Other Blogs' Previews for #5 Villanova/Penn City Series Opener, This Evening at the Pavilion

To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-

A number of the other fine Villanova blogs, have assembled tremendous previews, for this evening's game, between the Wildcats (1-0 overall) and the Penn Quakers (this is their season opener) ....   Take a look at what they had to say, thus far- 

Villanova by the Numbers - Penn Preview


greyCat does his usual superb job, with a particularly long analysis... Here's a sample:

The Wildcats and Quakers face off in the opening game of the 59th renewal of Philadelphia's famed Big 5 series, at the Pavilion on Villanova's campus. The series, held annually since 1955, pits (a period during the 1990s excepted) Philadelphia's four city colleges (La Salle, Penn, St. Joseph's and Temple) and Villanova in a round robin series of games that, in the period before conferences, often reached a climax as each season ended. Today, Villanova typically plays most, if not all, of their Big 5 slate before they launch into the Big East regular season. This season is unusual in that Villanova will play 2 of their 4 rivals even before the end of November.

...Should the Wildcats beat the Quakers, they will have notched at least 30 wins in the decade, and be guaranteed a winning percentage no worse than 0.750. Villanova has won the City Series 5 times since 2004, sharing the title twice during that run (2005 & 2008, both times with Temple). Villanova leads their series with Penn, 39-17, and puts a six game winning streak versus Penn on the line...

What Others Say...

...Blue Ribbon projects the the Quakers to finish 3rd in the Ivy League -- an improvement over last season's #7 finish (in the 8 team Ivy League) -- and gives the backcourt a B, the frontcourt a C and the bench/depth a C. Rush the Court writer Dave Zeitlin also projected Penn as the 3rd place team in his Ivy League preview, citing the return of Andreas Schreiber and Darren Smith as reasons to look for Coach Miller to have a solid starting line up. But Harrison Gaines' departure will have the Quakers looking for scoring from the remaining members of the rotation.

I Bleed Blue and White -  preGame: #5 Villanova vs. Penn 

A sample from Chris's preview:

What I Want To See: The defense that came out in the 2nd half against FDU. That was an embarrassing performance in the opening 20 minutes. Chalk it up to pregame jitters for the team, but that can’t happen again, especially in a Big 5 game. Villanova is the hated school in the Big 5, and Penn will be gunning to ruin their night. Suffocate their perimeter shooting early and build a lead and then put the nail in the coffin.

And, last but not certainly not least, of course, VUHoops, which has posted A Look at Penn, authored by derp....  This is a very substantive preview, breaking down each Quaker player, for example.  Here's another sample from the end of the preview:

Penn lost their first game this season to Penn State by a score of 70-55. The Quakers really struggled to contain Taylor Battle, meaning the quicker Villanova guards could give Penn trouble on the defensive end. Given Villanova is arguably the toughest game on the Penn schedule and is a local rival, expect the Quakers to give the Wildcats everything that they have. This does not seem to be a team that will beat themselves and has a good amount of veteran leadership.

The Quakers do not have many incredibly big players with no one taller than 6’9, but boast 12 players 6’6 or taller, so Villanova will have to play relatively big or hope their athleticism allows them to compensate for a lack of height on the defensive end and rebounding if they play small.

Penn definitely could give Villanova a tough game with their experience and ability to convert from the stripe if/when some of the Wildcats younger big men foul, but based on the Wildcats recent history in the Big 5 and against the Quakers, superior talent level, and Penn’s recent loss to a Penn State team that most would agree does not have near the talent that our Wildcats have, I would expect a Villanova victory by a relatively large margin. As Fairleigh Dickinson showed us in the first half on Friday, however, a hungry team with less talent (and some good experience in the case of Penn) can cause these somewhat inexperienced Wildcats problems.

Of course, to read the full versions, just follow the respective links above.... And I'll have a complete wrapup of the Penn game, after the conclusion of tonight's City Series opener...

Go Wildcats!



E-mail  - villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com

Donovan Who? Villanova Wins Holy War LXII, Stopping St. Joe's at Pavilion

Donovan Who? Less than 24 hours after the Eagles' demise in Super Bowl XXXIX, the #22 Wildcats were making their case as an alternative for grieving Philly-area fans, hanging on at the historic Palestra for an ugly 67-52 victory over St. Joseph's in Holy War LXII.

It was the 62nd meeting in the Holy War, a series which dates all the way back to Villanova's first season, 1920-21, and it was Villanova's 39th victory in it. Granted, it did not feature Charlie Daniels, Alicia Keys, Sir Paul McCartney, two former Presidents, VU alumnus Howie Long, or Freddie "The Sultan of Slot" Mitchell. (Come to think of it, Sunday night's spectacle almost didn't feature Mitchell, either. But that's another story.) It did not attract 86.1 million viewers on ESPN2.

But there were some plus sides as well. You didn't have to pay $5,000 to see it, or fly to northeastern Florida, and there was surprisingly balmy February weather in Philadelphia. The Palestra was packed. There were no drunken hordes of Eagles fans, chanting six particular letters incessantly. And in many ways, it was morbidly entertaining.

But most importantly, compared to Super Bowl XXXIX, it had a much more satisfying ending. Villanova snapped a two-game losing skid to its crosstown rival, in a contest which was once again part of ESPN's "Rivalry Week" promotion and aired nationally on ESPN2 for the fourth consecutive season. Villanova completed Big Five play with an impressive 3-1 record, and improved its overall mark to 14-5. St. Joseph's, just a year removed from a #1 national ranking and 4-0 City Series sweep, fell to 1-2 City Series and 11-9 overall. As a result, the Hawks are likely headed to the NIT come March unless they win the Atlantic 10 tournament.

The Wildcats now have a great chance at winning or sharing the Big Five crown thanks to their three wins. At this point, it's all in the hands of Temple, currently 2-0 and the only city team to defeat the Wildcats. If the Owls defeat both St. Joseph's and La Salle, they win the title outright; if they split, the Owls and Wildcats share the crown; if they lose both, Villanova captures it.

Jason Fraser was the clear-cut star of the game for Villanova, coming off the bench to score 14 points, grab 14 rebounds, and block two shots in 29 minutes of action, despite still playing with a heavily bandaged hand. Curtis Sumpter scored a team-high 15 points on 6-13 shooting and had seven rebounds to go with them. Allan Ray added 14 points and five assists, while Randy Foye narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds (albeit on dreadful 3-15 shooting).

For St. Joseph's, Pat Carroll ended up as one of the two highest scorers of the game, despite missing his first 13 shots. Carroll finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, but did so on horrible 4-19 shooting from the floor. Chet Stachitas was the only other Hawk that managed to score more than five points; he matched Carroll's 16. Four different Hawks each ended up with five points.

Nobody would confuse this game, with one that was well-played, as the teams combined to commit 44 personal fouls, 22 each.. Particularly in the second half, it seemed impossible to go longer than a minute without a whistle. There was nothing wrong with the officiating, it was just an ugly game with a lot of bricks, producing short rebounds with tussling under the hoop - and consequently, many fouls called. Will Sheridan fouled out with over seven minutes to go, playing just seven minutes and failing to score. Of Villanova's seven key players, only Kyle Lowry finished with less than three fouls.

The Hawks were hopelessly inept in the first half, scoring just 16 points and finishing the half shooting a pitiful 16% from the floor. Not from beyond the arc, from the FLOOR - they had just four field goals on 25 attempts, and as noted above, Carroll, their best player, missed his first 13 shots. 'Nova easily built a 25-16 lead at the break.

