To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-
Note: I am indebted to the outstanding chronicle of the 1985 magical run, The Year of the 'Cat by Craig A. Miller, the long-time Sports Information Director at Villanova, for nearly all of the information in this post. It is a magnificent book, and I highly recommend it, for any Villanova fan- or even a non-Villanova fan who wants to learn more about the greatest Cinderella run for any NCAA tournament team, before or since...
Harold Pressley scored 15 points on 7/13 shooting from the floor, adding three rebounds and an assist, and led all scorers in #8 Villanova's stunning dozen-point upset of #2 North Carolina in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, March 24, 1985. The Tar Heels had led 22-17 at intermission, but Villanova won the second half by an astonishing 39-22 margin.
Dwayne McClain and Gary McLain each added 11 points, while Harold Jensen - the hero of the championship game eight days later against Georgetown - also reached double figures with 10 points. McClain was 4/11 from the floor but 3/3 from the line and added five rebounds and a pair of assists. McLain played all but one minute, was 3/5 from the floor and 5/6 from the line, with a pair of rebounds and assists.
Ed Pinckney finished with nine points on 3/6 shooting, 3/6 from the line, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Also seeing action was Dwight Wilbur, who struggled in his nine minutes, going 0/3 from the floor, two rebounds and one assist. Mark Plansky played seven minutes, missing one shot, garnering one rebound and one assist. Chuck Everson played two minutes, missing one shot. All three went scoreless.
For North Carolina, Brad Daugherty had a game-high 17 points on 7/9 shooting, 3/6 from the line, and recording a double/double with a dozen rebounds. No other Tar Heels managed more than half a dozen points - R. Smith and Hunter each had six.
The Tar Heels shot a respectable 20/44 from the floor, compared to Villanova's 22/47, but fell.
The Wildcats had shot just 23.1% from the floor in the first half, as well as just 55.6% (5-9) from the line, but trailed just 22-17. A key sequence at the end of the first half:
The Tar Heels held a commanding 22-14 lead and had the ball, and given the lack of a shot clock and coach Dean Smith's ability to hold the ball, it appeared certain that they would take that lead into the locker room. But North Carolina turned it over with seven seconds left. Dwayne McClain rebounded a Wildcat miss, put it in and was fouled with one second remaining. After the three from McClain, the Wildcats trailed by just five, after being soundly outplayed during the first half.
However, after coach Rollie Massimino had some unique observations at halftime, Villanova's accuracy skyrocketed, as the Wildcats hit 16/21 from the floor, a glittering 76.2%.
According to the The Year of the 'Cat, here is an excerpt of Coach Mass's analysis:
"I told them something like 'Do you think I want to be doing this? Do you think I want to be screaming at you? Do you think I really want to go to the Final Four? Listen, there's much more to life than that.
Do you know what I'd really rather be doing now more than anything? Than being here in this room? I'll tell you. I'd rather be at home, sitting behind a big, steaming, heaping plate of spags [spaghetti]. Yeah, that's right. Macaroni. Linguine with clam sauce. I'd rather do that than be losing this game."
The second half was a different story. The Wildcats embarked on a 14-4 run during the first eight minutes of the second stanza to take a 31-26 advantage (it was a 17-4 run, going back to the end of the first half). A Daugherty hook shot lifted the Tar Heels to within one, 31-30, with less than 14 minutes to play.
But Villanova put the game away after the Daugherty bucket, jetting out of reach with a 12-3 run, with half of those points coming from Jensen. By the 8:13 mark, the Wildcats now had a 43-33 advantage. That might not seem like a big deal today, with the shot clock and three-point shot, but this was the last tournament without those rules. And Rollie Massimino was just as good at killing the clock as Dean Smith. A 10-point deficit, facing Rollie, under those rules - that margin was an abyss, something that offered very little hope for the trailing team.
And Villanova made its free throws down the stretch, hitting all but one of their eight attempts.
Coach Mass made an eerily prescient statement after the game, amidst the celebration marking Villanova's third trip to the Final Four and first since 1971:
"This is one of the nicest things that has ever happened to me. This is such an incredible feeling. But I hope this isn't it. We might as well hang in there, fool around and win a couple more."
The Wildcats, of course, went on to capture the national championship that season, winning their final two games in the national semifinals....
Of course there will be more content, both on Villanova's 1985 tournament run in general and the Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History as well...
Over the course of the week, I'll be writing up previous games in the all-time Villanova/North Carolina series, culminating the complete Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History. And of course, there will be a comprehensive preview of Saturday's Final Four clash - so please check back for more...
In the meantime...
You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats! Beat North Carolina!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-6ABC's Jamie Apody concluded this story on the Philadelphia ABC affiliate by noting that "Jay Wright has always liked to ham it up..."When interviewed about the "lucky pigs," Wright's reaction was, while laughing: "Those pigs are important, to our team's success."
Wright keeps his pig, in an aptly named "pig pocket", in the inside of his suit.We can't argue with success. The pigs have won nine of the eleven games for the Wildcats, during which they've been residing in Wright's pockets...The source of the superstition:About a month ago, his ten-year old daughter, Riley, said that she "had three lucky pigs," for an unspecified "big game." After the Wildcats won, Wright said to Riley: "The pigs are working... Don't come to a game without those pigs."
Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson were interviewed- and laughing, said they were unaware that Wright had pigs in his pocket... Cunningham, in the same spirit, suggested that perhaps the team should have them in their pockets as well...Of course, Wright also told 6ABC: "I'm not a superstitious person. It's more about having fun with my daughter and doing something with my daughter and my relationship with my daughter...."
And the first thing he said to his daughter in Boston, after the glorious victory over Pitt, was:
"The pig worked! The pig worked!"
And of course, pigs can have success in the NCAA tournament - the 1994 Arkansas Razorbacks went all the way and captured the NCAA title.Over the course of the week, I'll be writing up previous games in the all-time Villanova/North Carolina series, culminating the complete Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History. And of course, there will be a comprehensive preview of Saturday's Final Four clash - so please check back for more...
In the meantime...
You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats! Beat North Carolina!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-
For all of us, the Wildcats' return to the Final Four - after a 24-year absence - is cause for an incredible celebration as we await the game against #1 seed North Carolina on Saturday - at around 8:47 PM or so - in the second national semfinal game in Detroit.
And in that spirit, in this edition of ReViewpoint, it seems only fitting that we take a look back at the last time that Villanova and North Carolina met in the NCAA tournament, on March 25, 2005. Four seasons ago, en route to the national championship, the Tar Heels bested the Wildcats by one point, in Syracuse, NY, in a game that Villanova fans will always remember because of the final-minute traveling call on Allan Ray (discussed in detail below).
As is also discussed below, even had the traveling call not taken place, it was far from assured that Villanova would have won anyhow, given the uphill battle it faced under those circumstances. Nonetheless, the traveling episode has taken its place in Wildcats lore, due to that single call (ironically, that call was also made by CBS's Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, who called the two Villanova games this weekend...)
An epilogue to the story, before we begin...
The Tar Heels would go on to complete their spectacular revival under Roy Williams a week later in the national title game. For their part, the Wildcats bounced back from the defeat and ended up with a #1 seed and an Elite Eight appearance during the following season (2005-06...)
