs. Drexel

Go Wildcats!

Questions, comments, information - e-mail: villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com

I Bleed Blue and White and The Villanovan Sports Blog Reporting Mouph May Be Done For Season

To the Villanova Wildcat faithful-

The outstanding Villanova blog I Bleed Blue and White is reporting that freshman center Mouphtou Yarou may be done for the season...  Yesterday, this is what Chris had to say in "Mouph gone for the year":

It appears that all the smoke surrounding Mouphtaou Yarou has quickly turned into fire. Rumors were abound this morning on campus that the big freshman was out for the year, but many held out hope that it wasn’t true. While we still are waiting an official response from the school, Jeff Goodman of FoxSports has gone on record as saying a source has told him that Yarou is gone for the entire 2009-2010 season due to the viral infection that was first discovered in Puerto Rico...

David Cassilo at The Villanovan Sports Blog, adds in "Mouph out for the season?":

As you know by now rumors are circulating that Mouphtaou Yarou is possibly out for the season.  As of this afternoon, the athletics department had no new information about Yarou.  After Saturday’s game against La Salle, Jay Wright said the team was probably receiving Yarou’s test results on Monday (today).

My two cents:

Assuming that Yarou is in fact out for the season, it isn't clear as to whether he would be permitted to take 2009-10 as a medical redshirt season, thus permitting him four full seasons of eligibility.  My understanding - at least the way it used to be - was that if the injury occurred early in the season, and the player had participated in only a small number of games (I'm not sure of the number), that the NCAA at least considers granting the redshirt year.

In this situation, although Villanova has played six games, Yarou only participated in the two victories over Fairleigh Dickinson and Penn.  He didn't play at all, in the three games of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic, or against La Salle on Saturday, so he would seem to fall clearly into this category...

A preview of the game against the Drexel Dragons, tomorrow night at the Pavilion, will be up later...

Go Wildcats!

E-mail: villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com

#4 Wildcats Win 8th Straight Over City Series Rival La Salle, 81-63, at Pavilion

To the Wildcat faithful-

The #4 Villanova Wildcats continued their juggernaut, within the Philadelphia Big Five, on Saturday afternoon, at the Pavilion.  Villanova had no trouble routing crosstown rival La Salle, 81-63, for the eighth consecutive time.  La Salle's last victory had come on November 27, 2001, right after Jay Wright had taken over for Steve Lappas.  The eight-game winning streak by Villanova represents the longest streak of success for either team, in this particular Big Five rivalry.

It does seem odd, however, focusing on basketball on Thanksgiving weekend.  The holiday is so closely associated with football - as it should be.  This weekend is really too early, to be thinking about the hardwood.

But the 6,500 Pavilion partisans did not let their feasting (both on Thursday and throughout this weekend) on turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and mashed potatoes, inter alia, deter them from turning out in large numbers to support their Wildcats, in City Series play.

The Wildcats remain unbeaten in City Series play, at 2-0; La Salle fell to 0-1.  The Wildcats also improved their overall record to 6-0, while La Salle dropped to 3-2.  Villanova is now also well on its way, to sweeping its City Series rivals for the third straight season - only St. Joseph's and Temple stand in its path.  Villanova has now won 20 of its last 21 contests, against Big Five opponents.

La Salle fell to 5-4 at the Pavilion, all-time, an exceptionally strong record there, as it is a very hostile environment for visitors.  In fact, the Explorers won five of their first six games there.  However, Villanova has now won three in a row at the Pavilion.

Four Wildcats reached double figures.  Scottie Reynolds and Antonio Pena each contributed 14 points, while Corey Fisher added 13 points, and freshman Dominic Cheek came off the bench to score 10 points in just 23 minutes of action.

For La Salle, Kimmani Barrett had a game-high 17 points on 7/10 shooting from the floor.  Two Explorers also recorded double-doubles: Aaric Murray, with 15 points and 14 rebounds (nine on the offensive end), and Jerrel Williams had 15 points and 16 rebounds (a dozen on the offensive end of the glass).  Williams struggled, however, despite the lofty numbers.  He went just 3/11 from the floor, as well as shooting only 9/19 from the foul line.

La Salle missed all seven of its initial three-point attempts, and never really got on track.  The Wildcats enjoyed a solid 38-30 lead at intermission.  In the second half, it was only marginally competitive.  The closest that La Salle got to Villanova, was early in the second half.

Villanova's lead was just a half-dozen points, 45-39, shortly after play resumed.  But the Wildcats turned on the jets, launching an 16-5 run that effectively ended the contest.  The Wildcats now led 61-44, with just under nine minutes to play; La Salle was never able to close the gap to single digits, the rest of the way.

Next Up for the Wildcats

Villanova will take on another Philadelphia team (although not a Big Five member), the Drexel Dragons, at the Pavilion, on Wednesday, December 2.  Check back for a full preview...

Of course, I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving weekend...

Go Wildcats!

