What a '70s Show!!! - Villanova Wallops #21 West Virginia At Pavilion, 84-46

The Afros and leisure suits were out at the Pavilion last night, and the ESPN Classic crew opted to televise the game with 1979-era graphics. Even former long-time VU coach Rollie Massimino was there - but behind the bench, broadcasting the game, rather than in front of it, gesticulating to the officials. If there were any Main Line Rip Van Winkles out there, asleep after a quarter-century's nap, they could be forgiven for thinking they had just nodded off for a moment if they had come to the Pavilion last night. Accordingly, tonight's article will stay consistent with the theme:

On Wednesday night, Villanova took a giant step toward returning to the NCAA tournament, by walloping undefeated, #21 West Virginia, 84-46, in the Big East opener for both teams in "Turn Back the Clock Night" at the Pavilion. The Wildcats relied heavily on that one major post-1979 innovation, the three-point shot, in leveling the Mountaineers, connecting on 10 triples.

Villanova is now hotter than Studio 54 in its heyday, having won seven straight contests. The Wildcats are now 8-1 overall, 1-0 Big East. After experiencing a Three Mile Island-esque genuine meltdown, West Virginia dropped to 10-1 overall, 0-1 Big East.

Allan Ray hit the Mountaineers harder than Sugar Ray Leonard, dropping 26 points on 10-16 shooting, including five three-pointers. The most pleasant surprise came from Mike Nardi, who had been struggling with his shot all season. Nardi exploded for 18 points and canned four triples. Curtis Sumpter, ordinarily in the spotlight, took third place with "just" 13 points and seven rebounds. Randy Foye chipped in with 11 points and four assists. And Jason Fraser was a monster in the lane, pulling down nine boards and swatting three shots, in just 25 minutes of action. Finally, Kyle Lowry followed up his solid New Year's Eve debut with six points and six boards in just 19 minutes.

There really weren't any bright spots for West Virginia, but D'Or Fischer led the Mountaineers with 14 points.

The Wildcats' offensive statistics zoomed upwards as if it really WERE the era of sky-high inflation, as 'Nova hung 84 points on a Big East opponent, after a few days of hostile murmuring about Villanova's cupcake-laden December. The Wildcats shot 54% overall, and 42% from beyond the arc. It was an even more impressive feat in light of West Virginia's formidable defense. Prior to West Virginia's victory over fellow ranked team George Washington, the Mountaineers had yielded 55 or fewer points in their previous five games, including four occasions in which the opponents scored 48 or fewer.

West Virginia entered the night as one of just six undefeated teams remaining in Division I, with three of those coming from the Big East: aside from WVU- #9 Connecticut and Boston College, who played each other last night as well. But West Virginia's unblemished season record fell more swiftly than the Shah of Iran, as Villanova sprinted to a 36-16 lead at the 1:36 mark in the first half, culminating by an "and-one" from Sumpter. The Wildcats took a 38-18 advantage into the locker room and never looked back. The lead actually peaked at 41, when Baker Dunleavy scored in the final minute to give 'Nova a 84-43 lead.

It seemed only fitting that on 1979 night, West Virginia sank into a "malaise", to borrow a term President Jimmy Carter made famous in that era. The Mountaineers had made only 20% of their shots by halftime.

Villanova's defense was more tyrannical than J.R. Ewing, after a day when several oil gushers had run dry - and stingier than the Steel Curtain in Pittsburgh. WVU had a potent offense thus far this year, averaging over 76 points a game. The 46 points tonight, matches the fewest Villanova has ever allowed in Big East play, in a conference which coincidentally dates back to 1979. The previous low had been 48 surrendered against Pittsburgh in 1983, a game markedly lacking both a shot clock and a three-point shot. In 2003 and 2002, Georgetown and Connecticut, respectively, both scored exactly 46 points in VICTORIES over Villanova. And the 38 point differential also represented the largest victory margin ever for 'Nova over a Big East opponent. West Virginia finished the game shooting a pitiful 27% from the floor and 20% from beyond the arc, and the numbers would have been even worse if the Mountaineers hadn't scored a meaningless three in the final seconds. WVU had ten turnovers in the first half alone, leading to ten Villanova points - a damning statistic when one considers that WVU averaged fewer than 10 turnovers a game entering the contest.