To both Wildcats and Tar Heels fans - enjoy:
March 25, 2005 - North Carolina, Midnight End Villanova's Season in NCAA Sweet 16, 67-66
Around the stroke of midnight on Friday night, Villanova's would-be Cinderella run to a Final Four came to an end as well. The Wildcats' 2004-05 season ended at the hands of depth, firepower - and luck - as they ended up losing by a heartbreaking 67-66 score, to the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels, in the Sweet 16 in Syracuse, N.Y., at the Carrier Dome.The loss was particularly galling, since Villanova had led by double digits (by as much as 21-9 and 30-19) in the first half, and by four at intermission. 'Nova's peak for the game probably took place when Foye nailed a triple at the 6:15 mark, to boost the Wildcat advantage back to 11 points at 30-19. It is a fitting testament to North Carolina's dominance this season that the four-point deficit was the largest they had overcome this season.
However, after play resumed, Villanova began to cool off, and North Carolina went on a 7-0 run early in the second half to take its first lead of the contest at 44-42, after Marvin Williams converted a pair of free throws at the 11:43 mark.The Wildcats appeared to have gotten the break they needed when Felton picked up his fourth foul with 8:43 to play. However, Rashad McCants picked up his game, scoring seven straight points for Carolina. After the Tar Heels began to dominate play in the second half, the Wildcats trailed by 10, 64-54, with under three minutes to play.
But when point guard extraordinaire Raymond Felton fouled out at the 2:11 mark, the Tar Heels began to unravel, and the Wildcats still almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. However, they came up a single point short, although they outscored the Tar Heels, 12-3, in the final two-plus minutes. It was among the most painful, yet exhilarating, losses to watch in Villanova history, for those reasons.The Tar Heels (30-4) advanced to the Elite Eight to face #6 Wisconsin, a team Villanova would likely have been favored against, even without Curtis Sumpter. Ultimately, the Wildcats were not able to simultaneously overcome both the loss of Sumpter, and their short bench against Carolina. Coach Jay Wright was even forced to insert practice player Baker Dunleavy to replace Randy Foye in the final seconds, after Foye had fouled out. Dunleavy has played only 24 minutes this season, but trailing, Wright desperately needed another potential three-point shooter and neither Marcus Austin nor Chris Charles fit that bill.North Carolina has now subsequently defeated Wisconsin, to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2000. The 30th victory was the first time since 1998, that a Tar Heel squad had reached the 30-win plateau.
This appearance is an NCAA-record 17th trip to the Final Four, and North Carolina's seventh in the last 15 seasons. It also clearly signals the recovery of North Carolina's program, under Roy Williams, after its dip during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Three years ago, Carolina finished 8-20; two years ago, they were in the NIT.However, the Wildcats gave the Tar Heels all they could handle. North Carolina has many NCAA appearances over the years, 121 to be exact. But this was Carolina's first one-point NCAA tournament victory in 23 years, since the 1982 team featuring Michael Jordan, James Worthy, and Sam Perkins defeated Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in the NCAA championship game, 63-62.
It was just Carolina's fifth single-point NCAA victory, ever. North Carolina also posted season lows in field goal attempts with 48, field goals with 20, and steals with three. Particularly during the first half, the Wildcats were able to successfully dictate a slow, deliberate tempo to the game, attempting to protect their short bench and shorten the game, much in the same way that Wright's mentor, former coach Roland V. Massimino, used to do so successfully.
North Carolina managed just 29 points by halftime. The game began to slip away, however, in the second half, when the fleeter and deeper Tar Heels began to fully exploit their advantages in transition. They began to successfully grind down the Wildcats, who until the shocking comeback in the final three minutes, appeared to be just about out of gas. For some reason, North Carolina - which was making its 20th Sweet 16 appearance since 1975 - plays particularly well in the Carrier Dome. Including the victories over Villanova and Wisconsin this weekend, the Tar Heels are now 8-1 there all-time, and 7-1 in NCAA tournament play, including topping Villanova easily, in the second round of the 1991 tournament.
But on Friday, the Tar Heels had to overcome an odd coalition of anti-UNC fans in the building, who were not shy in expressing their avid preference for a Villanova victory. Well represented at the game were a large contingent of Villanova fans, crosstown rivals from NC State who resent North Carolina's dominance, Wisconsin fans who had just seen their team advance by beating NC State, and fervently wanted the lower seed Villanova to advance to face the Badgers on Sunday, and local Syracuse fans who were presumably pro-Big East.Villanova finished arguably its best season in 17 years with a final record of 24-8, reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999 and the Sweet 16 for the first time in 17 years. Seven of the eight losses were by six points or less, and all were to teams that reached either the NCAA or NIT.
The Wildcats crushed then-second-ranked Kansas and upset nationally ranked Boston College and Pittsburgh at the Pavilion, as well as West Virginia, ranked at the time of the game and which made a Cinderella run of its own to the Elite Eight. The Wildcats also advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1988, defeating #12 New Mexico and #4 Florida in order to face #1 North Carolina.The Wildcats, playing without Curtis Sumpter, out with a torn ACL suffered in last week's second round victory over Florida, turned in a remarkably gallant effort, against a superior opponent. Villanova held the Tar Heels to just 67 points, the fewest it has scored in any of its previous 29 victories. In all North Carolina games, the only other lower one had been 66, for a team that had entered averaging 88.8 points a contest, and that game was the 77-66 season-opening loss to Santa Clara on Nov. 19, when point guard Raymond Felton didn't play due to rules violations. Randy Foye scored 28 points (just one below his season-high) to lead the Wildcats, while Kyle Lowry added 18 points and seven rebounds. For North Carolina, Rashad McCants led with 17 points, and center Sean May had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. A crowd of 30,916 watched the game, setting a NCAA record for an on-campus regional, eclipsing the mark also set at the Carrier Dome in 2000.I joined many other Wildcat fans upstairs, at the Wild Onion in Rosemont, Pa., where I watched the game with a packed house of passionate and raucous Villanova fans, who went home bitterly disappointed. Their disappointment was particularly aggravated by a controversial traveling call against Allan Ray, who had a potential game-tying three-point play disallowed, with 9.0 seconds remaining.
With North Carolina clinging to a 66-63 lead with just 9 seconds to go, it initially appeared that North Carolina's Rashad McCants had fouled Ray and the basket had counted, causing a momentary explosion of joy among 'Nova fans everywhere. However, the elation was short-lived, as it was ruled a travel and the basket nullified. Carolina was able to hold on and win by making free throws down the stretch. All three CBS analysts - Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg, and Seth Greenberg - in the New York studio immediately afterward, strongly disagreed with the official's call. However, it would not be fair to blame the call exclusively for Villanova's defeat, as-
- Ray still would have been required to make a free throw just to tie the score,
- The Wildcats would then have had to stop the Tar Heels on the final possession, and
- Then the Wildcats would have needed to win in overtime, and
- The overtime victory would have had to come without Mike Nardi, who had fouled out with 34 seconds to play, and with Randy Foye carrying four fouls (Foye would foul out in the final seconds of regulation after the travel call). It was the first foulout of the year for Mike Nardi in 30 games, as he had averaged just 1.5 fouls a contest all season.