Villanova seemed on the verge of a blowout, similar to the 2002 game at the Pavilion when the Wildcats handed the Hawks a historic 102-73 defeat. The Wildcats padded their lead to 34-16 shortly after intermission, and then increased it to 41-20 on a layup by Ray, in what would be their largest lead of the game. The Hawks and their fans, were as deflated as the Eagles and their fans, around 10 PM Sunday night.

The Hawks, however, did make the game unpleasantly interesting as the second half continued. The largely pro-SJU crowd, which had sat on its hands for most of the game as the Hawks missed shot after shot, began to assert itself. After trailing by 21, SJU actually carved the deficit down to eight in less than five minutes. Carroll hit a three-pointer and two free throws and reduced the 'Nova lead to just 47-39 with 7:02 to play. It might not sound that impressive, but SJU had been playing in quicksand for the entire game up until that point and was having to move boulders just to score. The Hawks had only 20 points with less than 13 minutes to play in the GAME, up until that point, and then they scored 17 in less than five minutes.

It was quite hot in the Palestra, due to the unseasonably warm temperatures and the large crowd. And soon the volume began to match the temperature. The fans, which were about 80% for SJU, began to roar as if the Hawks were AHEAD. A visitor who had just walked in at that moment, would never have believed that the home team was eight points down. Or that they had been abysmal, for the vast majority of the game. The parity-inducing, upset-minded ghosts of the Palestra's glorious past appeared ready to awaken, and potentially destroy Villanova's tournament hopes with a stunning loss after being up by 21 in the second half. (Villanova has benefited from them, before, of course, but this time the Wildcats were expected to win and so it was best that they stay quiet.)

Fortunately, the Wildcats quelled the uprising, pulling away after letting the Hawks hang around for another minute or so. Over the next six minutes, Villanova went on a 14-4 run, and suddenly the Hawk fans found themselves looking up at the wrong end of a 61-44 reading on those awesome, old-school black scoreboards at either end of the building. The Hawk fans made for the exits - it was over.

Probably the most entertaining event of the contest took place during that span. During one of the timeouts, both sets of cheerleaders came out to do the "hold-the-cheerleader-up" competition. In the meantime, the Hawk and Wildcat began a beak-to-whiskers confrontation. After the two mascots ended their mock battle, the cheerleaders for both sides were still up. Then the players from both teams emerged from the timeout and tried to resume play. Still up. Finally, the officials had to intervene and ask that the cheerleaders voluntarily stand down so that the game could continue. The VU cheerleaders immediately complied, but the SJU crowd mistakenly thought that they had actually won the competition and began cheering again in raucous fashion.

I thought that there would be a certain quiescence to the crowd, almost like a coma, after the painful loss on Sunday. Essentially, that it would be a wake, but one that just happened to have 9,000 visitors all come at once, dressed not in dark suits, but in varying shades of crimson, navy blue, and midnight green.

But the crowd was more spirited than I had expected, after the Super Bowl outcome. Of course, I thought that many fans would come dressed in Eagles gear, as a final gesture of defiance, but midnight green/silver/black attire was surprisingly minimal. One fan chose to represent, by displaying both loyalties - he appeared in a Villanova #20 Brian Westbrook jersey, to honor 'Nova's favorite Eagle. Phil Martelli and Jay Wright, both Philadelphia natives and Eagles fans, had reportedly agreed not to practice on Sunday, so that everyone on both sides could enjoy the game in peace.

Another pleasant aspect of the timing of this game, was that the Philadelphia media - engorged for two full weeks in the round-the-clock Eagles coverage, flying to Jacksonville, and trying to read T.O.'s X-rays - had literally no opportunity to criticize Villanova for its collective sins in the usual pre-Holy War fashion.

But unlike the media, the fans weren't at all quiet, on either side. The Hawk fans also brought no fewer than six rollouts; their offerings were:

"Jay Wright: Best Dressed Coach in the NIT" In another difference between the Super Bowl and tonight's Holy War, it is unthinkable that the dapper Villanova coach would ever suffer a "wardrobe malfunction" of any kind.

"Rocky VI: Starring Kyle Lowry" Lowry was ejected, for firing a left jab to Kansas Jayhawk Jeff Hawkins in the glorious annihilation of then-#2, undefeated Kansas two weeks ago, and served a mandatory one-game suspension.

"Nova's Still Hiding Osama" At the last Palestra game, two years ago, the Hawk fans had suggested that Villanova was harboring the fugitive al-Qaida leader, somewhere on campus. Tonight, the 20% Villanova portion of the crowd chanted, "U-S-A", in response.

"Rollie, Lappas, DuPont - 'Nova Legends"

This was a bit puzzling, as it's tough to see how bringing up Rollie's name would be much of an insult. The genuinely legendary Roland V. Massimino won 357 games at Villanova, including a national championship, five Elite Eights, 11 NCAA bids and 20 tournament victories from 1973-1992. Daddy Mass also beat St. Joe's regularly, as Villanova won 12 out of 18 meetings with the Hawks during his 19 years at the helm. (Granted, the vast majority of those wins came before current SJU students were born.) And even the much-maligned Steve Lappas, now at Massachusetts, went 4-2 against SJU while he was here. (For those of you who did not arrive on campus till after the Clinton era, the final name is a reference to one John Eleuthere DuPont. He was a bizarre millionaire, the wealthy, murderous, military-tank-riding, former namesake of the Pavilion, who made Howard Hughes look like an easygoing, relaxed fellow, when it came to keeping the germs away and enjoying life. In 1996, DuPont attained infamy for killing a former U.S. Olympian on his Pennsylvania estate, leading to the removal of his name from the Pavilion in 1997.)

"One Team, One Coach, One Week in the Top 25" For those of you who have moved out of town, a reference to the Eagles' ubiquitous "One" slogan - "One Team, One City, One Dream"- for the ill-fated Super Bowl. It is already out-of-date, as the AP actually saw fit to ELEVATE Villanova to #22, from #24, despite just a 1-1 week.

and the standard "The Hawk Will Never Die".

Another sign attempted to get the network's attention with "(E)very (S)nob (P)lays (for) ('N)ova."

Of course, there were some diehard references to the events of the previous night in Jacksonville. During the halfcourt shooting contest, the SJU student was given three tries at the goal, and the guy came pretty close on the first two, hitting the rim twice. Prior to his third attempt, he ostentatiously stood on the ball with one foot at center court and paid homage to Terrell Owens, flapping his arms like an Eagle (as opposed to a Hawk) to the loud approval of the crowd. The SJU band, after the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt, played "Fly, Eagles, Fly".

And naturally, this game will always be remembered by Philadelphia fans, as "The Game After the Super Bowl"; it won't be remembered as a classic for the 44 fouls or the lackluster final four minutes.

After two games in three days, the Wildcats will enjoy some time off, before facing #8 Syracuse at the Wachovia Center on Saturday. It was bad luck that Syracuse had a tough loss to #19 Connecticut tonight, and will likely be looking to take it out on someone.

Lowry Debuts as 2004 Ends, Wildcats Quell Quakers At Pavilion on New Year's Eve

Call it Jay Wright's New Year's Rockin' Eve. While Regis Philbin didn't grace the Pavilion with his presence, it was still a memorable end to the year. And on the day when the seemingly ageless Dick Clark remained on the DL, Kyle Lowry emerged from it. Lowry, who had been sidelined all year with a knee injury, came off the bench to score five points in 17 minutes - including an incredible layup while being fouled - helping Villanova roll to a 74-64 victory over the Penn Quakers at the Pavilion, where the Quakers have never gone home triumphant. Ironically, as 2004 came to an end, Lowry's Villanova career began - in a highly auspicious way.

