Triskaidekaphobia Strikes #13 Wildcats on Friday the 13th, as " '(E)ers (S)hock (P)hilly's (N)ova", According to WVU Fan

On Friday, I observed that on the question of what the Greeks called triskaidekophobia:

The #13 Villanova Wildcats must take on West Virginia on Friday night, February 13 - a date which, for superstitious reasons, has been perceived as unlucky. The confluence of a pair of 13s could be viewed as a bad omen.

Ironically, though, the Wildcats will be gunning for the exact opposite- i.e., a traditionally lucky number. Seven, to be precise - a victory would mean their seventh straight triumph. #13 Villanova will be taking its 8-3 Big East, 20-4 overall record to one of the most difficult homecourts in all of college basketball, the Coliseum in Morgantown.

Luck in sports, by definition, is double-edged. For the most part, good luck for one side is bad luck for the other. Regrettably, playing on Friday the 13th - while being ranked #13, no less - turned out to be extremely unlucky for the Wildcats. (Conversely, it turned out to be extraordinarily lucky for the Mountaineers. Perhaps it was because they weren't ranked #13, as well as having to play on the date.) All of the justifiable (and non-superstititious) fears about the Morgantown Coliseum - those fears turned out to be extremely well-founded. The #13 Wildcats were annihilated, 93-72, in a game in which they were never genuinely competitive.

One silver lining might be that it was a good idea to get rid of all of the bad luck in one game, particularly one in a highly adverse home court, especially when Villanova really didn't need the win all that much. In contrast, West Virginia needed it very badly. The Mountaineers are on the NCAA bubble and wins over ranked teams - particularly on their home floor - are badly needed to improve their case for the Selection Committee.

The Wildcats fell to 8-4 Big East, 20-5 overall. However, their luck this weekend hasn't been all bad, despite the experience in Morgantown. Although they had to wait till today to find out, they actually improved their standing in the AP poll. They advanced from #13 to the less-unlucky #12, despite - just three days earlier - having been thrashed by 21 points on national television to an unranked (albeit, solid and talented) opponent. Perhaps their luck will be better, ranked #12. (There's nowhere to go but up, after Friday.)

Just kidding, of course. The justification for 'Nova's improved standing in the AP poll was their equally decisive defeat of #10 Marquette at the Pavilion earlier in the week, not their dreadful performance at Morgantown on Friday.

There is, of course, the solace that the defeat was not due to bad luck. The Mountaineers simply played far more proficiently than 'Nova. In particular, there was a night for the record books for WVU's Da'Sean Butler, who put up 43 points. Butler's outburst ranks among the highest single-game scoring outputs in the quarter-century-plus of the Big East's existence. West Virginia evened its Big East record at 6-6, and 17-8 overall. In doing so, WVU also immeasurably increased its chances at an NCAA at-large bid.

The two star Wildcats both had disastrous games on the same night (which, as noted earlier, could be viewed as either serendipitous or unfortunate). Scottie Reynolds had one of the worst games of his career on Friday. He finished with a dozen points, but did it on 3-11 shooting. He committed five turnovers (against one assist, one rebound, and no steals), and played only 28 minutes due to foul trouble. Even worse, Reynolds fouled out on an extremely foolish play. He committed a reach-around in pursuit of the Mountaineer who had just picked his pocket for his fifth - and final - turnover of the evening.

Dante Cunningham also was saddled with foul trouble, as he picked up two quick fouls in the beginning of the game and went to the bench till the second half. West Virginia's 52-34 halftime wasn't entirely due to Cunningham's absence, but it certainly was a factor. Although he ended up with just three fouls, Cunningham logged just 25 minutes, finishing with seven points and six boards. He also was just 1-5 from the foul line and committed four turnovers.

In the absence of Cunningham and Reynolds, the two Corys fueled 'Nova's offense, finishing as the top two scorers. Fisher played 31 minutes, scoring 17 points on 6-10 shooting, while adding three rebounds and three assists against just one turnover. Stokes logged 29 minutes, scoring 15 points on 5-10 shooting, including 3-6 from beyond the arc, and also pulled down five rebounds. Antonio Pena played 18 minutes, but had no field goals, no rebounds, and no blocks. (He did go 4-4 from the line and committed only one turnover, in fairness.)

Ironically, the one Wildcat who was questionable at game time, turned out to have one of the best performances. After considerable speculation as to whether he'd play at all, Dwayne Anderson played 19 minutes, finishing with half a dozen points, half a dozen rebounds and a pair of steals, committing only one turnover.

As a team, perhaps the most telling statistic was the fact that 'Nova had 22 field goals - but only five assists. (And 16 turnovers.)

I'll issue my standard criticism of Wright for failing to put Jason Colenda and Frank Tchuisi into a lopsided game prior to the final minute. At garbage time, both Reynolds and Reggie Redding had already fouled out, Anderson was banged up, and West Virginia had an insurmountable lead. It would have been a perfect opportunity for the two practice players to play two or three minutes. Instead, they came in with less than a minute to play and once more, did not even have a chance to take a shot.

One of the most entertaining aspects of the game were the various student signs; the headline of this post came from one student who held up a sign stating:

' (E)ers (S)hock (P)hilly's '(N)ova '

Fortunately, the Wildcats have several days to forget their case of triskaidekophobia, as they will be taking on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Thursday at the Pavilion, prior to which the Senior Night festivities will be observed, since the students will be on spring break during the actual final home game in March.

A full preview for the game will be coming up. In the meantime, take a look at what the other talented Villanova bloggers had to say about the Friday the 13th disaster:

Various Viewpoints: Other VU Sites' Recaps of the Villanova/West Virginia Game

Pete at Let's Go 'Nova - " 'Nova Fails Road Test at WVU"

Chris at I Bleed Blue and White - "Post-Game: West Virginia 93, Villanova 72"

greyCat at Villanova By the Numbers - "West Virginia Post-Game - Ouch!"

VUHoops.com - 'The Butler Did It - Mountaineers Top 'Nova"

Tim at 'Nova News - "Unlucky Night for #13 'Nova on Friday the 13th"

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged, welcomed, and will always be answered.

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.)

On Friday the 13th, #13 Villanova @ West Virginia Preview, and Various Viewpoints

The #13 Villanova Wildcats must take on West Virginia on Friday night, February 13 - a date which, for superstitious reasons, has been perceived as unlucky. The confluence of a pair of 13s could be viewed as a bad omen.

Ironically, though, the Wildcats will be gunning for the exact opposite- i.e., a traditionally lucky number. Seven, to be precise - a victory would mean their seventh straight triumph. #13 Villanova will be taking its 8-3 Big East, 20-4 overall record to one of the most difficult homecourts in all of college basketball, the Coliseum in Morgantown.

Fortunately, 'Nova doesn't have to make this trip too often, thanks to the swollen size of the current Big East. This is only Villanova's second trip to the unfriendly confines in the last five seasons.

The late tip-time of 9 PM is to accommodate ESPN's Rivalry Week promotion. It is somewhat puzzling that Villanova's two Rivalry Week opponents this season, Marquette and West Virginia, are relative newcomers to the Big East. Nonetheless, tonight will be the 38th time that Villanova has played West Virginia, with the Wildcats leading the series 20-17.

Exactly half - 19 - of those games were played prior to the formation of the Big East. The first meeting was all the way back on January 18, 1938, with WVU winning 44-38 over the visiting Wildcats. The teams met consistently in the late 1950s and early 1960s. But the schools did not play again for over a decade, until the formation of the Eastern Eight, the Big East's direct ancestor. Villanova and West Virginia were rivals in the Eastern Eight, and thus, the teams once again faced each other regularly from 1973-1980.

The rivalry would lay dormant for 16 years, until the Big East expanded from 10 to 13 teams in 1995-96, with West Virginia, Rutgers, and Notre Dame joining. (The first meeting was all the way back on January 18, 1938, with WVU winning 44-38 over the visiting Wildcats. The teams met regularly in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but then did not play again for over a decade, until the formation of the Eastern Eight.)