Prior to the game, I suggested three key factors to watch for: perimeter shooting, rebounding, and Jawad Williams (please see "The Ultimate Villanova/North Carolina Preview, Part 3" for the details). I selected these because in North Carolina's rare losses this season, there was a noticeable downturn in each. Let's look at each in turn:- Perimeter Shooting: More than anything else, this doomed the Wildcats. North Carolina shot 42% from three-point range, while Villanova fired at just 29% (8-26).
- Rebounding: Villanova was badly outrebounded, sorely missing Sumpter in this department. The Tar Heels won the battle on the glass 38-29.
- Jawad Williams: Tremendous success on this one. Williams, who averaged 15 points/game in North Carolina victories, against just 7.5/game in defeats. Williams was limited to just 2 points against Villanova on 1-4 shooting, logging only 23 minutes.
For Villanova, Randy Foye led the way with a herculean effort, scoring 28 points (just one short of his season high) and undoubtedly opened a lot of eyes with his performance. Kyle Lowry also dazzled. In the starting lineup, the freshman scored 18 points and had seven rebounds against a much taller team.
Unfortunately, in Sumpter's absence, the Wildcats really could have used a stronger performance from frontcourters Will Sheridan and Jason Fraser, who combined for 62 minutes of play but scored just seven points.
Villanova needed another scoring option, since Ray continued his NCAA drought. Ray scuffled to a 2-14 shooting performance, the third straight subpar game for the second-team All-Big East player. With Sumpter on the bench (where he clearly borrowed some clothes from Coach Jay Wright's wardrobe, given how well dressed he was) and Ray cold as ice, Villanova desperately needed a third scoring option to accompany Foye and Lowry, but none was forthcoming. Hence defeat.For North Carolina, Rashad McCants led with 17 points, with all but two coming after intermission. While McCants was effectively shut down from the floor (he finished with just 3-9 shooting), he more than made up for it at the foul line, making nine of his 10 attempts.
Super-freshman Marvin Williams came off the bench to score 16 points and collect five rebounds. Sean May bulldozed his way to his 16th double-double of the season and the 11th in his last 13 contests. May finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds despite playing only 28 minutes due to foul trouble.
Felton finished with 11 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, and five assists, but also committed six turnovers, including fouling out on an incredibly ill-advised play on Nardi with two minutes to go, nearly leading Carolina to implode down the stretch. It was Felton's first foulout of the season, and only the third of his career. And given Carolina's performance after he went to the bench for good, the Tar Heels can ill-afford to have him do it again in St. Louis this weekend.Overall, Villanova won the turnover battle, one of the few statistical categories it dominated. The Wildcats forced 16 turnovers and committed just nine, although the last-second travel on Ray was the most costly turnover of the season. The nine turnovers were the fewest committed by any North Carolina opponent this season.
Villanova had some tough sledding to overcome, historically; it was the 27th time a #5 seed had faced a #1 in the Sweet 16, and the underdog has pulled off an upset only five times, including Michigan State's upset of Duke earlier in the evening.Congratulations to Jay Wright and the Wildcats on their tremendous season, as well as to Roy Williams and the Tar Heels on their advancing to the Elite Eight for the 21st time in UNC history.
Go Wildcats!
Back to March 30, 2009 -
Regardless of which team you supported in that game in 2005, I hope that you enjoyed this opening look back at the Villanova/North Carolina history in the NCAA tournament. Over the course of the week, I'll be writing up previous games in the all-time Villanova/North Carolina series, culminating the complete Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History. And of course, there will be a comprehensive preview of Saturday's Final Four clash - so please check back for more...
In the meantime...
You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-
Here is Part 2 of the Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History...
I'm looking at these two games together - North Carolina's Elite Eight victory in 1982 and Villanova's upset victory in Chapel Hill in 1983 - because of the fact that it was largely the same cast of characters for Villanova, certainly, and likely the same for North Carolina, as well...
For Villanova, the team that lost in the Elite Eight in 1982 and won in Chapel Hill the following year contained Ed Pinckney, Gary McLain, and Dwayne McClain - i.e., the three best players on the team that won it all three seasons later, in 1985. They were freshmen in 1982. Other key players on the 1982 team were Frank Dobbs, Stewart Granger, Aaron Howard, Mike Mulquin, and one of the all-time Villanova greats, John Pinone.
March 1982 - Elite Eight - #1 North Carolina 70, #3 Villanova 60
This was the first of four meetings between the schools in the NCAA tournament. Ironically, just like this year, the first one came with the Tar Heels as a #1 seed and Villanova as a #3 seed (although in the same region, in 1982, since it was the Elite Eight).
The field consisted of just 48 teams then (although the end of that era was fast approaching, as the field would expand to 64 teams in 1985, three seasons later). There were byes in the first round for the high seeds.
Accordingly, top-seeded North Carolina and third-seeded Villanova were able to bypass the first round. The Wildcats waited to see the outcome of #6 St. Joseph's and #11 Northeastern, while the Tar Heels would face the winner of #8 Ohio State and #9 James Madison.
As it turns out, both lower seeds won in the first round. And so there was no Holy War rematch in the second round of the NCAA tournament - @ Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, NY, #3 Villanova played #11 Northeastern instead, and was caught in a real battle, winning just 76-72. North Carolina had an even worse scare, with JMU nearly pulling off a huge upset - the Tar Heels eked out a 52-50 victory. The teams then visited Raleigh, NC - home of the rival NC State Wolfpack - for the Elite Eight.
In the Sweet 16, the Tar Heels held off #4 Alabama, 74-69, while the Wildcats bested #2 Memphis State (one of their NCAA-best 15 wins while the lower seed), 70-66.
The Wildcats - now led by Rollie Massimino - were hoping to reach their third Final Four and first since 1971, but were unable to get past a North Carolina team that featured such notables as James Worthy, Sam Perkins, and most famously, a freshman named Michael Jordan. The Tar Heels won, 70-60, and advanced to the Final Four. Once there, North Carolina got past a #6 seed, Houston, and defeated Georgetown (famously remembered as the game in which Georgetown's Fred Brown mistakenly passed the ball to a Tar Heel down the stretch...) to win the national championship for Dean Smith, the first of two he would capture.
However, during the regular season the following year (1982-83), Villanova would finally defeat North Carolina...
February 13, 1983 - Chapel Hill, NC - Villanova 56, North Carolina 53
Those Wildcats would go on to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season - but would be stymied once more in that round. The Wildcats received another #3 seed and a first-round bye, as well another second-round scare from a double-digit seed. #11 Lamar nearly upset Villanova in the second round in Houston, TX, with the Wildcats escaping with a 60-58 victory and moving on to Kansas City for the Sweet 16.
In the Sweet 16, Villanova won another nailbiter over another lower seed - #7 Iowa - 55-54. But in the Elite Eight, they couldn't overcome the top seed, #1 Houston, and were blown out, 89-71.
For its part, North Carolina ended up with a #2 seed, and they also reached the Elite Eight, where they were beaten by #4 Georgia.