It was a matinee game for the New Year's Eve crowd, with a 4 PM tipoff. Villanova also went this route two years ago, taking on Temple on New Year's Eve 2002 - and it worked, coming away with a 70-62 victory. It was Villanova's fifth-ever New Year's Eve game, and the Wildcats are now 4-1 on December 31 all-time.

Curtis Sumpter continued his powerful play. The junior forward rocked the house for 16 points and 13 boards, despite scuffling to a disastrous 3-11 shooting afternoon; his outstanding 9-10 performance from the foul line converted what could have been a disastrous day into just another full stat sheet for Sumpter. Randy Foye also struggled from the floor, going just 5-15, but still managed to score 15 points. Allan Ray also reached double figures with 14 points. Jason Fraser continued to contribute significantly, just missing a double-double by recording nine points and nine rebounds in just 18 minutes before fouling out. For Penn, Ibrahim Jaaber scored a game-high 22 points, with three other Quakers reaching double figures.

Success at the foul line was the key to the Wildcats' victory. Villanova went to the line a lot (38 attempts) and was very accurate (converting 28 of them, a formidable 74%). They also pummeled Penn on the glass, outrebounding the smaller Quakers by a 41-26 margin.

Villanova improved its record to 7-1 overall, and 2-1 in City Series competition. Unless Temple sweeps the Big Five (the Owls are currently 2-0 with games remaining against St. Joseph's and La Salle), Villanova can clinch at least a share of the Big Five title, by defeating St. Joseph's at the Palestra in January. It was sizzling 'Nova's sixth straight victory; the Wildcats have not lost since the Big Five Classic at the Palestra, when they fell to Temple on December 4. The Quakers dropped to 4-4 overall, 1-2 City Series. Rust may have played a role; the Quakers hadn't played since December 8, a very lengthy layoff.

Granted, it wasn't a typical Big Five game, and not just because it wasn't at the Palestra. These games, the really memorable ones, are the nailbiters that leave you marveling even years later about a last second shot that went in or not, and who shot it. This wasn't one of those games. Villanova never trailed in the contest, and while Penn made a spirited charge down the homestretch, there was a sense that the bigger and more talented Wildcats were not going to let this one slip away from them. After trading baskets in the early going, Villanova built a substantial, 36-25 lead by intermission, their largest lead of the half- and they were able to make it stand up. Villanova had 17 bench points and 7 second-chance points in the first half alone. And the Quakers, despite improved play, won the second half by just one point.

Villanova's lead peaked at 13 points, when Sumpter singlehandedly took over the game, scoring five straight points (a pair of free throws followed by a three-pointer) to increase 'Nova's lead to 52-39 with 11:05 remaining. The Quakers responded with a 12-4 run, making it interesting for a little while. Penn pulled to within 56-51 with 7:15 to go, after Jaaber stole the ball from Foye and laid it in.

Fortunately, Villanova counterattacked with a 7-0 run of its own, including five free throws. Just as quickly, the Quakers were back down 63-51 with just 5:38 to play and the Wildcats were firmly back in charge. Penn never drew closer than seven points away for the balance of the contest.

Villanova now leads the long series with its ancient rival by a margin of more than two to one, holding a commanding 35-17 advantage. The first game took place on January 7, 1922, in Villanova's second year of intercollegiate competition, with the Quakers winning 27-23. Surprisingly, the series then lay dormant for 34 years, until the Big Five was organized in the mid-1950s. The vast majority of these games, regardless of whom was formally the home team, have been at the Palestra; only in recent times has the game shifted elsewhere. This was only Penn's fifth visit to the Pavilion, and its first in the new millennium; the last game there was February 23, 1999, when a Howard Brown/John Celestand team kept its NCAA hopes (ultimately realized) alive with a hard-fought 73-63 victory.

Although Penn had won two of the last three games prior to this one, Villanova had dominated the series over the past generation. Since 1975, including today, Villanova has gone 21-5 against the Quakers and has also won seven of the last nine contests.

The Wildcats will open Big East play against West Virginia on January 5, on what is being billed as "Turn Back the Clock to the '70s Night". ESPN plans to broadcast the game with the graphics and overall tone of a 1979 broadcast, and former VU coach Rollie Massimino will call the game. It will complete a five-game Pavilion homestand for Villanova.

Villanova Holds La Salle to Just 43 Points in City Series Victory at Palestra, Winning by 11

Relying on trademark tenacious defense, Villanova overcame some atrocious outside shooting and got past Philadelphia rival La Salle, 54-43, on Saturday afternoon at the Palestra. Not since FDR was in the White House, has Villanova held the Explorers to fewer points than they did today. The 43 La Salle points were the fewest against the Wildcats, since La Salle won a tight 29-23 contest in March 1935, just the third-ever game in this long, cherished rivalry. It will most assuredly not be included in the annals of the Big Five as a particularly well-played game by either side, let alone a classic contest to savor for years in one's memories. And it wasn't really close or exciting at any point. However, both teams played hard and it was morbidly fun to watch, with a lot of turnovers, mistakes, loose balls, and long rebounds.

Villanova held La Salle to only 43 points, by playing stellar defense from the floor. The Wildcats, who entered the game ranked 4th nationally in field goal percentage defense and 9th nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense, actually IMPROVED their numbers in those departments. The Explorers were held to a measly 29% (11-38) from the floor and a pathetic 1-11 (9%) from beyond the arc. None of Villanova's four opponents have scored more than 53 points this season, and three of them have been held to 50 or fewer. That is a powerful formula for success over the long grind of the winter campaign.

Villanova also crushed the smaller Explorers on the glass and in the paint, outrebounding La Salle 44-25. The Wildcats particularly clobbered La Salle on the offensive boards, pulling down 22 offensive rebounds to 7 for the Explorers. It helped that La Salle's 6-10 Lewis Fadipe played just five minutes and still managed to foul out.

The sole bright spot for La Salle was junior forward Steven Smith. Hailed as arguably the best player in the city, Smith showed why. Despite having virtually no help from his teammates, Smith finished with a game-high 19 points and just missed a double-double with eight rebounds, and also shot a perfect 6-6 from the line (although he also committed nine turnovers, partially because he was defended so intensely). No other Explorer scored more than nine points.

For Villanova, Curtis Sumpter carried the standard with 16 points and also narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards. Allan Ray had a so-so day from the floor (4-9 shooting overall and 1-6 from beyond the arc) but it was good enough for 11 points. But far and away the best news for Villanova fans was the performance of Jason Fraser. Fraser's knee had swelled up after the Monmouth game on Tuesday and he was relegated to coming off the bench today as a result. But Fraser showed no ill effects, having a tremendous game. Fraser played 22 minutes, scoring nine points, grabbing six rebounds and swatting four La Salle shots (the only flaw being a pair of three-second violations). Marcus Austin also played well off the bench, scoring half a dozen points and collecting four rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

Of course, it wasn't all good news. Against a very weak opponent, 'Nova managed just 54 points. The Wildcats shot a dreadful 2-18 from three-point range (11%) - but La Salle's 9% was even worse. And La Salle took even worse care of the ball than 'Nova did today; the Wildcats had 17 turnovers, but the Explorers surpassed it with 20 miscues (against just six assists).