So to break it down:

In non-Big East games, Villanova leads 10-9; in Big East play, Villanova leads 10-8. At the Coliseum, the Wildcats are 2-4 in Big East play, overall. However, Villanova has dropped its last three games @ WVU, and has not won there in a decade. Their most recent victory was January 23, 1999, when they won 73-62. That team - led by John Celestand, Howard Brown, and Malik Allen - was the fourth and final team which coach Steve Lappas led to the NCAA tournament. They lost a heartbreaker against Ole Miss in the #8-#9 game in the first round in Milwaukee that year.

The most galling loss of the series, since WVU joined the Big East, came during what would be the final season for Lappas. On February 20, 2001, the Wildcats lost in double-overtime in Morgantown, a 107-100 loss for the team remembered as the "Michael Bradley team", due to the single year of eligibility for the superstar center, who had transferred from Kentucky, sat out a year, and then played only his third season of eligibility at 'Nova. He opted for the NBA draft, rather than stay for his fourth year under then-incoming coach Jay Wright. (Wright has subseqently gone 3-5 against WVU, at all venues.)

Full recap after the game.

Please check out what all of the other Villanova bloggers are saying about tonight's game at West Virginia, in:

Various Viewpoints: Other VU Sites' Previews

Pete at Let's Go 'Nova

Chris at I Bleed Blue and White

greyCat at Villanova By the Numbers

VUHoops.com

Tim at 'Nova News

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged, welcomed, and will always be answered.

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.)

Various Viewpoints From Other Villanova Blogs - Lincoln's Birthday Edition

At Villanova by the Numbers, greyCat has published a highly detailed piece in Marquette #02 Post Game: Gimme an O! as well as an open letter in Interactive Tuesday? No Thanks.

Over at Let's Go 'Nova, Pete has published his grades for Marquette (see the other post here for more on that), a piece on former Wildcat Jason Fraser's joining the Harlem Globetrotters, and an announcement of a NCAA tournament contest for Villanova memorabilia - the best guess at the Final Four wins...

Chris at I Bleed Blue and White has been particularly prolific today, with four posts:

Vote for Jay Wright! (on the question of the famously attired coach and his standing among the best-dressed mentors in the sport)

Read! Villanova Finally a Lock - the ESPN prognosticators officially deeming the 'Cats NCAA-worthy)

Read! Si's Power Rankings - SI rates 'Nova #11

Opinion: 'Nova's Greatest Weakness - Chris has some particularly good insights as to where the Wildcats might be vulnerable...

Tim at 'Nova News notes that Foye Scores 33....

VUHoops.com has a good West Virginia preview....

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged, welcomed, and will always be answered.

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.)

Pete's Marquette Grades from Let's Go 'Nova blog

Over at the fine Let's Go 'Nova blog, Pete had suggested that I throw in my own two cents on his individual player grades. These can also be found in Pete's comment section under that post...

Hello, Pete-

Here's my analysis of your grades, per your request. The player's grade from you is at the top, and then I comment below...

"Scottie Reynolds - A"

I absolutely agree with this grade. When you look not just at the simple 27 points, but at the high scoring percentage, the 5-11 from three-point range, and as you noted, the four boards and complete absence of turnovers (in a high-tempo game, no less). No question, an A.

(BTW - I don't know if you have an A+ in your system - let me know.

"Dante Cunningham - B"

I would also agree with your grade here. 15 points is a solid performance, on 7-12 shooting, for a forward, and he did cut down his turnovers. I was concerned by the lack of rebounding (just 4 rebounds, less than 10% of VU's 41).

"Corey Fisher - A"

Likewise, agreed. Fisher was admirable running the point (four assists, three turnovers) for 32 minutes, shot extremely well, and fueled the offense.

"Reggie Redding - C-"

I'm going to disagree here and bump Redding up to a C. Granted, McNeal did score 23 points, but he (along w/ Matthews) also led Marquette with four turnovers, and his 8-20 shooting (40%) was down significantly from his season average (48.4%). So I think Redding has to get at least some credit for that.

Also, Redding contributed on the boards and with assists, which partially offsets his dismal night shooting and the turnovers. So I'll give him a C.

"Shane Clark - A"

Superb performance.

(BTW - I don't know if you have an A+ in your system - let me know. If you have the A+ designation, this would be the time to use it.)

"Corey Stokes - B"

Agreed, here. Had he thrown in a few more points, I'd go up to the B+, and I concur that his assists/rebounding numbers were great, particularly for 21 minutes.

"Dwayne Anderson - B"

I must disagree here - I think Anderson should have gotten an A. He had 10 points and three boards in 13 minutes - and this is a player who averages 25 min/game this year. If he hadn't been injured, and we project those numbers onto 26 minutes (what he likely would have played) - that's 20 pts/6 boards on 67% shooting (8-12) from the floor, plus two assists and presumably no turnovers. So to me, that's an A.

"Antonio Pena - B"

I agree here with this one. The 4 PFs were a little high for 11 minutes, but the 5 pts (for someone who averages 22 minutes, but played only 11), plus the three boards - very solid performance.

"Frank Tchuisi and Jason Colenda - incompletes -"

Agreed. I'll renew my point that Wright really should be putting them in the game earlier when the score is lopsided; he shouldn't have waited until the final minute against Syracuse and Marquette to put them in, especially at home.

Thoughts are welcome.

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged, welcomed, and will always be answered.

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.)

#13 Villanova Crushes #10 Marquette, 102-84, At Pavilion - Topping Century Mark Again! (Full Recap)

The #13 Villanova Wildcats crushed the #10 Marquette Golden Eagles on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, in front of the 93rd consecutive sellout (and raucous) crowd at the Pavilion. The final was a shocking 102-84 shelling of Marquette, and is the latest manifestation of what is now a three-game explosion of points from the 'Cats. They hung 102 points on nationally ranked Syracuse on Saturday, as well as winning a narrow 94-91 decision @ Providence earlier last week.

Villanova has now scored 298 points in three consecutive Big East games, in all of which they faced quality opponents. While I wouldn't be expecting to clear the century mark all the time, let alone in the Big East, hopefully this offensive super 'Nova will continue to explode throughout the college basketball universe. This outcome undoubtedly raised some eyebrows around the country - #10 Marquette yielding 102 points? After 'Nova just did the same thing to Syracuse three days earlier?

Some more good news, on the subject of streaks:

It was Villanova's seventh consecutive victory, and its third straight against a Top 25 opponent. Another streak extended was their now 26-game unbeaten run at the Pavilion. Villanova's last loss at the Pavilion was to DePaul on January 6, 2007. The first game of the streak was a win over Notre Dame, by the score of 102-87, ironically, on January 17, 2007.

This game against a top 10 opponent was as formidable a challenge as they were likely to see on-campus, given that most of the high-echelon opponents are played at the Wachovia Center (and prior to that, the old Spectrum and the Palestra).

Out of the 265 games that Villanova has played at the Pavilion, there have been only 36 in which Villanova has faced a ranked opponent: after this victory, Villanova has an even split (18-18), when taking on Top 25 opponents there. Moreover, of that group of 36, this was only the 11th time that both the Wildcats and their opponent have been ranked. And in that group, naturally, Villanova has done far better, now having won nine of those 11 contests.

But it seems that the Wildcats, if all goes well, could easily carry the Pavilion streak into next season. Finally, it also snapped a three-game losing streak to Marquette. The Wildcats hadn't won since February 2006, when the nucleus of Marquette's current team were freshmen - and it was at the Pavilion. It also avenged Marquette's 79-72 victory over 'Nova on New Year's Day (Marquette is one of only three BE opponents 'Nova will face twice this season).

Villanova improved to 8-3 Big East, 20-4 overall, while Marquette fell to 9-2 Big East, 20-4 overall. The victory also significantly strengthened Villanova's chances of getting a two-day bye in the new-format Big East tournament in March.