The 1983 Wildcats squad had the same nucleus as the 1982 edition, with two historically significant additions: Harold Pressley and Dwight Wilbur, who would start on the 1985 team.
Over the course of the week, I'll be writing up previous games in the all-time Villanova/North Carolina series, culminating the complete Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History. And of course, there will be a comprehensive preview of Saturday's Final Four clash - so please check back for more...
In the meantime...
You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-
This is Part 1 of the Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History, as there will be much more detail about all of the 13 previous meetings, especially the four meetings in the NCAA tournament. In this entry, here are the first three occasions upon which the Wildcats and Tar Heels have tangled. After the 1968 meeting, the schools did not meet again until the 1982 NCAA tournament (which will be covered in Part 2 of the Villanova/UNC Rivalry History..) - December 29, 1955 - The Wildcats and Tar Heels meet for the first time, in Chapel Hill, NC. The Tar Heels have no trouble winning, 86-63.
- December 30, 1960 - On a neutral court, Carolina once again has no trouble, winning 87-67, in nearby Raleigh, NC - the home of the NC State Wolfpack, ironically.
- December 27, 1968 - On another neutral court, this time in New York, the Tar Heels triumph, 68-61.
December 29, 1955 - Chapel Hill, NC - North Carolina 86, Villanova 63
The inaugural meeting between the teams, in an unspecified holiday tournament in Chapel Hill. That Wildcats squad featured Thomas Brennan, James Fahey, Martin Milligan, Robert Powers, James Smith, and Lawrence Tierney... and legendary coach Alexander Severance, the founding father of Villanova basketball. In the subsequent two rounds, the Wildcats fell to Wyoming, before triumphing over Oregon State.
December 30, 1960 - Raleigh, NC - Dixie Classic - North Carolina 87, Villanova 67
Five years later, this second meeting came in Raleigh, NC, during the holiday season, in the Dixie Classic holiday tournament, hosted by NC State. The Tar Heels and Wildcats met in the second round, after the Wildcats had fallen to the host Wolfpack in the first round. North Carolina cruised past Villanova, 87-67. The Wildcats, in an extremely early game against eventual, 21st-century Big East member Marquette, managed to win the third game in Raleigh.
Key members of Severance's Wildcats team that year, were Bernard Chavis, Thomas Galia, James Huggard, Richard Kaminski - and most importantly, the legendary Hubie White, one of the all-time Villanova greats.
December 27, 1968 - New York, NY - Holiday Festival - North Carolina 69, Villanova 61Eight years after the second meeting, the Wildcats and Tar Heels met once more in a holiday tournament, although this was the first one outside of North Carolina. The Wildcats also had a different coach, as Jack Kraft now had the helm on the Main Line. But in the first round of the holiday tournament, the Wildcats fell, 69-61. (It was one of just five losses that season, against 21 victories.)
The Wildcats rebounded to defeat Holy Cross and Michigan in the later two rounds, and eventually qualified for the NCAA tournament - where they did have to go to North Carolina, where they lost to Davidson in the first round in Raleigh.It was a very talented Wildcats team - two seasons later, some of the players would play key roles in the 1971 team that went all the way to the national championship game, where Kraft's team would fall after a gallant effort against John Wooden's UCLA dynasty. Some Wildcats who took on the Tar Heels included Frank Gillen, Johnny Johns, Fran O'Hanlon, Sammy Sims, the legendary Howard Porter, and Bob Melchionni.The next battle between North Carolina and Villanova would have to wait for 13 years. In that time, a great deal changed in the college basketball landscape - and the Wildcats would have the opportunity to face North Carolina in the NCAA tournament for the first time - and a relatively unknown freshman Tar Heel, who went by the name of Michael Jordan...
The Jordan game, on March 21, 1982 - as well as Villanova's first win over North Carolina, in the regular season during the following year - will be the subject of Part 2 of the Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History...Over the course of the week, I'll be writing up previous games in the all-time Villanova/North Carolina series, culminating the complete Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History. And of course, there will be a comprehensive preview of Saturday's Final Four clash - so please check back for more...
In the meantime...
You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-Amidst all of the excitement of Villanova's first Final Four in 24 years, I wanted to take an opportunity to congratulate VUHoops.com for their fine efforts on behalf of the Randy Foye Foundation. They were able to raise $745 for that worthy cause, as they announced on Monday... and as many of you undoubtedly know, they do a great job covering the Wildcats.If you haven't had a chance to learn more about Foye's personal story, or the mission of the RFF, I'd encourage you to take a look at their web site...On the Final Four-Over the course of the week, I'll be writing up previous games in the all-time Villanova/North Carolina series, culminating the complete Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History. And of course, there will be a comprehensive preview of Saturday's Final Four clash - so please check back for more...
In the meantime...
You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-
The North Carolina Tar Heels, the top seed in the South Region, advanced to the Final Four by defeating #2 Oklahoma, in Memphis, on Sunday afternoon.
Shortly afterward, the NCAA announced that we would have the late game, and that tip time would be - approximately, since our game will be the second at the Detroit site -
8:47 PM on Saturday, April 4...
In the opener, at 6:07 PM, top seed Connecticut will take on #2 Michigan State, as the Spartans impressively upset top-seeded Louisville on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Final Four...
This will be the fifth time that Villanova and North Carolina have met in the NCAA tournament, and the first time in the Final Four. (There will be much more content on that particular topic - please check back for the full-fledged Villanova/North Carolina Rivalry History...)
In addition, I'll be posting very frequently throughout the week, on a number of Villanova/Final Four topics, including, but certainly not limited to:
- the glorious finish against Pittsburgh;
- Villanova/Georgetown in 1985;
- the controversial Sweet 16 loss to North Carolina in 2005;
- and a complete and thorough preview of the upcoming battle against the North Carolina Tar Heels... So check back for more content...
Also, I'd like to recommend that you also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes... the entire Villanova blogosphere has a lot to say on this incredible ride through the NCAA tournament...
Go Wildcats! Beat North Carolina!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful!!!- "The ball is tipped... and there you are..." (accompanied by trumpet flourishes)...
- OneShiningMoment.com
The CBS "One Shining Moment" montage, with the song performed by Luther Vandross, is a cherished part of the grand ritual of every March Madness. (Here's the 2008 "One Shining Moment" version, with a much wider screen...)
As each year's tournament progresses, veteran observers of the tourney will note the various and sundry buzzer-beaters, upsets, and thrilling endings and think, "That's going into 'One Shining Moment'."Well, even with the Final Four still yet to be played-
Scottie Reynolds has already etched himself a place, not just in the 2009 "One Shining Moment", but in the annals and lore of all subsequent NCAA tournaments...
After the initial euphoria, I considered the play in the context of the other incredible endings that have punctuated the tournament over the years. I realized that that the play was in fact very similar to the Tyus Edney coast-to-coast layup in 1995, in which UCLA avoided a second-round upset by Missouri, en route to its first national championship since John Wooden.
Nearly two decades later, the Edney play is still frequently featured in the CBS opening montage, and that was a second-round game - won by the favorite - UCLA was a #1 seed, Missouri an #8. In contrast, Villanova/Pittsburgh was in the Elite Eight, with the lower seed winning...