Villanova improved to 3-1 overall, 1-1 City Series, and kept their hopes alive for a potential Big Five title. The Explorers fell to 1-5 overall, 0-2 City Series; the Explorers had dropped a decision to Penn last Saturday at the Palestra, prior to Villanova's heartbreaking one-point loss to Temple.

Villanova boosted its razor-thin margin in the all-time series to 28-26. The Explorers have not beaten Villanova, since the 2001-02 season at the Pavilion. Since 1994, Villanova has dominated the series, winning seven of the last nine contests and five of the last six. Also, La Salle hasn't beaten 'Nova at the Palestra since December 17, 1983. Since the full Big Five round-robin was revived for the 1999-2000 season, four of the five Villanova/La Salle contests have been at the ancient arena, after a 15-year respite from 1985-2000. The rivalry with La Salle is one of Villanova's oldest, dating back to March 6, 1934, when 'Nova triumphed in a 25-23 barnburner on the Main Line..La Salle entered the game with a 1-4 record, including losses to James Madison and Penn, but the most galling loss was the most recent, a double-digit defeat against Central Connecticut State on the Explorers' home floor, the Tom Gola Arena. They also have a 20-point loss at Hofstra, where Villanova coach Jay Wright was at the helm prior to coming to the Main Line for the 2001-02 season. Their sole victory came against Southern California at home, and shortly afterward USC's administration took their eyes off football for a moment, in order to dismiss coach Henry Bibby, in a rare early-season firing. Although, obviously, it would not be accurate to cite the loss at La Salle as the primary reason for his ouster, a humiliating loss to a scandal-depleted team did not help Bibby's cause.

Their new coach, Dr. John Giannini, got the job after a rape scandal brought down the regime of his predecessor, Billy Hahn, during the off-season. The crimes decimated La Salle's program, due to the highly deserved firing of Hahn and the equally highly deserved expulsion of the players involved, and an outsider, Giannini, was brought in to put La Salle's once-illustrious house in order. Giannini had a lot of head coaching experience, having been at Maine for eight seasons. Giannini - a Chicago native - also was quite familiar with the Philadelphia region, having coached for seven years at Rowan (formerly Glassboro State) in New Jersey, including a national Division III championship in 1996. Coincidentally, Giannini was also a graduate assistant on the Illinois team which blew a substantial lead to Villanova in the NCAA second round in 1988, one of the most exciting comebacks I've ever seen. The Wildcats went on to reach the Elite Eight that season; no Wildcat squad hassubsequently gone so deep in the tournament. Giannini's doctorate is in kinesiology with a specialization in sports psychology. His background provides quite a contrast to Hahn.

Giannini lost 20 games in each of his first two years at Maine, and that experience with adversity should serve him well at La Salle, where the team he inherited after the Hahn fiasco is going to struggle mightily.

Will Sheridan and Chris Charles started the game, with Ray and Fraser coming off the bench. La Salle led 7-6, briefly, before its offense collapsed completely for over nine minutes, and Villanova launched a 14-0 run. (Sheridan actually was whistled for traveling no fewer than three times in the first five and a half minutes, and that obviously put a damper on Villanova's offense in that span.) It was evidently going to be quite a sloppy afternoon; the teams had already committed seven turnovers each less than eight minutes into the game. Fadibe committed his fourth foul at the 7:35 mark, forcing him to the bench (where he probably should have been after his THIRD foul in the first half). Sumpter made one of two free throws to complete the run, which vaulted Villanova to a 20-7 advantage and included two La Salle timeouts in a futile attempt to stop the momentum. The most impressive play in this span was a dunk by Fraser, on an assist from Foye.

Then Smith singlehandedly got La Salle back into the game. On consecutive possessions, Villanova had two of their many three-point misses of the day - and the ensuing long rebounds permitted Smith to fastbreak and slam them home. La Salle had gone almost ten minutes without a field goal, and suddenly had just scored dramatically on back-to-back possessions. Coach Wright opted for a timeout to discuss this undesirable development.

The teams fenced back and forth for the remainder of the half, with Smith keying the rally, but Fraser basically thwarted the comeback with an outstanding putback at the buzzer. Officials had to review the shot, but they indicated that it counted, and it restored 'Nova's momentum going into the locker room. Villanova now held a comfortable 31-20 lead at intermission.

La Salle had been held to just 30% from the floor, but 'Nova was only a little better at 38%. And the teams had combined to shoot 2-16 from beyond the arc, with one basket apiece, while also combining for 20 turnovers (11 La Salle, 9 'Nova). But the big issue was rebounding; led by eight from Sumpter alone, Villanova held a huge 25-10 advantage there.

La Salle seemed to putting its act together early in the second half, but a dunk from Fraser at the 15:30 mark made it 35-26 and halted its momentum. Some hope then seemed to be sparked by the fact that 'Nova was sinking into a morass of foul trouble, with a short bench and an ostensibly less-than-100% Fraser; Foye and Sheridan picked up their respective third fouls on consecutive series around the 14:00 mark. In a comical moment immediately after, Fadipe checked back in for the first time after his four-foul performance in the first half - and was in the game for literally six seconds, before fouling out defending Jason Fraser in the paint. He played about four minutes in the first half and six seconds in the second. (In fairness to Fadipe, it was a marginal call - he was really just playing good defense, but w/ four fouls you can't take the chance.)

La Salle's last real hope came when Wright was whistled for a technical after complaining vociferously about a non-foul call on Austin driving to the lane. The two free throws cut it to 40-32, and despite horrendous play, La Salle was still in it with 10:48 to play. But it didn't matter, as Giannini was teed up less than a minute later. Suddenly it was 49-32, a 9-0 Villanova run had resulted in just three minutes, and the last eight minutes or so was garbage time. As it had in the first half, La Salle had now gone over nine minutes without a field goal. La Salle never drew closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

An important factor was the bench, as the Wildcat bench outscored the Explorers' reserves by an astounding 26-3 margin (albeit a bit inflated by Ray and Fraser coming off it). Also worth noting: It would be cool if Mike Nardi could regain his outside shot; the sophomore is just 1-21 from beyond the arc on the season.

Ray Watch: Allan Ray entered this afternoon's game, 37 points shy of the 1,000-point mark for his Villanova career. He finished with 11, putting him 26 points away. If he has a fantastic game, he has a slim chance of reaching the mark on Tuesday against Fordham, but it's far more likely that it will come against Albany on Dec. 22 at the Pavilion.

Villanova will return to the Pavilion to take on yet another Atlantic 10 squad, Fordham, on Tuesday night. It will be the first meeting of the two schools in over 33 years, since the 1971 NCAA tournament, and the first regular-season meeting since December 1961. Three of Villanova's first five opponents this year have been Atlantic 10 members, and Villanova will also take on defending A-10 regular-season champion St. Joseph's at the Palestra in February.

Temple Tops Villanova in Palestra Heartbreaker, 53-52

Villanova saw its City Series opener slip away in heartrending fashion on Saturday, as Temple fans stormed the court to celebrate a 53-52 victory in the 4th Annual Big Five Classic at the Palestra. Temple's Dustin Salisbery drained a three-pointer with 1:06 to play, providing what would ultimately prove to be the winning margin. Jason Fraser's slam was unfortunately rejected by Temple's Mardy Collins at crunch time. However, Temple's Antwyane Robinson missed the front end of a one-and-one, providing Villanova with a golden opportunity to take the contest. The Wildcats tried to win it in the waning seconds, but Curtis Sumpter's shot at the buzzer did not drop.