Looking at the numbers

Getting to 102 points requires a team effort, and no fewer than five Wildcats reached double figures. Scottie Reynolds had a game-high 27 points on 10-17 shooting overall and 5-11 from beyond the arc - and had four rebounds. Corey Fisher came off the bench and played 32 minutes, the third-most of any Wildcat. He had 21 points, shooting a sizzling 4-5 from beyond the arc, plus 6-10 from the floor and 5-7 from the line.

The best game overall came from Shane Clark, who had one of the finest days of his career. Clark had 16 points on perfect shooting, making all six of his field goal attempts, including three triples. He also added seven rebounds, three assists, and a blocked shot while committing just a single turnover. Dante Cunningham added 15 points and four boards. And Dwayne Anderson - despite playing only 13 minutes - was outstanding, scoring 10 points and picking up three boards before being injured early in the second half, which kept him out of action for the remainder of the game.

Reggie Redding also made a valuable contribution - he had half a dozen rebounds, as well as half a dozen assists, despite scoring only two points (the team didn't really need more points tonight). Antonio Pena played just 11 minutes but scored five points and grabbed three rebounds. Corey Stokes came off the bench for 21 minutes, finishing with six points, four rebounds and five assists. Regrettably, neither of the practice players - Frank Tchuisi and Jason Colenda - had the opportunity to score. Jay Wright absolutely should have put them in prior to the final minute, given the lopsided score and the chance for the packed Pavilion to cheer them on.

As a team, Villanova's numbers were great, except at the line. The Wildcats shot a torrid 54.2% from beyond the arc, and 58.7% from the floor (as a result, ironically, they actually had a higher percentage on their three-point shots than their two-point shots, as a result). Uncharacteristically for a Jay Wright team, they converted just 57.7% of their free throws (which nearly cost them their trip to the century mark.) Villanova also won the rebounding battle, 41-31.

On defense, the numbers weren't particularly good (Marquette did score 84 points, after all), but given the pace of the game and the number of possessions, it wasn't so bad. The Golden Eagles, ironically, had almost the same number of FTs and percentage as the Wildcats: VU was 15-26, MU was 15-27.

For Marquette, their four stars led the way. Their seniors had played at the Pavilion in February 2006 as freshmen, and they made their return felt. Lazar Hayward finished with 22 points and nine rebounds while playing all but one minute. Jerel McNeal, a BE Player of the Year candidate, had a team-high 23 points and seven assists. Wesley Matthews had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Finally, Domenic James finished with 14 points and nine assists.

The game action

Surprisingly, in light of the lopsided final score, the game was actually very competitive for a long time. Marquette led by nine points, in fact, deep into the first half, after James hit a jumper to make it 37-28 with 7:08 till intermission. Villanova had trailed just 23-22 at the 10:54 mark, after a layup by Fisher, and was in danger of slipping out of the game.

However, Villanova embarked on a 14-4 run, reclaiming the lead at 42-41, on a jumper from Cunningham at the 2:50 mark. Fisher then nearly took over the game for the final three minutes. He drew a foul while firing from the perimeter, and drained all three free throws. Fisher then nailed a three, and after Marquette failed to score on its final possession, fed Corey Stokes for a jumper in the dying seconds of the half. Fisher's heroics meant that Villanova headed into the locker room with a 50-45 advantage; it was a 14-point swing in just over seven minutes.

At an emotional level, Anderson's injury was undoubtedly very difficult for the team. As Chris from I Bleed Blue and White put it:

Here was their emotional leader lying on the ground. The place was in stunned silence. Dwayne Anderson sat on the bench quietly for two years, helping the team, and when he got his shot he never looked back. He’s been the heart of this team since the Seton Hall win last year. Losing him was going to crush the momentum that ‘Nova had. But it didn’t. Anderson got up and with some help walked off the court to deafening cheers from the crowd. Everyone seemed to rally around that moment.

Anderson was subsequently diagnosed with a right knee sprain, according to the AP article. Hopefully, he'll be OK.

Update: Villanova has issued a press release on Anderson's injury - here's the relevant summary:

An examination of Dwayne Anderson's left knee has revealed the senior guard suffered a hyperextension and bone bruise... Anderson is listed as questionable for Friday night's game at West Virginia...

"This is good news," stated [team surgeon Dr. Rob] Good. "It's hard to say exactly how long Dwayne will be out for. He will be day-to-day as we monitor the soreness."

Villanova then flattened Marquette for the rest of the game. This was remarkable, in light of how competitive and exciting the first half had been. There had been eight ties and seven lead changes in just 20 minutes, between two evenly matched teams.

The game remained very tension-filled, well into the second half. During the first eight minutes of the second half, Villanova had been able to retain the lead it had taken into halftime, with the lead fluctuating from five to 10 points. It seemed that the Pavilion faithful could breathe a little more easily when the Wildcats opened up a 10-point lead at the 12:12 mark, after a layup by Stokes gave them a 70-60 advantage.

Marquette responded with six quick points, cutting it to 70-64, and raising the anxiety level in the Pavilion. However, Villanova decisively took control at that point, launching an 8-0 run; their lead would never fall below nine points for the rest of the game, and was in double-digits for the vast majority of it.

The road doesn't get any easier for Villanova, however. They must travel to Morgantown, West Virginia - one of the toughest homecourts in the nation for a visitor - and tangle with the Mountaineers at 9 PM on Friday night. A full preview will be coming up.

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged, welcomed, and will always be answered.

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.)

#13 Villanova Crushes #10 Marquette At Pavilion- Topping Century Mark Again Vs Ranked Opponent - Full Recap to Follow - Here's A Survey of Links

The #13 Wildcats hit the century mark for the second straight game - both against ranked opponents, no less - in crushing #10 Marquette, 102-84, at the Pavilion on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, in front of ESPN's cameras.

A full recap will be coming later.

In the meantime, here's a survey of what other Villanova sites have been saying:

Let's Go 'Nova - Pete has 'Nova Wins Big, Anderson Hurt

I Bleed Blue and White has postGame: Villanova 102, Marquette 84 and also Links: Wednesday Afternoon Reading, in which Chris has assembled all of the best Villanova-related material from around the Internet. Update: Chris now has posted an outstanding recap, Thoughts on Marquette....

VUHoops.com - This Is Our House - 'Nova Takes Sixth Straight

'Nova News - We're Going Streaking!

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged, welcomed, and will always be answered.

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.)

#10 Marquette @ #13 Villanova Preview

#10 Marquette @ #13 Villanova Preview
Tuesday, February 10, 2009

7:30 PM at the Pavilion

TV: ESPN2

For other Villanova/Marquette previews, please check out the following sites - I highly recommend them:

Pete's Let's Go 'Nova site

I Bleed Blue and White site

VUHoops.com site

Villanova By the Numbers (VBTN)

'Nova News

And take a look at Cracked Sidewalks for an outstanding Marquette site...

The Philadelphia Inquirer looks back to the game between Marquette and the Wildcats in 2006 - which also took place at the Pavilion - when the eventual Elite Eight Villanova squad was nearly upset by the Golden Eagles. The nucleus of the current Marquette team were freshmen at the time.

To the Wildcat faithful-

The #10 Marquette Golden Eagles visit the Pavilion on Tuesday night, in the highest-profile Pavilion visit since #4 Villanova's glorious 85-74 defeat of #5 Oklahoma back on December 3, 2005. Due to both teams being ranked, the atmosphere at 'Nova's intimate Pavilion will be very raucous. It's worth noting that due to Villanova's decision to shift many high-profile - and the occasional City Series - opponents to the Palestra and the South Philadelphia venues at various times over the last quarter-century, this will be only the 10th time - in the 24-year history of the Pavilion - that in a Pavilion contest, both Villanova and its opponent will be ranked entering the game. (And tonight's game will be the 264th in Pavilion history.) The most recent example was on January 6, 2008, when the 17th-ranked Wildcats edged the #13 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers, in a thrilling 64-63 contest. In these nine contests, Villanova has won seven - and interestingly, the lower-ranked team has won five of them.