If CBS had scripted a "One Shining Moment", in fact, it couldn't have scripted one any more compelling or thrilling than the Reynolds layup... the only remote flaw in the script was the irritating fact that Pitt was subsequently granted 0.5 seconds, in which to undo the happy ending. That was very anticlimactic, though... and fortunately, Pitt played its role perfectly, by not making its own miracle shot to wreck the Reynolds layup...
As it turned out, that was the only potential problem in the story. One of the greatest aspects of the play is the fact that the Wildcats bench reacted as if the game were over, as they genuinely believed it to be. The fact that they hadn't realized there was still time on the clock, is what rendered the play as completely perfect for "One Shining Moment".
The shot from CBS's overhead camera, with which they closed the broadcast, of the exuberant Wildcats pouring off the bench onto the court, like a torrential blue-jerseyed wave, carried along by euphoria, and collapsing on Reynolds at the other end of the floor... it was among the most magnificent moments in the history of the NCAA tournament - and certainly in the CBS era of the NCAA tournament.
You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful!!!-
On Saturday, March 29, 2009, Scottie Reynolds - had his Villanova career ended the instant the buzzer sounded, of a loss to Pittsburgh (as it very well could have) what would we have said, about his time as a Wildcat?
Certainly, Reynolds would have been remembered as a Wildcat of great distinction. He would have been acknowledged as a standout player in the nucleus of Jay Wright's second great Villanova team of the early 21st century.
The first nucleus had been the "Four Freshmen" of Allan Ray, Randy Foye, Curtis Sumpter and Jason Fraser that went to the Elite Eight in 2006 and the Sweet 16 in 2005.
The second nucleus is the current team, that took Villanova to the NCAA tournament in 2007, the surprise Sweet 16 of 2008 (after the ordeal on the bubble), and the 2009 run...
But that is not how Scottie Reynolds will be remembered. Instead, he now stands with the immortals of the Villanova pantheon... and best of all - he can still add to the legend in Detroit at the Final Four...
Such is the nature of college basketball, where one shot can transform the fortunes of a player, a team, a school, a city, a state, a nation...
I would like to recommend a particularly well-written piece from Fanhouse.com's Jay Mariotti, for a detailed look at the circumstances of that shot... included with the article, there's a great photograph of the shot from Reynolds' perspective, taken from the opposite basket. The picture perfectly captures an outstanding view of the play:
Reynolds going up for the shot while Reggie Redding - who had inbounded the ball - and Dante Cunningham - who had accepted Redding's pass and flipped it to Reynolds - trail the play...
Reynolds walked onto the court at the new Boston Garden - the TDBanknorth Garden - as one of many great Villanova Wildcats in the course of the 89 years of the program's existence. Three hours, two halves, and one victory in the Elite Eight later, he left the court not just with a gray "Regional Champions" hat with a Block "V'", with a snippet of the net in the brim.
Reynolds left the court as a legend, who will never be forgotten... not as long as there is a Main Line, a Villanova University, as long as blue and white remain the colors, as long as the Wildcats ever take the court...
You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful!!!-The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers to reach the Final Four for the first time in 24 years!!!! Scottie Reynolds lays it in with 0.5 seconds left, to win it!!!!
MORE TO COME!!! GO WILDCATS!!!!!!!!!!
Update:
The Villanova Wildcats continue to astound, amaze, and astonish...
The third-seeded Wildcats upset top-seeded Pittsburgh, 78-76, on Saturday, catapulting the school into its fourth-ever Final Four and its first Final Four in 24 years, since the 1985 miracle run, that culminated in the victory over Georgetown...
The Wildcats relied on a balanced attack that saw four players - including the three senior starters - reach double figures:
- Dwayne Anderson (17 points, six rebounds, four steals)
- Scottie Reynolds (15 points, two rebounds, 7-7 FTs)
- Dante Cunningham (14 points, five rebounds)
- Shane Clark (11 points, four rebounds)
Of course, the play for which this game will be rightly remembered was Reynolds' coast-to-coast floating shot that dropped in with 0.5 seconds remaining, breaking the 76-all tie... and which is discussed in more detail in A Shot To Be Remembered Forever: Reynolds Takes His Place Among Villanova Legends ... and CBS's "One Shining Moment" Comes Early....The Wildcats had jumped out to an early 22-12 lead, before a determined run by Pittsburgh gave the Panthers a 34-32 lead at halftime... After building a 54-49 lead with less than 12 minutes to play, the score seesawed back and forth, with Pitt taking leads of 63-61 and 67-63, prior to the heart-stopping finishing act...
With the victory, Villanova adds 2009 to its previous Final Four appearances in 1939 (the first-ever Final Four), 1971, and 1985. The Wildcats, as a #3 seed, are the lowest remaining seed in the tournament, as fellow #3 seed Missouri was eliminated by #1 Connecticut earlier in the evening... Villanova's sole national championship came in 1985, while a #8 seed... Former coach Rollie Massimino was prominently in attendance in Boston; Jay Wright had served as an assistant while Massimino was on the Main Line... (ironically, so was former Georgetown coach John Thompson, doing radio for the game..)
It ensured that not all four #1 seeds return to the Final Four, which had never happened in the 1985-and-beyond 64/65-team field until 2008... the two other remaining #1 seeds, North Carolina and Louisville, may still reach the Final Four with wins later Sunday...
The Wildcats, champions of the East Region, will face either top seed North Carolina or #2 seed Oklahoma, the winner of the South Region, on Saturday, April 4... The Tar Heels and Sooners clash later on Sunday... Villanova was eliminated from the 2005 tournament in the Sweet 16 by North Carolina, which eventually won the tournament... Reynolds nearly attended Oklahoma, and wound up at Villanova after then-coach Kelvin Sampson opted to leave Oklahoma for Indiana...
Villanova has now won 15 games in the NCAA tournament as the lower seed, the most of any school - five in 1985 alone and two more this year... and possibly two more...
Check back for more - much, much, more...You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats! Next Stop - Detroit!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-
As we count down the minutes to the battle against Pitt, scheduled for 7 PM or so tonight on CBS...
According to the Pitt sports information game notes, this is only the fifth occasion where two Big East schools have met in the NCAA tournament. The Selection Committee makes every effort to ensure that schools from the same conference do not meet until at least the Elite Eight, and preferably not at all. Accordingly, the top five seeds from the Big East were scattered to try to avoid this scenario; only Villanova and Pittsburgh were kept together...
It is a testament to their precautions that three of the four previous occasions were in the Final Four; in addition, this is the first time it has happened since 1987. It happened twice that year and twice in 1985, when three Big East teams - Villanova, St. John's, and Georgetown, all reached the Final Four.
In 1987, Syracuse defeated Providence - with Louisville's Rick Pitino as coach and Florida coach Billy Donovan in the backcourt -- in the Final Four. Providence had previously beaten Georgetown in the Elite Eight, by the surprisingly large margin of 88-73 (that game had Georgetown coach John Thompson II facing his alma mater.)
In 1985, Georgetown defeated St. John's in the semifinals, but then was so memorably upset by Villanova in the title game, 66-64.
So now that we've looked at previous meetings between Big East schools in the NCAA tournament-
let's take a look at the Villanova/Pittsburgh Rivalry History...