Temple broke the all-time series deadlock in its favor, and the Owls now lead the 'Cats, 40-39. Villanova fell to 0-1 City Series, 1-1 overall in the young season. Temple improved to 1-0 Big Five, 2-3 overall. Today's tripleheader, in which Penn battled La Salle and St. Joseph's took on Drexel, marked the beginning of the year-long celebrationoftheBigFive's50thanniversary.

Sumpter recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards, enough to lead 'Nova in both categories, and was a perfect 6-6 from the foul line. However, he struggled from the floor, making just 4 of 12 shots. Fraser had a monster game on the defensive end, swatting five Temple shots and grabbing six rebounds. Allan Ray scuffled to a highly disappointing 4-15 from the floor, although he did finish in double figures with 11 points, while contributing five rebounds. Randy Foye also reached double figures with 10 points, adding a pair of assists and steals as well as four rebounds. Mike Nardi had a tremendously frustrating afternoon, making just 2 of his 12 field goal attempts (including 1-8 from beyond the arc) and committing five turnovers against three assists.

For Temple, Salisbery led the way with 15 points, with Collins and Mark Tyndale each chipping in 11. Collins also dealt six assists against four turnovers. Keith Butler had seven points and ten boards before fouling out, playing just 26 minutes.

Villanova overall was dreadful from the floor, a not uncommon fate for Temple opponents. The 'Cats shot a horrific 31% from the floor and an even worse 19% from three-point range: numbers which against virtually any other opponent, would have indicated a blowout loss. However, with Temple as the opponent, they were still very much in the game. Temple was almost as bad, making just 36% of its shots and 25% from three-point range- but those slightly better numbers spelled the difference between a one-point victory and a one-point defeat. It also didn't help that Temple's bench thrashed the 'Nova bench, with the reserve Owls outscoring the bench 'Cats 16-4. Coach Jay Wright opted to use just seven players, and even the two reserves were used sparingly: Will Sheridan played just 20 minutes and Chris Charles played nine. Sheridan had a strong game on defense, with four rebounds and three blocks in his limited action.

It was an exciting contest, marked by a dozen lead changes and nine ties. Temple shot out to a short-lived 5-0 lead, before the game began seesawing between the two schools. The Owls appeared on the verge of pulling away when they gained a 22-15 lead, following layups from Butler and Wayne Marshall at the 2:35 mark. Villanova rallied, though, finishing the half on a 8-2 run, ending when Sumpter laid it in with 13 seconds to play. Temple held a narrow one-point advantage at intermission.

Other than the horrendous shooting, the halftime numbers looked reasonably okay for 'Nova. Six different players had scored, and the 'Cats had won the battle on the glass by two, 23-21. Ray had six points to lead 'Nova, while Salisbery had seven for Temple.

Temple would gain its largest lead of the second half, when Tyndale nailed a triple with 14:46 to go. The three-pointer put Temple up 33-27, and the Owls get particularly tough when they have a lead to protect and their slow, deliberative pace can have its full impact. Villanova responded with its finest stretch of the contest, ripping off nine straight points to recapture the momentum. Fraser came up with a block and then dunked to deadlock the game at 33, and Sumpter then hit a three to give 'Nova a 36-33 advantage. The Villanova lead peaked at four, when Will Sheridan converted a jumper with 8:40 to play, putting 'Nova up 40-36. The Wildcats' last lead would come at the 2:37 mark, after a layup by Randy Foye made it 49-48. Unfortunately, Villanova scored just three points the rest of the way. Temple successfully clung to its lead, not scoring for the final 1:07, and it was just enough. Villanova's 15 turnovers, and the 17 points which directly resulted, also hampered the cause.

Entering the game, in a remarkable coincidence, the all-time series overall, as well as those played at the Palestra, and John Chaney's personal record against 'Nova, were all deadlocked. Each team had won 39 games overall, 16 apiece at the storied venue on Penn's campus, and 10 each in games in which Chaney had coached. Villanova had enjoyed a lot of success at Temple's expense in recent years: 'Nova had won four of the last five meetings, especially the 73-48 shocking opener to last year's midnight season opener at the Liacouras Center. The teams also met in the inaugural Big Five Classic, in December 2001, with Villanova triumphing. Villanova had also done quite well at the Palestra over the last couple of years: the Wildcats had won eight of their last 10 games there.

The Wildcats will try to rebound from the disappointing loss, when Monmouth travels to the Pavilion on Tuesday night. They will then return to the Palestra for another try, when they meet City Series foe La Salle on Saturday afternoon.

Villanova Leads Big Five With Win over Penn at Palestra, 75-65

To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-

Villanova continued a remarkable run in City Series play, soaring to a 3-0 start in the Big Five after downing a scrappy but overmatched Penn team, 73-63, on Tuesday night at the Palestra. Coach Jay Wright has now beaten all City Series opponents, notching his first victory over the Quakers in three attempts. Mike Nardi led all scorers with 20 points, while three other Wildcats reached 13 or more points in an extraordinarily balanced attack. Curtis Sumpter had 18 points, while Randy Foye had 16 and Allan Ray 13.

For Penn, Adam Chubb led with 17 points prior to fouling out just before regulation ended (he played just 28 minutes), and Jeff Schiffner also had 13 points. Villanova improved to 5-2 overall, 3-0 City Series; Penn fell to 2-4 overall, 0-2 City Series. Villanova now leads Penn in the overall series, 34-17, and defeated the Quakers for the sixth time in eight tries. Penn won in 2002 and 2003; had the Quakers rallied and won tonight, it would have marked the first three-game Penn winning streak against 'Nova since defeating the Wildcats five straight times in the early 1970s (when Penn was a national powerhouse).

Only St. Joseph's now stands between 'Nova sweeping the City Series for the first time since the 2000-01 season. (I wrote before the season started that it "was plausible that Villanova could lose ALL of the City Series games." I did not - in marked contrast - believe that it was plausible for 'Nova to WIN all of the City Series games - although I'm very pleased to be wrong). Although that final game - that's going to be a huge boulder. The Hawks made short work of nefarious Boston College earlier that day at the Palestra.

Having just watched Penn live three days earlier, on the same floor, my initial thoughts were confirmed:

1) They are REALLY young.
2) They will get better.

On paper, like many Villanova/Penn matchups through the years, it was a game the Wildcats should have won, playing at full strength. But equally like many Villanova/Penn matchups through the years, it was a game that Penn came surprisingly close to winning, especially on its home floor. Two years ago, it actually pulled it off, taking 'Nova in overtime at the Palestra. And an exception: Penn walloped 'Nova at the First Union Center last year, in one of the least entertaining Big Five games ever played. The Quakers were the better team.

Unfortunately for the 2003-04 Quaker faithful, Penn lost most of its nucleus after last season and will need some time to retool for life after (the departed) Andy Toole. This team won't cut through the Ivies like a hot knife through butter, the way some of its recent predecessors have. But they'll be competitive. They might even take the automatic NCAA bid from the Ivy.

Fortunately, Villanova did not really encounter a major scare, throughout the course of the game. The Quakers bolted out to a quick 7-2 lead in the early going, but Villanova recovered nicely. The Wildcats embarked on a 19-5 run, taking a 21-12 lead and holding Penn scoreless for roughly six minutes. The Quakers never really seemed to have the moxie to take control of the game, although they hung around the whole game and made a late charge at the end. Penn really struggled with its outside shooting, which it had used to stay in the game against SJU on Saturday. Against the Hawks, Penn made 13 triples; against 'Nova, the Quakers made five, and converted only 25% of its attempts.