#13 Villanova takes a record of 7-3 Big East, 19-4 overall, into the contest. Last Saturday's glorious blowout of then-#20 Syracuse, at the Wachovia Center, almost certainly cinched a NCAA berth (not that there was much doubt left, anyway). But the Wildcats could certainly cement it with a win over Marquette tonight. The Golden Eagles enter the game with a record of 9-1 Big East, 20-3 overall, and lead the current Big East standings. They also were undefeated in Big East play until last Friday, when they were upset @ South Florida. It is not a good omen that Marquette is coming off just its third loss - and it has not lost consecutive games this season.

All-time Series: 6-6

Despite being mid-sized Catholic basketball powers, the two teams did not meet regularly until Marquette joined the Big East. Prior to that, Villanova led the series 5-2. The most prominent, recent pre-Big East meeting was Marquette's thrashing of Villanova in Madison Square Garden, in the first game for the fabled incoming class of Allan Ray, Randy Foye, Curtis Sumpter, and Jason Fraser, in November 2002; superstar Dwyane Wade led the way for the Golden Eagles in that contest. Jay Wright is just 1-4 against Marquette in his career.

Villanova will be gunning for its 26th consecutive victory in the Pavilion: it extended the streak to 25, most recently, with the Super Bowl Sunday victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats at noon on February 1. The deliberately early tip-off was considerate on the part of ESPN+ and Villanova. As a result, there was fortunately plenty of time for the Pavilion faithful to get home to their house parties or Main Line establishments to enjoy Super Bowl XLIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, a truly memorable Super Bowl in all respects).
In addition, Villanova will be trying to win its sixth consecutive contest, which it has not done since the 2006 season (when the Wildcats reeled off 11 consecutive triumphs).

Tonight's contest will be the regrettably-rare second meeting between two Big East conference rivals. With the expanded conference, VU plays only three teams twice yearly, and this year it happens to be Marquette. (Which worked out fine, given that even two losses to Marquette are great losses for RPI and seeding purposes.)

On January 1, 2009, the two teams met in Milwaukee. In that game, the Golden Eagles upset (yes, they did) then-#15 Villanova, 79-72. Marquette, at the time, was unranked in the AP poll and just #25 in the ESPN coaches' poll.

One of the considerable upsides of playing an opponent twice a year, is the fact that we can look at the first game to see patterns that may be replicated in the second meeting. (The Big East, as recently as the early '90s, had just ten teams, and everyone played everyone else twice.)

So let's look at the first game, using a very detailed AP recap:

Marquette was forced to commit 19 turnovers, matching their season high at the time. So how did they stay in it? They were able to overcome the notoriously stingy Villanova defense. Entering the game, according to the article, Villanova had been allowing just 57.6 points and just a 37.9% shooting average from the floor. In contrast, Marquette shot the lights out, hitting 46% of their shots - and a powerful 41.7% from beyond the arc. In a seven-point contest, that was all the difference needed. Marquette lost a lot of possessions due to turnovers, but when they held onto the ball they scored nearly half the time. In addition, probably due to halftime adjustments, their turnovers dropped markedly in the second half. They committed 13 turnovers in the first half, and less than half as many - half a dozen - miscues after play resumed.

Marquette was leading by just a single point, with only 5:39 to play, but they launched a run that Villanova could not overcome. The Golden Eagles - although shaky at the foul line at that time, according to the AP article - then secured the victory by nailing an outstanding 13 of 14 shots from the line in the last 2:40. Prior to this game, Villanova had effectively contained all of its opponents to just 68 points or less; on New Year's Day, in what hopefully was not a bad omen for the rest of 2009, they yielded 79 points.

Looking at the box score:

Only seven Wildcats saw significant time (20 minutes or more); Antonio Pena had seven minutes. Corey Fisher scored 21 points, just two short of his career-high, plus hauling down five rebounds. (Noteworthy: in Fisher's four previous games up to that point, he had totalled just 17 points. So expect to see a lot of him tonight.)

Three other Wildcats reached double figures: Dante Cunningham (16 points/8 rebounds), Scottie Reynolds (15 points), and Corey Stokes (10 points). The Golden Eagles also had four players in double figures. Jerel McNeal had an outstanding performance (24 points, four rebounds, seven assists) to lead all scorers. Wesley Matthews had 19 points, including 8-10 from the line, much of it down the stretch as Marquette retained its lead. Domenic James had 17 points and six rebounds, while Lazar Hayward had 15 points and five rebounds. He also shot well from the line (6-7).

This is a good segue to look back at the team numbers. Marquette enjoyed a substantial edge in points from the line. Villanova made an outstanding 85.7% of its free throws (18-21), but Marquette got to the line more often (albeit shooting a lower percentage). The Golden Eagles were 23-31 (74.2%), and those extra five points were a big difference in a seven-point game.

Marquette outrebounded Villanova, 32-30. Two significant trouble spots were in the box score: Villanova shot just 30% from beyond the arc (6-20) and also had many players in foul trouble. The two stars, Cunningham and Reynolds, both fouled out. Dwayne Anderson and Reggie Redding finished with four fouls, while Corey Fisher and Pena ended up with three. (Or put it this way - of the eight Wildcats who saw action, all finished with at least two fouls, and four of them either fouled out or were one short of doing so.) Villanova ended up with 28 fouls in comparison to Marquette's 18. Accordingly, staying out of foul trouble is of the utmost importance for the Wildcats this evening.

Marquette would likely use a seven-man rotation, based on this box score, but McNeal, Hayward, James and Matthews play the bulk of the minutes. Three other Golden Eagles round out the rotation - Jimmy Butler and Dwight Burke with 15 minutes, and Patrick Hazel with 21 minutes. McNeal has an outside chance of becoming Marquette's all-time leading scorer; he is just 20 shy of the current record-holder (although the team would undoubtedly prefer that he break the record at a home game, they would not likely let a desire to keep him to a maximum of 19 points factor into their game plan.)

A Concise Summary of Marquette History, from a Villanovan's perspective:

This might be of particular interest to Marquette fans reading this preview:

The Viewpoint on the Marquette Golden Eagles

Series History

Given the distance between the schools, it is not surprising that they have only met a dozen times, with the results a perfectly even split. The teams played annually for much of the 1960s, with Villanova winning @ Marquette in the first contest, 75-70, on New Year's Eve, 1960.

After 1967, there had been only two meetings, prior to Marquette's inclusion in the Big East, which began during the 2005-06 season. The first came in the 1980 NCAA tournament, when coach Roland V. Massimino's Wildcats defeated the then-Marquette Warriors, 77-59, in the first round. The series then lay dormant, until the most recent meeting in the opening game of the 2002-03 season, on November 15, 2002. This game featured the much-anticipated debut of the class of 2006 (Curtis Sumpter, Jason Fraser, Allan Ray, and Randy Foye), generally regarded as one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. However, in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden, a Marquette squad which would eventually reach the Final Four, destroyed Villanova, 73-61.

In Big East play, Marquette leads the series, 3-1. Villanova's only victory came in 2006, when the nucleus of the 2009 team had just arrived as freshmen, and Marquette nearly pulled an upset at the Pavilion, losing 72-67 while leading for most of the game. This is Marquette's first visit to the Pavilion since then, and just second all-time. Of the other three Big East games, Marquette came to the Wachovia Center last year, and in 2007, the single game was in Milwaukee at the Bradley Center. Marquette's third win also came at the Bradley Center, on New Year's Day of this year.

Coach and Context

In April 2008, Brent "Buzz" Williams succeeded Tom Crean, who spent nine years at the helm in Milwaukee. Crean accepted the job at Indiana, where he is currently mired in a 6-15 mess and - I speculate - wishing he were back with the top-10 Golden Eagles.

Crean - who had never previously served as a Division I head coach - took Marquette back to its previous glories in 2003, as he guided the Golden Eagles back to the Final Four, for the first time since Marquette's golden age, under the late Al McGuire, in the 1970s. Before being named Marquette's 15th head coach on March 30, 1999, Crean had been an assistant at Western Kentucky, Pittsburgh, and Michigan State.