E-mail: villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com

#4 Wildcats Tangle with La Salle for 59th Time - Preview of the City Series Contest

To the Wildcat faithful-

The fourth-ranked Wildcats (5-0 overall, 1-0 City Series) tangle with ancient rival La Salle (3-1 overall, 0-0 City Series) for the 59th time, on Saturday at the Pavilion..  Tip-off is at 3:30 PM, and the game will be televised by ESPN2.

Villanova has swept all of its City Series opponents in the last two seasons, and can do so again this year.  The Wildcats are 1-0 in City Series play, after crushing Penn less than two weeks ago.  Villanova has also won 19 of its last 20 games in City Series play.

A Year Ago


Last season, on December 14, 2008, #12 Villanova made its first-ever visit to La Salle's newly-renovated Tom Gola Arena.  Despite the hostile environment in the on-campus venue, the Wildcats were able to triumph, 70-59, after jumping out to a 36-26 lead at halftime. The two leading scorers for Villanova are still here - Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes.  Reynolds had 13 points on 5-12 shooting, while Stokes scored a game-high 18 points on 6-10 shooting.

There was also an incredible defensive performance from Dante Cunningham - in addition to scoring nine points, the senior forward had, in an interesting bit of statistical symettry, had four defensive rebounds, four steals, and blocked four La Salle shots.  Corey Fisher came off the bench, to deal six assists without a single turnover, and also threw in eight points in 26 minutes.


For La Salle, Kimmani Barrett and Rodney Green both led the way with 16 points each, the only two Explorers in double figures.

La Salle finished the season 18-13 overall, and 9-7 in the Atlantic 10, but did not receive a NIT bid; the fact that the Explorers lost in overtime to St. Louis in the Atlantic 10 tournament's opening round may have affected the NIT's decision.

Villanova / La Salle Series History

Villanova leads, all-time, 32-26; as formal Big Five opponents, the Wildcats lead 30-25. The Wildcats have won the last seven contests, and will try to make it eight in a row against the Explorers on Saturday.  Villanova's seven-game winning streak is the longest either school has ever had, in this ancient rivalry.  The Wildcats have also won 11 of the last 13 contests, going back to 1994.

La Salle's last victory came on November 27, 2001, in Jay Wright's first season at the helm.  The Explorers won, 61-58, in overtime at the Pavilion. 

The respective campuses are separated by less than 14 miles.  But surprisingly, prior to the formation of the Big Five in 1955-56, the two geographically close Catholic colleges had faced each other only three times, in two seasons - 1933-34 and 1934-35.

The Wildcats won the first meeting, at what is now Jake Nevin Fieldhouse, on March 6, 1934, a close 25-23 victory.  There were two games the following year.  The first, at the now-defunct Philadelphia Civic Center (then known as Convention Hall), the Wildcats edged La Salle, 22-21.  A month later, at La Salle, the Explorers won, 29-23.  The series would lay dormant for another generation, however.

The City Series was officially proclaimed in 1955-56.  For 45 seasons, the Blue and White would meet the Blue and Gold every year.  From 1956-1983, every game was at the Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, the home of Big Five basketball for much of its history.

The series hit its nadir in the 1990s, due to three factors- two from La Salle, and one from Villanova.  La Salle's unfortunate and disastrous decisions to both temporarily join a midwestern conference, and play all of their home games in the cavernous old Spectrum, had devastating effects on the success of its basketball program, from which even now, it has yet to fully recover.

From Villanova's end, the horrendous decision to withdraw from the full round-robin, for the entire decade of the 1990s, meant both the end of cherished traditions and justified animosity from Philadelphia sports fans.  As for Villanova / La Salle - they  were playing only every other year, in the Spectrum, and there was no appropriate atmosphere for this particular Big Five rivalry. 

In the 21st century, the rivalry began to recover, after La Salle had abandoned the Spectrum, and Villanova - to its inestimable credit - decided not only to resume the full round-robin in the City Series, but to agree to some games returning to the Palestra.  Since 2000, all nine Villanova  /  La Salle games have been at the Pavilion, the Palestra, or, for the first tim last season, La Salle's on-campus Tom Gola Arena.

One quirk in the rivalry has been La Salle's remarkable record at the Pavilion, since it opened in 1986.  The Explorers won their first four games in the Pavilion, from 1986-90.  After a decade's absence, the Explorers returned to the Pavilion, and lost, in 2000.  But they won in November 2001, giving them five victories in six appearances, a rare feat for any opponent.  Villanova has won the last two at the Pavilion, in December 2005 and December 2007, but La Salle is still 5-3 in the building,  That mark, as far as I can tell, the best record of any Villanova opponent, Big Five or otherwise, who has played enough games there to be meaningful.

Over the last two decades, Villanova's dominance in the series obscures the fact that the schools, at one time, were both roughly equivalent as basketball powers.  La Salle hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1991, but it was a powerhouse for a long time.  To illustrate - Villanova has won 11 of the last 13 games, but leads the overall series by only six.  La Salle led, all-time, until Villanova's victory in December 2003, at the Palestra.

Go Wildcats!

Happy Thanksgiving...