At the 15:36 mark, Foye scored on a layup, fed by Nardi, which made the score 38-29. There was some rippling cheering going through the large (especially for exam week) number of Villanova students who had made the trip down to the Palestra. On the next possession, Bloch drew a charge, and it looked as if the 'Cats would cruise to victory.

Six minutes later, 'Nova still led, 50-37, when Penn's Ibrahim Jaaber got an "and-one" opportunity. Penn's crowd (which was naturally, the majority) started to get into the game as Jaaber went to the line; it's rare that a missed free throw can really take the life out of a crowd, but in this case it did. 'Nova maintained its steady lead, and when Nardi hit two free throws to make it 60-47 with 4:19 to go. Villanova had all of the momentum, and the crowd began to orderly file out. But Penn got up off the floor and launched a 13-5 run, pulling dangerously close and giving some hope to their fans. The big play in this span was at the 1:53 mark: a massive rejection by a new Quaker, Eric Heil (a transfer from Lehigh) on a Villanova shot (I believe by Sumpter although I didn't have a good angle to see exactly who was the recipient). The Penn crowd was thrilled by the rejection, and although it didn't put any points on the scoreboard directly, it seemed to inspire them to keep fighting. An extremely drawn out endgame began during this process, with frequent fouls and timeouts. The high-water mark for the Quakers was when Charlie Copp converted a layup, rendering the lead just 65-60 with 1:14 to play.

Villanova didn't fully secure the game until a few seconds later, at the 57.4 seconds mark, when Charles adeptly took a charge from Chubb, who fouled out. The score was 67-60; had the call gone the other way, Chubb stays in, they get two points and possibly three. Now, they had nothing. It took the wind out of their sails. They never drew any closer than six points for the remainder of the game. Villanova padded its lead at the foul line, down the stretch - the 'Cats wound up making eight straight at one point and finished the game at a very strong 20-28 (71%) from the line. It helped make the difference. Penn's crowd was starting to feel its numerical strength, and had 'Nova missed a couple of free throws here and there, they could have crawled to within one possession VERY easily. Instead, every swish from the line was a rally killer.

Nardi's strong offensive performance made his turnover lapses pale in comparison; I was surprised that he had "only" five turnovers, as it seemed as if he was committing a lot more. At one point, Coach Wright took a couple of steps onto the floor and indicated how upset he was with Nardi - this took place with about 6:05 to play, after Nardi missed Chris Charles with a pass, turning the ball over. But Nardi atoned for it, after Penn failed to score on the ensuing possession, by scoring. Earlier in the second half, Nardi had thrown a pass to someone (I think it was Foye) who wasn't expecting it AT ALL (his back was turned), leading to an easy steal for Penn. Late in the game, at crunch time, Nardi failed to remain stationary while inbounding the ball after Penn had turned it over (the rule is that you can run up and down the baseline after a made basket or free throw, but not after ordinary whistles). This mistake led to another turnover which helped fuel Penn's comeback.

Unfortunately, the heroics of Andreas Bloch did not carry over from Saturday's virtuoso performance against La Salle, in which he banked a dozen points. I had been hoping it was due to some kind of Palestra magic. However, Bloch did contribute significantly to the victory. Although he didn't have his shooting touch from Saturday, Bloch had a pair of points, assists and rebounds, and he played 22 minutes (an unusual number of 2s in his box score line). He was annoying the Penn fans; I overheard one say, pointing at Bloch: "That guy must be, like, 40 years old. He must have held a position with the EAST German government." (For the record, at least officially, Bloch doesn't turn 22 till 2004.) Never did I dream the day would come when opponents would protest (or ever have a need to) the mere PRESENCE of Bloch on the Wildcat squad). He also had a new accomplishment: he fouled out for the first time EVER in his career, with 2:00 to go, trying to take a charge. (Bloch had never had more than three fouls in a single game.) The odds of Bloch ever fouling out of a game were pretty low, given that he was never likely to accumulate enough playing time to have a CHANCE of fouling out. So he's back in Coach Wright's good graces, clearly.

Rollouts and other signs were abundant at the Palestra. Most Penn signs focused on the phone-access-code scandal. "AT&T: the Unofficial Sponsor of Villanova Scandals." Someone on the 'Nova side brought something referring to Bishop Loughlin High, the alma mater of one Curtis Sumpter, but I was sitting too far away (and the sign's authors didn't contrast the colors effectively!) so I couldn't read the text.

Another Villanova fan, not willing to take a chance as to what network had the game, brought a sign which read on one side: Every viSit to PenN = A Win" for ESPN, and something for CSN on the back.

The game had a decent, respectable crowd, but was not sold out, despite a game involving Penn on its own campus. Exams for both schools probably had something to do with it, as did possibly the Big Five tripleheader (which had overshadowed this game, which now felt anticlimactic).

The 'Cats return to the Main Line for the first time this season, after such a long and bizarre odyssey. The home opener will come after three Big Five games and eight games overall. They will take on Northeastern at the Pavilion on Friday night in what hopefully should be an easy victory.

Mama Said Bloch You Out- Villanova KO's La Salle at Historic Palestra, 74-61

To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-

In the finale of the 3rd Annual Big Five Classic, Villanova held off a scrappy La Salle squad, 74-61, at the Palestra on Saturday night, helped by a banner day from senior Andreas Bloch. The German forward, making his season debut due to his phone-code suspension, stunned everyone by setting a career-high in minutes (30) and exploding for 12 points, the second-best game of his career and his best since the 2000-01 season. Three other Wildcats reached double figures, including Randy Foye, who went scoreless in the first half but revived in the second half, pouring in 19 to lead the 'Cats.... Meanwhile, La Salle's Gary Neal led all scorers with a magnificent 32 points.

Villanova improved to 4-2 overall, and 2-0 in City Series play, while struggling La Salle fell to 1-5 overall, 0-1 Big Five. In earlier action at the Palestra, Temple knocked off a gallant Drexel team in the opener, while St. Joseph's stopped Penn in the middle contest.

Bloch once scored 51 points (and grabbed 16 rebounds to boot!) in a German game, one which he cited when asked to describe "his best game ever". While the chances are exceptionally low that he'll ever pour in 51 points as a Wildcat in a single game, coach Jay Wright would likely be thrilled to have half a dozen pts/game from the enigmatic senior, let alone an even dozen. The native of Wurmlingen, Germany, has played sparingly in his three years, scoring only 72 points (and only 24 in the last two seasons, after Wright took over from Steve Lappas). And he hasn't played a minute this season, before tonight, due to his phone-code suspension.

So needless to say, it was a bit surprising when Bloch turned out to be Wright's secret weapon tonight, coming out of nowhere to score 12 off the bench. La Salle never knew what hit them. (How could they? He's not on much film.) Bloch hit four out of six field goal attempts, including three triples, and delighted the Villanova side of the gym every time he did so (he is a crowd favorite). He played 30 minutes tonight; he had never played more than 18 before. (You may remember his other out-of-the-blue performance, as a freshman in 2000-01. Bloch came off the bench to nail four triples at the then-First Union Center to spur the Wildcats to a 74-60 victory over Connecticut on February 10, 2001.)

While the dynamic duo of Foye and Allan Ray led the charge with 19 and 17 points respectively, you EXPECT them to do that. You don't expect a dozen out of Bloch - and so he was clearly the difference between a solid victory and either defeat or a razor-thin one (depending on one's level of optimism regarding 'Nova's pulling out a tight one at the wire).