As for the inside game, I doubt that even Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins - whose famous backboard-shattering feat for the 76ers observed its silver anniversary just a couple of weeks ago - could have been effective in the paint for the Mountaineers tonight. Fraser had eight rebounds in the first half. And there were a lot of rebounds to get, as WVU was shooting just 22% nearly halfway through the second half.

On both ends of the court, the Mountaineers experienced an "energy crisis", of their own. At the same time, Villanova's performance continued to IMPROVE as the game went on, eventually reaching heights previously reserved solely for Barry Gibb's voice pitch.

Fortunately for Villanova, this game advanced their NCAA hopes considerably further, than it would have if the game had been played during the Carter administration. Back then, there were just 40 teams in the tournament, and a great regular-season performance did not mean as much without today's abundance of available at-large bids (there were just a handful then). Plus, the 2004-05 Wildcats don't have to worry about facing Magic Johnson's Michigan State or Larry Bird's Indiana State, who squared off in the 1979 national title game.

Worth noting: In 1979, Villanova meandered to a 15-13 record with the likes of Alex Bradley, Marty Caron, Tom Sienkiewicz, Rory Sparrow, and Aaron Howard. 'Nova was rebuilding, however, after an Elite Eight appearance the previous year. Jay Wright was a senior at Council Rock High School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, playing point guard before leaving for Bucknell in the fall of 1979. And none of the current Wildcats had yet been born.

Around the 4 minute mark, the Pavilion crowd began chanting "Overrated". Undoubtedly, the outcome must have come as a profound shock to the WVU faithful. These have been some lean years for Mountaineer basketball. Before cracking the Top 25 this week, the Mountaineers hadn't been ranked since the conclusion of the 1997-98 season, when they finished ranked #23 after a Sweet 16 run and an upset victory over Temple. Although the Mountaineers haven't qualified for the NCAA tournament since that same year, 1998, they had generated a lot of under-the-radar buzz thanks to the early success. This was West Virginia's first 10-0 start since 1959-60, when Jerry West led the squad.

Looking back even further in history, Villanova now leads the all-time series against West Virginia, 19-14. The series actually dates back significantly further than 1979, going all the way back to 1955-56. As members of the Big East, Villanova now leads 10-5, since WVU left the Atlantic Ten in time for the 1995-96 season. WVU is now just 4-10 at Villanova. The Wildcats have done well in recent years, winning seven of the last ten contests.

Villanova will advance 25 years into the future as they prepare to clash with Notre Dame at South Bend, Indiana, on Saturday, in a game that will be televised in Philadelphia with normal graphics and presumably without Rollie's august presence.

Villanova Slides Down the Mountain at WVU, 67-60

To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-

Villanova is now in serious trouble from a NCAA-tournament perspective. After a long string of alternating victories and defeats, the Wildcats have now lost three straight and four of their last five, including Wednesday's catastrophic 100-76 loss to Providence, the worst defeat EVER at the Pavilion, the worst defeat against Providence in a 77-game, 68-year series, and only the second time an opponent had scored 100 points there.

Today's loss dropped their record to 5-5 Big East, 13-10 overall. Of their remaining six games, three are against nationally ranked opponents, and a fourth is at Seton Hall, in the "also-receiving-votes" category. Villanova is only likely to be favored to win, in home dates against Virginia Tech and Miami (soon to be out of the Big East Conference). 'Nova would need to win at least FOUR out of the six to have a meaningful shot at an at-large bid, to push its Big East record over .500 at 9-7. But given the team's recent string of lackluster performances, that does not seem likely.

West Virginia improved to 6-5 Big East, 14-8 overall. The Mountaineers have been on a bit of a roll recently, having won six of their last eight after a mediocre start, and have moved to the fringes of NCAA consideration.

Villanova now leads the all-time series with West Virginia by a slim 18-14, and as members of the Big East, 6-5, plus two BE tournament victories. The Mountaineers have now won three of their last five games over 'Nova, including the last two at the WVU Coliseum, notorious for being one of the most hostile venues for a visitor in the conference. (Villanova has enjoyed modest success there, however, going 2-3 in that building since WVU joined the Big East for the 1995-96 season.)

For West Virginia, Tyrone Sally carried the banner with 20 points, leading all scorers, and nearly posted a double-double with nine rebounds, while going 8-8 from the line. Kevin Pittsnogle contributed 18 points and Johannes Herber added 11. For 'Nova, only Randy Foye (13 points) and Allan Ray (12 points) reached double figures, although Curtis Sumpter did collect 10 rebounds. Foye had a strong overall game, posting five steals, grabbing eight boards and dealing five assists as well, while committing only a single turnover.