Crean was the recruiting assistant in Lansing, and played an important role in constructing Michigan State's 2000 NCAA championship team, under head coach Tom Izzo. Of particular importance was his success in recruiting Mateen Cleaves, the team's catalyst, who would eventually win two Big Ten Player of the Year awards. (Although unfortunately for Crean, he wasn't in Lansing to savor the success, since he was then coaching his inaugural season at Marquette.)

Marquette has a very rich and storied history, comparable to Villanova's past. The school has made 26 NCAA tournaments (with 32 NCAA victories) and 15 trips to the NIT, and served as a pit stop for Rick Majerus, among others (although he only had a trio of NIT trips in the 1980s, during his three seasons there). Along with Villanova, it is one of the few schools that can boast of both a NCAA title and a NIT championship, both courtesy of McGuire during his tenure in Milwaukee, from 1964-1977. In 13 seasons, McGuire made 11 postseason appearances, and posted a record of 295-80.

Marquette sank into mediocrity for a decade, however, after reaching the NCAAs in 1983 (ironically, after the NCAA became far easier to enter, when it was expanded in the miraculous year of 1985). The school went an entire decade between NCAA appearances, before Kevin O'Neill got them back in 1993. Things began looking up again. Including 1993, Marquette has made six NCAA appearances, including the 2003 Final Four, and qualified for five NITs. In only two years, has it missed postseason play entirely (1999 and 2001). Of those five NIT appearances, it also has gone deep into three of them. The Golden Eagles reached the NIT final in 1995, a team chiefly memorable because its sixth man, William Gates, was one of the two players documented in one of the greatest sports films ever made, Hoop Dreams. (In that game, Marquette lost in OT to Virginia Tech, 65-64.)

McGuire eschewed a NCAA bid in 1970 and instead won the NIT, in one of the last meaningful ones, before the NCAA's expanded field eventually reduced the NIT, to a consolation tournament; that Marquette team finished with a 28-1 record.

In 1974, McGuire took Marquette to the Final Four, losing in the title game to North Carolina State. But in 1977, he won it all, topping Dean Smith's North Carolina team, and then stepped down.

In 1997, two decades later, Marquette won a Conference USA tournament. And in 2003, they returned to the Final Four for the first time since the McGuire era, winning the C-USA regular season championship as well.

In 2004-05, Marquette had a decent season, which it finished with a 19-11 record. However, the team fell in the opening round of the C-USA tournament, to TCU in overtime. This fact, coupled with a 7-9 record in conference play, meant that the Golden Eagles really didn't have much of a chance at a NCAA bid. And so the season went into the record books, without the magic number of 20 wins, since it ended with a 12th loss, in the first round of the NIT (by double-digits, at home) to Western Michigan, in which the Golden Eagles scored only 40 points.

After the outstanding success of the 2003 team, Crean was being courted intensively by many other schools, particularly those in conferences of higher prestige than Conference USA, and those state schools with the money to presumably outbid Marquette in its bid to retain Crean for the long term.

To their credit, Marquette simply decided to shell out whatever it would take to keep him – in contrast to what usually happens at less wealthy private schools, namely, once they get a decent coach, they immediately lose him to higher powers in the college basketball firmament. They shrewdly calculated the math, figuring that if they wanted to keep a Big Ten school from taking Crean, the best solution would be simply to outbid his richer suitors, regardless of what it would cost to do so. And so Crean was locked up with a long-term deal, and has remained in Milwaukee.

Marquette had dropped a bit, however, since then, missing the NCAA tournament in both 2004 and 2005. However, Crean recovered well from the setbacks, guiding the Golden Eagles to the tournament in each of his last three seasons (2006-08). The Golden Eagles lost in the first round in 2006 and 2007, and the second round in 2008.

Full recap after the game.

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged, welcomed, and will always be answered. 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.)

#17 Villanova Hits Century Mark For First Time Ever Against Syracuse, 102-85

It took 63 meetings – but on Saturday, February 07, 2009, #17 Villanova reached the century mark for the first time ever against Syracuse, and did so in a memorable way. The Wildcats walloped a very good, nationally ranked Orangemen squad, 102-85, at the Wachovia Center.

There were a surprising number of empty seats at the beginning, at least in view of the ESPN cameras, but some of that was probably attributable to the early, noon tip-time.

Dante Cunningham tied his career-high by scoring 31 points, leading the way for the Wildcats. The senior nearly attained yet another double-double, finishing with nine rebounds, while shooting a torrid 12-15 from the floor.

The game was witnessed, as all Syracuse visits are, by former Orangeman football (and basketball) star Donovan McNabb, the long-time quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, sitting at courtside.

The Wildcats improved to 7-3 Big East, 19-4 overall, winning their fifth straight contest. Syracuse dropped to 6-5 Big East, 18-6 overall.

Villanova returns to action on Tuesday in a showdown with conference leader Marquette at the Pavilion.

A more complete report will ensue…

Go Wildcats!

#17 Villanova Hangs On for Wild Win at Providence, 94-91

On Wednesday, February 4, #17 Villanova led by as many as 20 points - in the second half - and managed to hang on for a wild win at Providence, 94-91, as PC trailed by just one with 1.1 seconds to play. As radio analyst Whitey Rigsby pointed out - "Villanova gave up 57 points in the second half - on the road - and won."

Scottie Reynolds had a game-high 31 points, including many free throws at crunch time (he was 13-15 from the line overall). Four other Wildcats reached double figures - Dwayne Anderson (19 points), with Dante Cunningham, Reggie Redding and Corey Fisher each contributing a dozen.

Three Providence Friars scored 20-plus points in the course of the remarkable, valiant comeback (there won't be a lot of losses, where you have three scorers with 20 or more points, but it happened to PC tonight). Villanova won its four straight contest, improving to 6-3 Big East, 18-4 overall, and moving into sole possession of fifth place in the 16-team conference. (All four teams above Villanova are ranked in the top 10 nationally.)

A more complete recap will be posted later.

Go Wildcats!

#21 Villanova Clobbers Cincinnati for 25th Straight Pavilion Win, on the Day of Super Bowl XLIII

On the day of Super Bowl XLIII between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, #21 Villanova put on its own version of a pre-game show against Cincinnati at noon. The game was undoubtedly scheduled for a noon tip-off, in order to allow the 6,500 fans (give or take) at the Pavilion to make it home or to the various Main Line establishments in plenty of time for the festivities. (It was a particularly welcome diversion, in light of the fact that the Eagles came remarkably close to participating in the Super Bowl themselves.) And those fans were not disappointed, as the Wildcats won their 25th consecutive game in the Pavilion.

The Wildcats also helped out with the pre-game entertainment, by providing an interesting game in the first half, before taking control and obliterating the Bearcats in the second half. Villanova triumphed easily, 71-50, although the contest was considerably more competitive than that final score would indicate. Cincinnati actually led by six in the first half and trailed by just six with 13:13 to play. After the Bearcats had successfully crawled back to 45-39, ‘Nova won the rest of the game 26-11.

Villanova improved its record to 5-3 Big East, 17-4 overall – the Wildcats are now Cincinnati fell to 4-5 Big East, 14-8 overall, as the Bearcats failed to sustain their momentum by defeating another ranked BE opponent, after upsetting Georgetown earlier in the week. Villanova extended its perfect streak against unranked opponents to 16-0.

Looking at the numbers:

The Villanova victory was powered by suffocating defensive intensity. The Bearcats managed to shoot just 29% from the floor and 26% from three-point range. They also committed 18 turnovers – and all of this futility is why they managed only 50 points. Conversely, the Wildcats shot 51% from the floor and thus were able to overcome a poor afternoon from beyond the arc: 2-12 for the day and 0-6 in the first half. Quality foul shooting also helped – ‘Nova had 24 free throws and converted 19 of them (79%).

The big star for ‘Nova was Dante Cunningham, who had a fine day - 21 points on 8-11 shooting. He also had eight rebounds, three blocks, and two steals (although he did turn the ball over half a dozen times, and that’s why it wasn’t a great day for him). Also in double figures for ‘Nova were Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher. Reynolds had 11 points in 30 minutes, as he did not have his best shooting touch – he shot just 2-8 from the floor and a majority of his points came from the line, where he was a near-perfect 7-8. In contrast, Fisher’s performance was far more encouraging. Fisher came off the bench for 20 minutes of action: he scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting, plus two steals, two assists and one rebound.