The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 31-27. As members of the Big East, Pitt leads in regular-season meetings, 21-20. But Villanova has won six of the eight Big East tournament games, so that puts it 27-22, Villlanova, in games as Big East members...
The Wildcats have won two of the last three meetings, including the final college basketball game at the old Spectrum, when the Wildcats upset the then-#3 Panthers, 67-57, on Wednesday, January 28... However, the first meeting between the schools was nearly a half-century ago, long before the creation of the Big East...
February 11, 1960 - The Wildcats crushed the visiting Panthers, 76-49, at the Fieldhouse (now Jake Nevin).
January 25, 1961 - The following season, in the return visit to Pitt, the Panthers won a narrow 57-55 victory. The series then lay dormant for 16 years, which is surprising, given the geographical proximity.
The series resumed when both teams were in the Eastern Eight. The schools faced other seven times while they were in that conference, with Villanova capturing four of the seven meetings. Pitt was off the schedule for three seasons, from 1980-1982; in the interlude, the Big East formed, and Villanova joined it for the second season of play, in 1982-83.
January 12, 1983 - The teams meet for the first time as Big East members, and Rollie Massimino's Wildcats win easily, 66-48, @ Pitt.
March 8, 1984 - In their first clash in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden, Villanova triumphs, 75-65.
January 29, 1985 - The Panthers make their first visit to the Palestra to specifically face Villanova (as opposed Penn or other Big Five members). The Wildcats win 70-63...
March 2, 1985 - In one of the most famous losses - in hindsight - of Villanova history, the Wildcats fall in the regular-season finale @ Pittsburgh, 85-62. Why it was so memorable:
1985 marked the first year of the 64-team field in the NCAA tournament. Since it would be the first tournament with such a large field, nobody was entirely sure exactly what it would take to get into the field. (24 years later, as many schools and writers can attest to, it's still very murky.) Villanova was ending the regular season with a 23-point loss, and it was speculated that the dreadful game @ Pittsburgh down the stretch might give the Selection Committee a reason to omit the Wildcats from the expanded field...
March 7, 1985 - Five days later, in a rematch in the Big East tournament, Villanova wins 69-61...
In retrospect, the Wildcats were given a #8 seed, meaning that they were never endangered by the regular-season loss; it's possible that the subsequent win over Pitt might have helped offset it, but nobody was certain of that at the time...
January 16, 1986 - In their final visit to the Palestra, the Panthers fall 74-70.
February 4, 1987 - In their first visit to the brand-new Pavilion, Pitt escapes with a 58-57 victory.
March 12, 1988 - En route to the Elite Eight, the Wildcats avenge being swept in the regular season by Pitt, winning 72-69 in the Big East tournament.
February 19, 1994 - At Fitzgerald Field House, Villanova triumphs in double overtime, 93-88...
March 4, 1998 - In the opening round of the Big East tournament, the highlight of the rebuilding season - Villanova's only non-postseason team since 1993 - comes when Howard Brown hits a three-pointer in transition, at the buzzer of double overtime, to boost the Wildcats into the quarterfinals, 96-93.
January 19, 1999 - In the "jewel heist game", Pitt must play with a depleted squad after Panther players are alleged to have been involved with the theft of jewelry from the Radnor Hotel, where the team was staying for their visit to the Pavilion. Villanova cruises to a 86-65 victory.
That was the state of the rivalry, as the 20th century ended. Pittsburgh rebuilt successfully under Ben Howland, now the coach at UCLA. As it turned out, Pittsburgh was in the other Big East division for its renaissance, and Villanova was fortunate in often missing them on the schedule.
During the Jay Wright era, he has faced Pittsburgh ten times, going 4-6:
Groundhog Day, 2002 - @ Pitt - 71-59 loss.
March 9, 2003 - This game was legendary for taking place after the phone-code access scandal decimated Villanova, at the end of a highly disappointing season, the year the freshman quartet of Allan Ray, Randy Foye, Curtis Sumpter and Jason Fraser arrived on the Main Line. With a skeleton team of six players at the (one-third-full) Wachovia Center for the regular season finale, Wright's gallant Wildcats nearly stunned a top-10 Pitt squad, in what would have been among the greatest upsets in Big East history had it taken place. Wright employed the stallball tactics learned from his mentor Rollie Massimino, but Pitt ultimately prevailed, 56-54.
March 6, 2004 - @ Pitt - 59-45 loss.
February 20, 2005 - Wright finally beats the Panthers, 80-72.
March 10, 2005 - In the rematch in the Big East tournament, 'Nova wins again, 67-58.
March 10, 2006 - One year later, to the day, Pitt tops 'Nova, 68-54, in the BE tournament semifinals. The teams did not meet in the regular season. That game was the occasion when Allan Ray suffered a grievous eye injury early in the second half.You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats!
There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)
To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-
Here's the detailed analysis of the Villanova/Duke game action and CBS broadcast:
Duke scored the first five points, before Villanova counterattacked with the next 11... the best plays in this sequence were-
A steal from Cunningham at the top of the key, far away from the basket. He stole an errant pass from Kyle Singler, and went the other way for an emphatic breakaway dunk, to make it 5-4, Duke...
Cunningham took his 16-foot shot, and Shane Clark - knowing where the miss was headed, leapt and tipped it in, to make it 9-5...
At the under-16 minute timeout - 15:37 mark, Villanova was up 9-5... CBS showed the top-of-the-backboard angle going into the timeout, giving the viewer a good view of the tip-in...
Raftery: "Mike [Coach K] doesn't have as many buttons on his suit as Jay does... that's a distinct difference... Verne: "but he's got the wins, though..." Clark pulled the ball from Singler on the offensive boards, forcing a jump ball and keeping it with Villanova; after Nolan Smith picked up his second foul and went to the bench...
Anderson dunked on an uncontested lane - Redding had passed to Clark, and while it bounced off his hands, it went right to Anderson...15:02 - Fisher in for Clark... Lundquist tells the story about Duke point guard Greg Paulus - the team floor leader for a very long time - being benched in favor of Scheyer at the point and Elliott Williams, a freshman, being put in the lineup after a loss at Boston College...
13:33 - Redding blocks a shot by Scheyer as he drove to the hoop...
11:49 - TV timeout under 12 - Reynolds ricochets a Singler miss on a layup off the shooter, keeping the ball for Villanova... Cunningham posts up on Zoubek, but can't get it to fall...10:39 - CBS graphics- Villanova one turnover, Duke three at this point... Villanova 6/16 from the floor, Duke 3/12... Raft notes "a perfect triangle inside on the misses," after a Villanova rebound by Clark...
9:57 - Fisher is fouled by Henderson while shooting...hits two... Villanova, 15-11...
7:57 - Reynolds drives one-on-two, has layup roll out, but Cunningham on the follow, has the ball circle the rim before it drops - Villanova 17-13...
After miss, Duke is now 4/18 from the floor, 1/8 from three-point range...
7:30 - under-8 timeout, Villanova leads 17-13... Coming back, CBS camera goes to former coach Rollie Massimino in the seats... (Duke 4/18 from the floor) Verne notes that former Georgetown coach John Thompson II (on the wrong end of the 1985 miracle) was also there doing radio...7:02 - In the best play for Duke of the game, especially in retrospect, Williams drove and dunked while being fouled by Anderson, falling on his left hand... now 19-16...