The first half, to put it mildly, was an embarrassment for 'Nova, a mere extension of the debacle against Providence on Wednesday. After grabbing a quick 4-0 lead, the 'Cats crumbled, failing to score a basket for seven minutes. The Mountaineers, egged on by an ecstatic crowd, retook the lead at 15-14, and then exploded.

WVU embarked upon a 22-4 run to close the half with a 37-18 advantage. The final play was typical, as WVU held the ball for the last shot, then fed Pittsnogle for a blind-side three-pointer at the top of the key at the buzzer. (It looked like 'Nova might only end up with 14 at the half, prior to a brief flurry of scoring at the end.)

The halftime numbers were abysmal. The keys to victory for Villanova, given the three-guard offense favored by coach Jay Wright, is for big games from Foye, Ray and Mike Nardi. At halftime, that trio of guards had combined for a grand total of two points (from Foye). As a team, 'Nova had shot an anemic 7-25 (28%) from the floor, and 1-11 (9%) from three-point range, the chief explanation for why they only managed 18 points for the half. They had four assists
against 11 turnovers (WVU had 10 assists against five turnovers, a disturbing contrast).

Jason Fraser was the team's leading scorer with seven points, while WVU already had Sally and Pittsnogle in double figures at 14 and 10 points, respectively. The game appeared to be well in hand for WVU. There did not appear to be ANY evidence that 'Nova was going to rise from the dead and erase an 18-point lead on the road in a tough building.

However, give the Wildcats credit; they almost pulled it off. After WVU increased their lead to 20 early in the second half, going up 45-25, 'Nova answered with nine quick points, forcing a WVU timeout with 10:02. It didn't seem to help, as they scored five more: all told, an amazing 14-0 run to chop the deficit to 45-39, keyed by a wide-open three from Nardi. After turning the ball over on the next possession, WVU coach John Beilein called another timeout, trying to stem the tide. But 'Nova kept surging: Foye's triple trimmed the lead to 47-42 with just under eight minutes to play, and what would have been a truly stunning comeback seemed possible.

And although the 'Cats got the deficit down to an oh-so-narrow two points on three separate occasions, they could never get over the hump. The last gasp came when 'Nova reduced the WVU lead to 53-51 with 3:40 to play. But WVU got the crowd back into the game, silent during their collapse, and finished the game with a 14-9 advantage to win by seven. With its collective adrenaline perhaps spent by erasing such a huge disadvantage, 'Nova was never able to get the
really big three-pointers that it needed, to drop at crunch time.

Among the many problems on display today, the most serious was the lack of a dominant inside force in the paint. WVU appeared to have the reincarnation of Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo underneath, as D'Or Fischer (a Philadelphia native) and Jamon Durisseau-Collins had half a dozen blocks APIECE, and neither of them played as much as 30 minutes (Fischer had 27 and Collins 24).

'Nova had ONE block for the entire game. Fraser was hobbled by foul trouble (he had four) and played only 21 minutes. While he was on the floor, he played well (seven points and eight rebounds in what amounted to only a single half of action), but Villanova simply can't function offensively, when its shots are being swatted away in such disproportionate amounts.
(Ironically, Villanova enjoyed a 39-32 advantage on the glass, but the blocks were what mattered.)

With Fraser on the bench and Chris Charles playing only two minutes, Wright went with a small lineup for most of the game, but the guards' outside shots just weren't falling (Villanova made only 8 out of 26 attempts, just 31%.) It didn't help that 'Nova once again turned the ball over frequently, coughing the ball up 16 times against nine for West Virginia. Those factors were what limited 'Nova to just 60 points, and scoring only 60 points will get you beat most games. And making it to 60 was actually a pretty impressive accomplishment today, given that the Wildcats only had 18 at halftime. The 'Cats won the second half, on the road, 42-30, but the original abyss was so deep that they STILL couldn't overcome it.

The Wildcats will return to action at the Pavilion on Wednesday, in what will likely be its last game for many years against Virginia Tech, unless they meet in the Big East tournament. The Hokies, along with Miami will be packing their bags for the Atlantic Coast Conference at the end of the season (Boston College, which is also departing, is hoping to escape by the end of the year as well).