Not that the Wildcats didn't play well as a team. Aside from their usual troubles in taking care of the ball (20 turnovers, a bad number even by Villanova standards), the Wildcats led La Salle in all but one statistical category (La Salle had 10 steals to 'Nova's 6). Villanova shot well (51%) and La Salle was awful (34%). 'Nova outrebounded the Explorers 36-34, and shot 75% from the foul line, compared to La Salle's 62%. The game was also punctuated by nine Villanova blocked shots, three coming from freshman Will Sheridan.

Also, it was kind of nice for a change, to not have either a loss to La Salle or a nailbiter victory (although Villanova hasn't enjoyed a truly decisive victory over the Explorers, since Kerry Kittles and Co. annihilated them 90-50 on Feb. 12, 1996.) Villanova/La Salle contests have traditionally been close - and so it seems only fitting that Villanova now holds, by the slimmest possible margin, a 27-26 lead in the all-time series. Villanova won for the sixth time in the last eight tries against La Salle and its third straight over the Explorers at the Palestra.

It wasn't always easy, though - the final score is deceptive, as the game was considerably more competitive than it would indicate. La Salle actually led 33-29 at intermission, 36-29 after a three by Steven Smith, and 43-39 as late as the 14:17 mark, on a layup by Mike St. John. 'Nova won the last 14:17 by an impressive 35-18 margin, making it look as if the 'Cats had won going away.

The Wildcats got off to a strong start, beginning the game on a 10-4 run. It culminated in a dunk from Chris Charles, sparking some enthusiasm from the Villanova partisans. And this was in spite of Randy Foye heading to the bench, less than three minutes into the game. He had picked up two quick fouls by the 17:56 mark. La Salle fought back with a 10-3 run of its own, capped with a basket from Smith off a steal from Mike Cleaves. This gave the Explorers their first lead at 14-13. Villanova quickly retook the lead, however, and didn't relinquish it until the 2:06 mark. Cleaves's basket made it 27-26, brought joy to the La Salle half (which was only half-full, unfortunately), and turned the Villanova stands sullen. La Salle had intermittently applied various levels of pressure, and they turned it up a couple of notches as the first half drew to a close. In a three-minute span near the end of the half, Villanova had four turnovers (by four different Wildcats), and La Salle climbed back into the game (with Neal scoring six straight points for La Salle at one point). It didn't help that one of the turnovers was an offensive foul on Mike Nardi, his third of the game. La Salle's lead ranged from two to five points, but remained solid at the first-half buzzer.

At halftime, no numbers especially stood out, with the possible exception of the foul totals for both teams (11 for 'Nova and 10 for La Salle, both high for a first half). One big problem throughout the contest was the aforementioned foul trouble for Nardi. With Derrick Snowden out with a knee injury, Nardi is THE point guy - and he was on the bench for a lot of the night. The freshman played only 21 minutes before fouling out with 1:22 to go (although the game was already in hand for 'Nova at that point).

When play resumed, La Salle's lead momentarily hit its zenith at seven, but then the Wildcats began to reassert themselves, led by Foye and Bloch. For a seven minute-plus span, from the 15:53 mark (when Curtis Sumpter had a dunk) to the 8:32 mark (when Sumpter - once again - added a bucket), ALL of Villanova's points came from those two. In that period, the pair converted a 37-34 deficit into a 53-48 lead, outscoring La Salle 19-11 by themselves (including 11 straight from Foye at one point). Right after the final three in that run, when Foye nailed a triple to make it 53-48 at the 9:59 mark, the Villanova crowd grew very exhilarated and started making a lot of noise, and you could definitely tell the momentum had shifted the 'Cats' way.

La Salle kept countering, though, but the real psychological blow was Bloch hammering down another three at the 6:27 mark, making it 60-54, Villanova. It once again brought the Wildcats' fans to their feet, screaming for Bloch, and the 'Nova bench bounced off their chairs to congratulate him. That play - although the game was obviously still well within La Salle's reach - seemed to finish them off. They never drew any closer than four and were generally listless.

Whether by accident or design, at this critical moment in the game, some of the traditional Big Five/Palestra rollouts began to emerge. First, Villanova demanded that La Salle "Go Exploring for a Win Somewhere Else..." but La Salle replied with, "Next Time Dial Down the Center" (the mantra of Carrot Top).

Villanova began to pad its lead, hitting double-digits for the first time at 66-56 at the 3:40 mark, and never letting it dip below eight for the rest of the game. The biggest lead of the game, 15 points, came after Sumpter drained a free throw to make it 74-59. At the 29.8 second mark, Bloch and Allan Ray were removed, with the Villanova fans giving Bloch a tremendous and well-deserved ovation. The game's final points came fittingly when Neal scored his 31st and 32nd points on a fast-break with 22 seconds to go, rendering the final score: 74-61, 'Nova.

'Nova generally played in a far more spirited way, hustling after more balls and playing more aggressive defense. This can reasonably be attributed to the fact that this was the first time all season that Wright has had the opportunity to play with anything remotely resembling a full complement of players. The phone-code suspensions have nearly run their course at this point; Marcus Austin and Snowden are the only Wildcats remaining who have to atone for their role in it. Austin didn't play tonight, and Snowden is still hurt (and his suspension can't be served until he recovers). So, basically, Wright was missing (at least due to suspensions) only Austin tonight, a bench player. The 'Cats also didn't seem to show much rust, given that they hadn't played since the day before Thanksgiving (the loss to Ohio State in Maui).

Despite the snow, the third go-around of the Big Five Classic was quite a success. The rotation of teams, opponents and start times seems equitable. Villanova had the night game two years ago against Temple in the inaugural event, the middle game against La Salle last year, and the night game again tonight versus the Explorers. Due to the substantial snowfall which hit Philadelphia and its environs, there was concern about a possible postponement, but the games went off as scheduled. I think that it would have required a truly massive snowstorm, such as the one that walloped us last year, to postpone this event. First, you have six different teams' schedules to juggle. It would be extremely unlikely that you'd be able to accommodate everyone on another date. Second, everyone is local and thus already in town. Often, postponements occur because one team can't get to the game, but that wouldn't be a problem in this case.

The crowds were larger than I had expected, in light of the weather. The Temple/Drexel crowd was sparse, but ticketholders showed up en masse by the second half of the doubleheader, SJU vs. Penn; the building was packed. I would estimate that in terms of bodies in the seats (the "official" attendance was announced at 6,325) that for 'Nova/La Salle about 65-70% of the place was filled, with the bulk of the empty seats in the La Salle half of the building.

Although certainly not one of the legendary throngs that used to genuinely rock the Palestra, it was certainly a large enough crowd to make the majestic old palace feel lively and ebullient. All in all, it was quite an enjoyable show of college hoops, in the greatest building that the sport has ever built (or ever will build!)

Villanova will try to sustain its impressive run through the City Series, when it returns to the Palestra on Tuesday. The Wildcats, having vanquished Temple and La Salle already, will try to do the same to the Penn Quakers that night.

Go Wildcats!

Midnight Tip-Off Doesn't Help Temple Owls, As Villanova Wildcats Thrash Them, 73-48

To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-

In one of the most unusual games in Big Five history - in background, timing and outcome - Villanova shocked the Temple Owls, 73-48, early Friday morning at the Liacouras Center, with Allan Ray and Randy Foye leading the way with 20 points apiece. For Temple, David Hawkins led with 16 points, while Dustin Salisbery was also impressive, scoring 13 points.