As for the game action:

Cincinnati looked very good in the first half. They posted a strong 6-0 run, triggering a Jay Wright timeout with the score UC 23 - VU 18, at the 6:01 mark. They were sinking into foul trouble, though, as UC committed enough fouls for VU to be in the double bonus with under six minutes to go in the first half.

Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates converted a traditional 3-pt play to make it 26-19. After he missed his initial free throw, there was a lane violation on DC, and Gates got another shot and made it this time… it was a 9-1 run ….

Fisher, off a steal, drove on a breakaway, and with a fine move (coming into the basket from the left and laying it up from the right side of the backboard), cut the UC lead to 26-19…

Dwayne Anderson knocked the ball out of 34’s hands in the corner – fine defense from DA and Antonio Pena – triggered the under-4 timeout with it still 26-21… This came on the heels of Anderson emerging from a scrum with the ball on the previous possession – although the save by Anderson did not lead to a Villanova basket (SR had to shoot immediately to avoid a shot-clock violation), it was a great play….

3:05 alley-ooped dunk from DC to make it 26-23, with a great cheer from the crowd…

Fisher makes 2 FTs to make it 26-25…..but picked up his 2nd foul on the next possession, sending him to the bench.

Pena followed up a missed layup from SR to put Nova up 27-26…at 2;17 – the 10th lead change ….

VU forced a turnover from the sideline trap, with Vaughn picking up his 3rd foul on Anderson, after Reynolds fed him trailing…. VU now 28-26 after 1 of 2 Fts.

After a three, UC led at the 1:15 mark, 29-28.

VU turned the ball over with 13.7 seconds left- but UC’s Miller missed the front end of a 1_1. It turned out that ‘Nova did not pay for the mistake (given that they could have held the ball for the last shot….) Reynolds laid it in with the waning seconds of the first half – VU took a 30-29 lead into intermission. It was the 12th lead change of the half, which featured four ties as well.

11-3 run to end the first half for ‘Nova…

Halftime numbers:

VU was 0-6 from beyond the arc – 5-15 for UC –

The Wildcats held a small advantage from the floor, with a 46% to 42% margin. They also reached the line far more often, going 10-13 against just 2-3 for the Bearcats. UC kept it close by relying on its bench, which scored a majority (18) of its 29 first-half points, compared to just seven for ‘Nova’s bench. (Cunningham had taken six of ‘Nova’s first seven shots and scored the Wildcats’ first eight points.) Each team had nine turnovers. Seven points from Gates at halftime…

DC alley-oop from Fisher - 9 pts, 3 rebounds for DC at halftime…

Jay Wright in a charcoal VU jumpsuit and sneakers… Mick Cronyn had him outclassed in black… one of the rare occasions when Wright will be outdone by an opposing coach when it comes to clothes.

Fisher gave VU its biggest lead at that point, 34-29; ‘Nova had trailed by as many as seven. Vaughn hit a 3 to make it 34-32 at17:07…

16:49 Anderson hit Villanova’s first 3 to make it 37-32.. Mitchum responded with another 3. Vaughn was in the game with 3 fouls..

At 15:41, Fisher committed his 3rd foul and had to head to the bench, with the TV timeout resulting – it was 37-35 ‘Nova, Fisher replaced by Stokes.

VU had a great play in transition, from Reggie Redding on a follow-up of a ‘Nova miss. 41-35…but then picked up his 3rd foul and was replaced by Shane Clark…

DC hit 2 FTs with 13:59 to go 43-37 – now with 15 pts…

Dish from DC to Clark, 45-37 – the biggest lead for either squad….

A called timeout from Wright with 13:13 to go, after a basket from UC 45-39…

Fisher breakaway off steal from Wilkes (pickpocket steal) 47-39 – Wilkes recovered well enough to defend the resulting layup, but Fisher managed to maneuver it in… Wright had been using the opportunity to get both DC and SR some time on the bench, and VU responded…

At this point, 25 of UC’s 39 pts were from the bench… Reynolds and DC were back in the game after the timeout… Fisher hit a 2 to 11:14 to extend the lead to 49-39… the Wildcats clearly had the momentum at this point, as UC then committed its fourth TO in six possessions… on an offensive foul. Gates also then committed an offensive foul on the next possession – another UC offensive foul on back to back possessions – its fifth turnover of the second half, against just 10 points. Stokes 51- 39 DC put back made it 53-39, with 9:01 to go, forcing Cronin to call a timeout (although I think at that point it was too late…) Villanova now led by 14… a 16-4 run… a UC shot clock violation with 8:32…

UC while absorbing a 12-0 run, missed all six of its shots and committed four turnovers… UC called another timeout at 7:17 to hold the lead, now down 57-39… at the under 8 at 6:39, ‘Nova held a commanding lead at 57-42… at this point, VU had scored 19 points off 16 UC turnovers…

With six minutes to go, UC fumbled the pass because it was so hard, had the ball almost go in, but it was rebounded with ‘Nova… it was that kind of day for ‘Nova. Villanova was only 1-11 from beyond the arc at this piint but had a 15 point lead, nonetheless…

Dish on to Cunningham for a dunk from Anderson…59-43…5:06…

Anderson 3 from top of arc, from SR…at 4:29 to gp…62-43…

VU was called for a three-second violation in each half…. The secondh-half one triggered the under 4- timeout at 3:59 and the 62-43 lead…

An intentional foul on SR on a breakaway on Mitchell (SR was annoyed about turning the ball over and grabbed him from behind), it’s extremely unusual to have an intentional foul called with a 19 point lead; Mitchell made both FTs, but UC did not score on the ensuing possession…

Stokes converted a traditional 3-pt play at the other end…65-47…2:46…

The game grew choppy at the end, with a sequence of fouls, with Villanova committing five quickly…

With 42.2 seconds to play, the deep reserves and walk-ons came into the game….unfortunately, they just ran out the clock rather than running a set, as it would have been cool to see one of them score. Nevertheless, the final ended up 71-50, VU. I have to say that I think that Wright should have put them in a lot sooner than the final minute, because Villanova had secured a virtually insurmountable lead far earlier, and the game had not been competitive for a while.

The Wildcats return to action on Wednesday, February 3, 2009, against the Providence Friars, one of their traditional Big East rivals. Villanova has historically struggled at Providence, and it is likely to be yet another tough one at the Dunkin’ Donuts Arena (nee Providence Civic Center).

Go Wildcats!

You can contact Villanova Viewpoint 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.)

Villanova Viewpoint Back on Blogger For Now

Hello-

Until further notice, Villanova Viewpoint is now back on Blogger - right here at villanovaviewpoint.blogspot.com... And instead of e-mailing, just leave a comment on any blog post here on Blogger.... Comments are encouraged...

Thanks - Go Wildcats!

You can contact Villanova Viewpoint by leaving a comment on this or any post....

#21 Wildcats Upset #3 Pittsburgh in Final NCAA Game

On Wednesday, #21 Villanova bade a final farewell to the "old Spectrum", the site of glorious victories over Big East opponents during the 1980s and 1990s. The Wildcats upset #3 Pittsburgh, its first win over a ranked opponent this season and likely cementing the squad's claim to a NCAA tournament berth.

The Wildcats return to action on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1, when they host Cincinnati at the Pavilion at noon - in other words, in plenty of time for fans to return home to enjoy the Super Bowl - and, regrettably, ponder what could have been a "Turnpike Super Bowl", had the Eagles rallied for a victory in Arizona two weeks earlier.

Go Wildcats!

You can contact Villanova Viewpoint by leaving a comment on this blog... comments are encouraged. You also can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before! Please use this one.)

Villanova Viewpoint Has Moved - Please Visit the Vastly Expanded VillanovaViewpoint.com!

Big News!!!