Villanova, after Williams completed the three-point play... it was Anderson's second foul, he left and was replaced by Redding...Redding drove on Singler, laid it in, Raft said on the matchups, "it's a tough task for him to stop," having to guard Redding... Villanova 16 points in paint, Duke 6... 21-16 Villanova...
6:27 - Henderson committed his second foul as Fisher took a charge under the basket, and Henderson had to go to the bench..
5:58 - Cunningham picks up his first foul underneath on Singler.... who missed the front end of a one-and-one... on the next possession, he hits a three to cut it to 21-19...5:06 - Enormous call here - Cunningham probably charged Lance Thomas, but Villanova got the call - had Cunningham been nailed for his second foul, he'd have been forced to the bench also... instead Thomas went to the bench in favor of Zoubek... the two free throws made it 23-19...
Villanova, in the category of second-chance points - leads Duke 11-2...Fantastic defensive set on Villanova's part, as Duke failed to take a shot within the time allotted; Raftery accurately notes that it was the third possession where Duke had almost run out of time, and that it was great, sustained defense...
4:29 - Villanova two turnovers, Duke five turnovers...3:48 - Reynolds made an outstanding block on Scheyer, on a drive...
3:07 - Duke 6/23 from the floor, after the Blue Devils nearly ran out of time again, and Scheyer had to hoist another shot which failed to go down....
2:58 - under-four TV timeout, Villanova 24-19, Redding fouled by Zoubek underneath... after the free throws, 26-19...Blue Devil comes into view... Lundquist notes that Duke had started 5-0, then yielded a 11-0 run to Villanova... Stats at this point - VU 10/27 from floor, Duke 6/23 - Villanova 1/7 from 3 point range; Duke 2/11, Villanova 21 rebounds, Duke 15.... Anderson 8 points/5 rebounds; Scheyer 7 points/1/8 FG...
Raft notes that Smith and his two fouls had come back in, suggests that Scheyer might "play off the ball for a while... mix it up..." ...Points in paint - Villanova 18, Duke 6...
Singler hits jumper to cut it to 26-21; Verne notes Henderson 0-5 from the floor... and credits Redding for the clampdown defense, "for the most part..."
Singler in corner, well-guarded by Cunningham, rebound goes out of bounds to Villanova...
1:16 - scrum for ball at Duke's end, as Clark and Henderson both dove for the ball - Coach K was given a timeout that he probably shouldn't have gotten, as Henderson didn't clearly have possession...
CBS graphic shows Coach K moving into sole possession of first place in NCAA tournament games coached, with 93, as he passes his old, longtime nemesis, North Carolina's Dean Smith...
1:10 - Reynolds commits his second foul on Henderson; when Henderson made both, it was his first points, Duke now within 26-23; Stokes comes in for Reynolds... Verne discusses Jay and K's ties and personal connections, via international U.S. basketball... Lance Thomas charges Clark underneath, his second foul.... Raf speculates that "Duke is sort of working this till halftime, make some changes," which is ironic given that Duke lost the first half by three and the second half by 20...Jay calls timeout with 22.8 seconds left, 13 on the shot clock, after Duke knocks the ball out of bounds (the use-it-or-lose-it timeout...) Cunningham misses a shot coming out of the timeout, but Duke fails to score on the final possession, so 26-23 at halftime...
CBS shows some of Missouri crushing Memphis, has a shot of Singler driving on Anderson as they go to commercial...
Looking at the halftime box score...Villanova side: The Wildcats had shot 10/29 from the floor (34.9%) and 1/7 from beyond the arc, 5-5 from the line. Cunningham had seven points on 3/10 shooting, half a dozen rebounds... Anderson had half a dozen points, four rebounds in just nine minutes... Reynolds, Anderson, Stokes all had two fouls...
Duke side: The Blue Devils had shot 7/25 (28%) from the floor, 2/11 (18.2%) from beyond the arc, 7/10 from the line. Scheyer had 7 points on 1/8 shooting; Henderson had no field goals (0/5) and two points from the line, also had six rebounds... Duke had sunk into foul trouble; Thomas, Henderson, Smith and Zoubek all had two fouls...When CBS did the montage heading into the second half, they did a quick shot of the Blue Devil. Traditionally, he wears a white headband with a different message, always tailored to the occasion and in giant black capital letters.
Last night, he had written
- 'NOVA MEANS (upside down exclamation point) - NO GO! -
a reference to the fact that in Spanish, no va means "no go/it doesn't go" (I never studied Spanish, so I credit one of my classmates at a Pavilion game one time, who was fluent in Spanish, for telling me that the chant of 'Nova, 'Nova means "it doesn't go...")
Raft suggests that "Coach K might want to get it inside more," which is something that they weren't able to do ... CBS graphic shows Duke Big Three - Henderson, Singler, Scheyer - combining to shoot 3/20 FGs and 14 points...The half got off to an inauspicious start, when Anderson was whistled for his third foul on Villanova's first offensive possession...
Singler split Cunningham and Anderson to knock it in to cut the lead to 26-25 - CBS graphic - Villanova 20-1 when leading at halftime, but that we had no field goals in the last 5:07 of the first half...
In retrospect, this opening minute of the second half was the only one that even remotely went well for Duke in the second half. They were never able to take the lead, as Redding hit a driving layup to boost the lead back to 28-25...
18:24 - Seven Blue Devils had scored.... (graphic) no single Blue Devil had more than two field goals...18:00 - Redding to Clark in transition for a layup - great play... that causes Coach K to take the first called timeout (hence full timeout) of the second half at 17:54 - as Raft pointed out, all the Duke players were focused on the opposite end - the Villanova partisans started to vociferously cheer... It was 32-25, Villanova - Verne points out that it matched the Wildcats' largest lead...
Raft breaks down the failure to cover in transition after coming back... CBS - Graphic - Villanova has 13 (now 14) wins as the lower seeded team in the NCAA tournament, the most of any program... five came in 1985...
Clark picks up two more quick fouls... now has three... Antonio Pena makes an appearance, his first of the night...
17:38 - Cunningham 2nd PF on Thomas 1 of 2 FTs-... 32-26, Villanova Duke sets up a full court press... I think that this play symbolized the night... the Wildcats broke the press easily, Redding quickly found Pena on a backdoor cut, and Pena put it on the floor and then dunked, uncontested, to make it 34-26...
On Duke's next possession, at 17:07 - Thomas missed a layup, committed his third foul trying to rebound it, on Cunningham....
16:58 - Henderson picks up his third foul reaching in, Verne described it as a frustration foul after another empty trip...
16:50 - Reynolds floats it in while falling away on a layup... 36-26... ('Nova has now made all five second half shots...)
After Smith is forced to take another bad shot, as Duke nearly commits another shot-clock violation. When the ball bricks off the front rim, the Wildcats get back in transition, with great ball movement from Redding (the rebound) to Pena (dish underneath) to Anderson (who misses a shot) to Cunningham - who rebounds it, misses, and in the ensuing chaos, the Wildcats dive with more effectiveness and keep the ball in Duke's end out of bounds, triggering the under 16 timeout with 15:57 to play and a 36-26 lead...