It was both the City Series and regular season opener for both teams. In an extremely competitive rivalry, the lopsided margin was stunning: the 25 point advantage was Villanova's largest margin of victory over Temple in 21 years. It marked the Wildcats' first-ever victory at Temple's gleaming building - they fell there in 1999 and in the 2002 NIT quarterfinals. The game was unusual for two reasons:

1. First and foremost, the game was played at the witching hour, due to scheduling conflicts between the two schools, stemming from the aftermath of last year's phone code suspensions. Tip-off came just after midnight and the buzzer went off at 1:45 AM. Radio broadcaster Ryan Fannon signed off his post-game show at 2:12 AM (and sounded as if he wouldn't have minded staying on the air till 6 AM).
2. Due to the aforementioned suspensions, Villanova had only nine players, including:

• - two freshmen (Mike Nardi and Will Sheridan)

• - four walkons (Tom Grace, Ross Condon, Baker Dunleavy, and Mike Claxton);

• - a redshirt freshman (Baker Dunleavy);

Basically, only Allan Ray, Randy Foye and Curtis Sumpter had meaningful basketball experience, of Jay Wright's entire squad last night- in other words, a trio of SOPHOMORES were Villanova's veterans last night. The other six players had played 14 minutes, combined, all from Claxton. (Jason Fraser dressed for the game but had a boot on, and so he couldn't have played, even if it had been necessary.)

c) City Series games have been played at a wide assortment of venues over the years, and under some fairly bizarre circumstances, but the circumstances of Friday morning's game will rank up there with any of them. And people were stoked about the game - the novelty of the tip time and the nocturnal nature of college students both contributing greatly to the huge crowd. Temple nearly sold out the game and the building was packed with partisans of both squads.

This was Villanova's second straight win over Temple and its third in four tries. The last time the Wildcats devastated the Owls so decisively was on December 18, 1982, at the Palestra. 'Nova triumphed 82-55 in that contest.

It would have been an impressive victory even if Villanova had been playing at full strength. To win at Temple by such a rout - playing with three sophomores and six guys with no college basketball experience - is nothing short of incredible - nearly miraculous, in fact. Undoubtedly, Temple coach John Chaney felt the same way. (His players are going to have a rough day/night: I cannot imagine how unpleasant it must be to have Chaney upset with you at 2 AM, which is undoubtedly WAY past his bedtime and he's already pretty cranky, even when his team isn't upset by a skeleton crew at home. He might have ordered them just to practice right after the game and go straight through to his normal, infamous 6 AM practice.)

And it was a genuine ROUT. Not all 25 point victories are created equal - sometimes, one team just blows it open in the second half. In this case, Villanova breezed to victory from the opening tip. Temple wasn't even remotely competitive, from the time of tip-off till the final buzzer. Temple not only never led, it never even managed a tie beyond 3-3.

Give Jay Wright credit. Due to his short bench and lack of available talent, he was forced to use a zone defense to conserve his players. Wright has shown a distaste for zone; the Wildcats nearly always play man-to-man. Even last year, in similar situations against Pittsburgh, Georgetown and Siena, he played zone - but not anywhere near as much as he did tonight.

And Temple simply had no answer for it. 'Nova stayed in zone for the entire game and strangled Temple's offense. Granted, the Owls were hampered by the unavailability of Keith Butler, who was out with an ankle injury, but his absence can hardly account for such a wipeout.

Villanova shot a blistering 61% (26-43) from the floor, while holding Temple to a pathetic 27% (19-70) from the floor. (There is some inconsistency in game statistics from different sources. The numbers used here are those provided immediately after the contest, which differ from the ESPN box score numbers.) 'Nova shot a fantastic 50% (9-18) from three-point range while Temple was an anemic 25% (10-40) from beyond the arc. A really odd disparity: 'Nova took 18 free throws, making 12; Temple took two the entire game and missed both.

In addition to the stellar performances by Ray and Foye, Curtis Sumpter (14 points) and Mike Nardi (11 points) also reached double figures. It was a highly auspicious debut for the freshman Nardi, who navigated the tough Temple defense as if he'd been doing it for years. In his collegiate debut, Nardi dealt seven assists, against only two turnovers.

Foye, Ray, Nardi, Sumpter and freshman Will Sheridan were the starting five for the Wildcats, and they played the overwhelming majority of the minutes - all but 13 of the 200. Mike Claxton logged 10 minutes, while Baker Dunleavy, Tom Grace and Ross Condon each saw a single minute of action.

The game opened with Nardi's first-ever shot as a Wildcat - a successful three-pointer! It was an omen of things to come.

It took the 'Cats a little while to pull away - they held only a modest 6-5 lead at the under-16 minute timeout, at 15:25. But the Wildcats quickly embarked on a 12-3 run, giving them a solid lead which they never relinquished. A Ray triple and a Foye pull-up jumper gave the Wildcats a 18-8 lead in the early going, forcing Chaney to call a timeout at around the 11:15 mark. At that point, 'Nova had made seven of 11 shots and Temple only 3 of 12 - and the trend continued throughout the game.

Temple crawled back to 21-17 on a bucket by Hawkins, but they never drew any closer. One big play happened near the end of the first half - with 'Nova leading 29-19, Ray went in for what should have been a dunk, but Hawkins made an extraordinary defensive effort and snuffed him, arguably committing a foul. The Temple fans went nuts at the sight, but the officials awarded 'Nova a foul, costing the Owls some badly needed momentum. At the half, 'Nova held a strong 32-22 lead and were in complete control. At that point, Sumpter led all Villanova scorers with eight points, including six from the line. Hawkins led Temple with 10.

To begin the second half, Salisbery drained a three, cutting the 'Nova lead to seven. But that was the ONLY time in the second half that Temple was even within double-digits. Villanova responded with a swift 10-0 run which effectively ended the game. Foye and Ray hit back-to-back threes, and Ray followed it up with a bucket, forcing Temple to call another timeout, trailing 40-25 with 18:21 to play. Coming out of the timeout, the Owls committed a shot clock violation (something which should almost never happen immediately after a timeout). Nardi added a basket to extend the lead to 17.

At this point, the Owls showed their desperation, switching from the trademark zone to man-to-man - something they only do if they're behind by a lot in the second half. It didn't help - Villanova's lead kept ballooning. With around 2:14 to go, Nardi fed Sumpter for a spectacular alley-oop dunk, putting 'Nova up 67-45 and eliciting a huge cheer from the Villanova fans.

And even when Wright emptied his bench in the last two minutes, sending in Dunleavy, Grace and Condon, the lead kept GROWING. The dunk put 'Nova up by 22; the 'Cats ended up winning by 25 in the final tally, their largest lead of the game. Dunleavy was actually able to score two points, Grace hit one of two free throws, and Condon grabbed a rebound. Claxton, who played 10 minutes, managed a free throw as well.

All of the Wildcats were superb. While Sheridan didn't fill up the stat sheet as colorfully as his teammates, he had a strong debut game as well, playing all 40 minutes, scoring four points, grabbing three rebounds and dealing two assists. Foye had a double-double, hauling down ten boards to go with his 20 points.

Unfortunately, it's only the beginning of this road trip and the Wildcats and their coaching staff won't have much time to savor the unexpected victory. They are flying to LA on Friday, doing battle with the Division III University of Redlands (65 miles outside LA), on Saturday morning at 10 AM West Coast time. And that game will not be a slow affair: Redlands likes to run and score 100 points a game. After that game, they head out to Hawaii for three games in the Maui Classic, which begins on Monday.

In summary, it was about THE best possible game that Villanova could have played, under these circumstances. I can't imagine a single aspect of the game, that I would have changed. Hopefully, it will be a harbinger of many other positive outcomes this season.

Go Wildcats!