Villanova Viewpoint is happy to announce, that in order to serve its readers better, it has expanded to its own web site: www.villanovaviewpoint.com.

Since we are in the middle of March, here is how the transition from this web log to the new site will be handled:

www.VillanovaViewpoint.com will be used, exclusively for the time being, for NCAA bubble/seeding speculation, and Villanova's NCAA previews and recaps. Eventually, after the 2006-07 season is over, the archive of stories from the 2006-2007 season and 2005-2006 season will be transferred to www.VillanovaViewpoint.com.

Accordingly:

Until announced otherwise, if you are interested in reading any stories/recaps from either 2006-07 (up to and including the Big East tournament) and/or 2005-06, please continue to visit this web log. Please continue to visit the archive for those stories, until an announcement is made that the archives have been transferred (and that announcement will be many weeks in the future, so please continue to come here for archived material for a very long time.)

If you are interested in reading the best, most comprehensive coverage of Villanova in the NCAA tournament, please visit the new site: www.villanovaviewpoint.com.

If you have any questions about the transition, please e-mail this address: publisher@villanovaviewpoint.com.

Thanks for visiting the Villanova Viewpoint Web Log, and please visit the new www.VillanovaViewpoint.com. As always, comments, criticisms, etc., are always welcomed.

Questions? Comments? Information? Would you like to be notified via e-mail when VillanovaViewpoint.com has been updated? You can e-mail publisher@villanovaviewpoint.com.

#9 Villanova Falls to Top-Seeded Georgetown in Big East Tournament Quarterfinal Round, 62-57; Valiant Comeback After Hoyas Built 26-2, 35-10 Leads

Georgetown had never lost to Villanova in the Big East tournament, winning all three previous encounters with the Wildcats. The pattern continued today, as #9 Villanova fell 62–57, to top-seeded Georgetown in the Big East quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon, March 8, 2007, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is ironic that despite the fact that both schools are long-time members of the Big East, this was only the fourth time that they had met in the tournament - and as we all know from the floor at Madison Square Garden, this was the 25th BE tournament at the Garden (and it had been in other locales in previous years).

The closeness of the final score is a great testament to Jay Wright, the coaching staff, and the Wildcats. At various points in the first half, Georgetown led by margins of (these are not typographical errors):
14-0
26-2 (over ten minutes INTO the game)
35-10 (Villanova trailed by 25 points at three different junctures)
and 37-18 at halftime.
But Villanova embarked on a strong run to start the second half, and remained within hailing distance throughout the rest of the contest. First, they drew as close as ten twice, trailing just 55-45 with 2:45 to go after a good post-up basket by Will Sheridan at the 2:43 mark. They also trailed just 56-47 with 1:22 after a Sumpter bucket, the first time the lead was in single-digits since it was (ironically) 9-0 to start the game. Sheridan went to the line with 1:20 to go, and made ends of a one-and-one after being fouled by Hibbert. 'Nova trailed just 56-49. Cunningham had to foul out to prevent what would have been an easy dunk by Hibbert in transition (great hustle by Cunningham to get back to be in a position to stop that basket and put Hibbert on the line).
Hibbert made both with 1:13 to play, to put the lead back to 58-49. However, Reynolds drove for a layup to cut it back to 58-51, and Georgetown, after some preliminary pressure, called timeout in the backcourt with 57.1 seconds to play. The Hoyas went for the "home run" pass, but the ball sailed well over the target's head, handing Villanova the ball, right back under Georgetown's basket, the optimal outcome for the Wildcats. Reynolds drove and drew a foul. Reynolds made one of two FTs to pull 'Nova to 58-52 with 53.7 seconds. The Hoyas immediately turned it over, and Reynolds had a great look at the triple that would have pulled 'Nova back to within three, but it didn't go down. Sheridan fouled DaJuan Summers over the back, and with 41.8 seconds to play, Georgetown led 59-52 after he made one of two free throws.
After Sumpter's initial shot was rejected out of bounds, he was fouled after the shot, from the perimeter with 27.9 seconds to play - giving him three FTs. The fifth-year senior made all three and it was 59-54. Sapp was fouled by Redding with 26.4 seconds left to play, going back to the line. He made one of two to push it to 60-54, but 'Nova couldn't score, losing the ball out of bounds when Sumpter's shot caromed off the rim and over the backboard with 10.5 seconds to go, effectively ending the game. After a celebratory dunk by Georgetown on the inbounds play, Sumpter made a buzzer-beater triple, cutting the final margin to a highly respectable 62-57. Not a bad outcome, when you started out down 26-2 and 35-10.
As noted previous, it is a credit to Jay Wright and his staff's inculcation of defense/rebounding, that the Wildcats not only made this score look respectable, but genuinely climbed back into the contest and actually threw a scare into Georgetown in the final minutes (the Hoyas had collapsed last season in the Big East tournament in a similar situation, with a large lead, and ultimately lost). The Wildcats have so bought into the Wright system that it is very, very difficult to blow Villanova out of the gym. Most other teams would have given up when they fell behind 26-2, but the Wildcats did not. What this means in the long run: Villanova develops a relationship for tenacity that will put all of its opponents on edge, until the final buzzer. Word has undoubtedly gotten around that "no lead is safe against Villanova", and that's an enormous advantage for Villanova's program.

It was the third time the schools had met this season, an increasing anomaly given the swollen size of the Big East. Villanova won at the Verizon Center on January 8; Georgetown won at the Wachovia Center on February 17, and now owns the neutral court victory as well.

The Hoyas, now 24-6 and ranked #9 in the AP poll, advanced to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of #4 Notre Dame/#5 Syracuse on Friday night. They are seeking their first BE tournament title since 1989. Roy Hibbert led with 14 points, with Big East Play of the Year Jeff Green adding a dozen points.

Villanova fell to 22-10 overall. Fortunately, the Wildcats are 100% certain of receiving an at-large bid on Selection Sunday, March 11, 2007. Thus, Villanova fans can safely root for the underdogs in college tournaments, knowing that it will not adversely affect the Wildcats’ chances.

Sumpter led with 18 points, with four Wildcats reaching double figures. Reggie Redding (the product of St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia) and Scottie Reynolds scored 11 points apiece, with Sheridan adding 10 points. Mike Nardi played only sparingly, as Reggie Redding started once more in his place. With the Wildcats now eliminated, they will not play again until Thursday, March 15, 2007 (the Ides of March), at the earliest. Hopefully with a full week of rest, Nardi will be back for the NCAA tournament. (It would also help if the Selection Committee gave ‘Nova a Friday/Sunday bracket, in order to provide an extra day for his injury to heal.)




Questions About the Bench
It seems clear that Wright is prepared to sink or swim with the following rotation, come hell or high water:
Backcourt - Reynolds, Redding, Nardi (if available)
Frontcourt - Sumpter, Shane Clark, Will Sheridan, Dante Cunningham
In fairness, this reflects a similar pattern in Wright's coaching style. As we get to March, he appears to have decided what combination has the best chemistry, and the rotation tends to contract to about seven or eight players. In addition, the games mean more in March than they do in January, and so it's logical that the bench players would get fewer minutes.
What about Dwayne Anderson, Bilal Benn, and Casiem Drummond?
They weren't injured. The fact that none of them saw the light of day - for even a single minute - in a game which had all of the following elements:
a) The opponent built a huge lead early;
b) The game was of little importance to Villanova, whose NCAA bid had been cemented after the win over Syracuse in the regular season finale;
c) Mike Nardi - the team's vocal leader, best ball-handler, best foul shooter, and the third of Villanova's three primary offensive weapons - was injured;
d) The opponent had a much bigger team;
If those three players didn't play, when all of those elements have been attained, then it seems safe to say that none of them will play in the NCAA tournament, unless a) a game-wrecking injury hits Nardi and/or any of the other six players in the rotation; b) severe foul trouble takes place.