15:41 - Paulus had been on the bench, was finally put back in and hits a three... 38-29 Villanova - ended a 12-1 run.... Paulus throws the ball away across the court... Smith picks up his third foul - Reynolds walks off the court grimacing... Redding backdoor cuts from Anderson - 40-29... FGs - Villanova 7/9 - Duke - 2/714:15 - Cunningham miss and in - Villanova crowd cheering... 8-11 FGs in the second half for Villanova...
13:53 - Henderson - fourth foul... to the bench - Zoubek in - 42-29 - Ellliott Williams foul
13:26 - Clark hits free throw... 45-31 Villanova (19-6 run in last 6:00)
13:08 - 45-33 - Duke used timeout on defense to set up the press...Montage of Wildcats driving to the hoop - Villanova has 36-16 advantage in points in the paint...
12:51 - Reynolds back in - 45-33 - 9/12 Villanova, 4/12 Duke
Paulus's pocket picked by Fisher, who is immmediatey fouled by Paulus...
Raftery compares Wright to George Clooney... Verne: "I'll tell you who he doesn't look like - Rollie Massimino...."
12:22 - Wildcats break press - Fisher drives lane - 49-33... Verne suggests a" certain sense of inevitability"... Raf: "They can't afford trips w/o shots"... after turnover (Duke's 4th of half...)
Scheyer, after steal, doesn't get the layup to fall in transition...11:20 - Zoubek puts it back - Duke cuts it to 49-35...
10:44 - Villanova 1/10 3 PtFG%...
10:41 - under 12 timeout - Williams fouled .... 49-35 - chest-bumping clip on the way to timeout...Williams to the line.... makes both... 49-37 (Henderson still on bench, 0/7 from field)10:20 - Thomas called for fourth foul, trying to prevent Cunningham from rebounding on the offensive end... Henderson comes back in for Zoubek... DC makes both - 51-37 (10/10 from the line for Villanova - 10/14 for Duke...)
10:07 - Singler drives and is fouled by Redding (3rd PF)... 51-40... Reynolds takes a quick, terrible shot... Scheyer open in the corner, misses... Redding drives early and takes a terrible shot as well... Henderson shoots and misses, Pena rebounds... Singler fouls Reynolds on the offensive end - SR hits both - 52-40, 9:20 to play...
Raft suggests that the "rushing shots, are giving Duke hope" - 'Nova still perfect from the line...
8:47 - Redding, at the end of a great possession, takes the wide-open shot that Duke gives him and hits a three that really helped to stymie a comeback - 56-40...8:05 - Duke finally makes a three - 56-43, Villanova
7:58 - Smith picks up what Verne describes as a "third cheap foul", his fourth overall, in the Villanova backcourt.. under 8 timeout - Villanova, 56-43...Graphic - Points in paint - Villanova 38 - Duke 20... 3FGs... Villanova 2/13 - Duke 4/19
Raf thinks that Wright "looks like a mannequin half the time." Verne - "Picture perfect?" Raf: "It's envy, I'll admit..."
Duke turns it over, very egregiously - Williams fires the ball diagonally across the court and there is no receiver...
7:17 - Paulus comes back in for Williams...
7:07 - another 3 rims out...
6:47 - another miss in transition....6:44 - Stokes 2 FTs - 58-43 Villanova (graphic FG- 3/25 Henderson & Scheyer; 11/23 the rest of the Blue Devils...
6:34 - Anderson picks up fourth foul and heads out .. Raf thinks "this is still gettable. Two 3s and you're back in the hunt..." - Singler hits one free throw - 58-44...
6:25 - Verne talks up the Palestra... "MacArthur Court reminds me of the Palestra - it's one of those great places you should - if you're in our business, you ought to be lucky enough to do a game there..." Reynolds hits two - 60 -44
Verne: "long six minutes for Jay Wright"...6:12 - Jay looks extremely agitated as a result of the foul... Henderson who still has no field goals, at the line...5:44 - Duke has four shots on a possession, fails to score, and then fouls Cunningham trying to rebound... that was another moment that typified the night for Duke...5:32 - Cunningham 1/2 FTs... Raf talks up Rollie, Steve Lappas...
Henderson - at 5:20 - makes his first shot, after a dozen shots...
5:18 - Coach K uses timeout for defense... 64-49 - Duke presses, Villanova moves it down the floor... Wildcats and Reynolds milk shot clock down to 3, by the time Cunningham gets the dish from SR and is fouled by Paulus (his third), shot goes in, misses the FT - 66-49 Villanova...
4:30 - Reynolds pullup jumper in transition, which was an immediate shot - 68-49 (it was a bad shot selection, even though it went in, due to the large lead...)4:13 - Clark inexplicably fouls out, fouling with a 19-point lead and 4:13 to go, taking one of Villanova's best defenders off the floor... (If the game had been closer, it might have been significant..)
Verne: "It must seem like a long time ago to Duke that they had a 5-0 lead..." Raf notes the low shot clock time and the bad shots Duke had to take to avoid shot clock violations - Scheyer hits one foul shot -68-50... Duke presses, Villanova takes the clock down to 17 before Redding takes a shot, a miss... Redding ricochets the ball off a Blue Devil to keep possession.... under 4 timeout
3:42 - Villanova 68-50... Graphic noting the Big East is first conference ever to have five teams in Sweet 16 (although, in fairness, there are 16 teams in the conference... Duke presses, 'Nova turns it over this time... (VU 43% from floor, Duke 27%)
3:15 - Henderson misses again...(7 pts... 1/13 FGs) Duke now shooting 15/57 FGs....2:28 - Stokes hits three from corner - 71-50, Villanova...
Cunningham fouls Singler - graphic shows Cunningham w/ 14 pts/11 rebs, Kyle Singler w/13 pts 5/13 FG - Chevrolet players of the game...
Verne notes that the last Villanova win in the series was Dec. 20, 1958, at the Palestra, and that George Raveling was the leading rebounder for Villanova that year - Raf had guessed Jack Devine, when asked who the leading rebounded had been for the 1958-59 team - laughs when he hears the answer: "the Rav"...
Duke shooting a season-low FG pct - 30.8% at this point...
1:54 - Pena fouled - Paulus's 4th PF... Pena makes both FTs.... CBS officially moves Villanova ahead in the bracket, along with Pittsburgh...
73-52... Smith lays it in for Duke's final points... 73-54...
1:25 - Tchuisi and Colenda come in - all starters come out... Colenda inbounds the ball - Pena/Stokes/Fisher/and Tchiusi join him on the floor - Tchuisi puts back a Stokes miss... 75-54...50.8 seconds - Villanova takes possession after Duke air ball... #13 Olek Czyz comes in for Duke, replacing Paulus....
26.0 seconds - Tchuisi dunks on a feed from Stokes... Villanova 77-54.. At the end of the game, Nolan Smith steals the ball from Fisher, who was understandably not bothering to defend it, l with less than two seconds left - Smith's shot is fired and goes in, but it is properly waved off..You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...
Go Wildcats!
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