I draw the inescapable conclusion that Wright believes that Villanova has the best chance to win with the healthy six plus Nardi, than it does with any of the bench players on the floor - and so accordingly, these seven are the Wildcats we're going to see (barring the two contingencies enumerated above).
Although the Wildcats are now out of the Big Eat tournament, Villanova Viewpoint's coverage doesn't stop there. Fom now through Selection Sunday, Villanova Viewpoint will be publishing “Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble”, speculating about the fates of all the other bubble teams nationally: a group which, fortunately, does not include Villanova.

Questions? Comments? Information? Would you like to be notified via e-mail when Villanova Viewpoint has been updated? You can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com.

#9 Villanova Downs #8 DePaul in Big East Tournament Opening Round, Will Face #1 Georgetown on Thursday at Noon

#9 Villanova downed #8 DePaul, 75-67, in the opening round of the Big East tournament in New York City on Wednesday, March 7, 2007.

The Wildcats improved their record to 22-9 overall, and advanced to face top-seeded Georgetown on Thursday, March 8, 2007, at noon. DePaul fell to 18-14 overall: it was the Blue Demons' first-ever Big East tournament game, as it is only their second season in the conference, and last year they did not qualify for the tournament.

However, although they are now officially off the NCAA bubble, the Blue Demons will receive a NIT bid. It was the first time these two schools had met in Madison Square Garden since the 1963 NIT.

An in-depth recap has been posted, which can be found beneath both a comprehensive preview of the Villanova/Georgetown contest on Thursday, and an updated Villanova/Georgetown Rivalry History; just keep scrolling down.

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Preview of #9 Villanova/#1 Georgetown (#9 AP), BE Tournament Quarterfinal, noon, Thurs March 8, noon, ESPN

The #9 Wildcats will face the #1 Georgetown Hoyas on Thursday, March 8, 2007, at high noon at Madison Square Garden in New York City, in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.. In January, they stopped a seven-game Hoya winning streak. In February, the Wildcats were unable to break an eight-game Georgetown winning streak, the longest such streak for Georgetown in Big East play in nearly 20 years (1989 was the last time it happened...) A comprehensive preview…

Georgetown is celebrating its basketball centennial this season, as it has an extremely ancient program. Villanova's did not start until 1920-21, almost a generation later.

The Viewpoint on the #1 Georgetown Hoyas (rank reflects BE seeding, not AP rank #9)

Coach: John Thompson III, who spent four years at the helm of Princeton (where he also played, graduating in 1988) and now in its third season at Georgetown, 65-29 record. Guided the Hoyas to a 23-10 record in 2005-06 and to the Sweet 16.

2006-07 Season Analysis: 13-3 Big East, 23-6 overall, RPI rank #17, as calculated by CollegeRPI.com through all games played on Sunday, March 4, 2007.

Ironically, Villanova sits just behind the Hoyas, at #18, despite finishing four games behind Georgetown in the Big East standings.

Nonconference Schedule

Georgetown’s record is impressive. At the same time, it should be noted that they faced a reasonably arduous nonconference schedule, and by Georgetown historical standards, extremely arduous. This is yet another area where JT III does not in fact resemble his father. The elder JT was notorious for loading his December schedule with the highest transfat content in America, playing some of the weakest opponents in the old, decrepit Capital Centre in distant Landover, Maryland.In contrast, Georgetown’s strength of schedule (SOS) as calculated by Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI.com, as of Sunday, March 4, 2007, is at a respectable #33. (Villanova has one of the toughest, ranked at #7). The Hoyas even invaded Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke in December, which is the sort of place that his father would avoid like the plague in December. Duke’s weakness this year means that the Hoyas’ loss there does not give them the RPI bump it ordinarily would have, but GU deserves credit for scheduling the home-and-home.

Other power-conference games: the Hoyas also traveled to Michigan and Vanderbilt, while losing at home to Oregon. Cupcakes: Georgetown racked up some easy wins over Hartford, @ Fairfield, Ball State, James Madison, Oral Roberts, newly-Division I Winston-Salem State (whom I believe shares the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in that North Carolina town with Wake Forest), Towson, and Navy. They also had a home loss to Old Dominion, but the Monarchs are having a solid season, ranked #58 by the RPI.

(To the current students reading this – ODU is one of the chief villains in Villanova basketball history. As a #14 seed, Petey Sessoms led the Monarchs to a shocking upset of the Kerry Kittles/Jason Lawson/Alvin Williams/Jonathan Haynes Wildcats, a #3 seed, in triple overtime on St. Patrick’s Day in 1995. That team roared into the NCAA tournament after winning the Big East tournament title, the only Villanova team to do so, before or since.) The only common opponent with VU, outside of the Big East, was Navy. Both Big East schools hosted the Midshipmen, but Georgetown had a much easier time sinking Navy, sending the Midshipmen to the bottom of the Potomac by an easy 65-44 margin. In contrast, the Wildcats had a much more difficult time sinking Navy, to the bottom of the Schuylkill, winning just 70-61, on November 25, 2006, at the Pavilion.

Big East Schedule

The Hoyas embarked upon the Villanova trip in February on a torrid tear, having won eight consecutive games. Their most recent loss was in mid-January, losing @ then-#7 Pitt, 74-69 on Jan. 13, five days after falling by four points, to the Wildcats at the Verizon Center (where Villanova remains inexplicably undefeated, since the building opened in 1998!)The Hoyas actually stumbled a bit out of the gate, beating Notre Dame and then losing at home to ‘Nova and @ Pitt. Villanova’s victory snapped a seven-game winning streak for Georgetown. However, in the subsequent eight-game winning streak, they have been very impressive, not just in the caliber of opponent but in the margins of victory. After the loss to Pitt, seven of the eight victories have been by double-digits. And in an ominous sign for Villanova, Georgetown’s two most recent conquests had been blowout victories over quality opponents in Marquette and West Virginia.First, they made the New Jersey road trip, to both Rutgers and Seton Hall in three days, and beat both of them by double-digits (RU is dangerous in the RAC, even when they are bad, like this year). They returned to DC, pounded DePaul and Cincinnati, and then went back on the road – where first they crushed St. John’s, 72-48. And in what was the most incredible victory of all, properly garnering national attention – the Hoyas wrecked Louisville’s dedication of Denny Crum Court at Freedom Hall, winning 73-65 on Feb. 7, 2007. The Hoyas then returned home and mauled # Marquette by 18 points, 76-58 on February 10, 2007. On Monday, February 12, they crushed West Virginia, 71-53.

After rallying to score the final seven points of the game to escape the Wachovia Center with a win on February 17, 2007, the Hoyas would eventually extend their winning streak to 11 games: they finished up their Big East schedule by winning three of their final four games. After winning @ Cincinnati, they returned to the Verizon Center to top then-#10 Pittsburgh. This victory gave the Hoyas the outright regular-season Big East championship, as they finished one game ahead of the second-place Panthers. They completed the regular season with a victory over NIT-bound Connecticut on Senior Day.

Their only loss in their last 13 games has been to their ancient archrival Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, 72-58, which ensured that the Orangemen will be headed to the NCAA tournament.

Georgetown Starters/Rotation

The Georgetown starting five is set in concrete: Hibbert, Green, and Wallace have started all 29 games, with Sapp starting all but one, and Summers all but three. They have some additional depth, though, in light of such a rigid starting lineup. It’s in theory an eight-man rotation, but the starters have the bulk of the minutes, with the sixth, seventh, and eighth players all averaging 12.9 min/game or less. Of the starters, all but Roy Hibbert can shoot from the perimeter, with varying degrees of success. (Ironically, although the pure Princeton system calls for even big men to take a three-pointer every once in a while, Hibbert has yet to take an attempt from long-range.)

#55 Roy Hibbert - 7-2 - Jr - Center- 12.7 points/6.4 rebounds/2.4 blocks/26.1 min/per game (Adelphia, MD)

Hibbert is the linchpin of Georgetown’s team, and stopping him is critical to the Wildcats’ hope of success. His one discernible weakness is his tendency to slide into foul trouble. He averages only 26.1 min/game, a low total for a star player, and the chief reason for that is that he also averages 2.6 personal fouls/game, tops on the team.

#2 Jonathan Wallace - 6-1 - Junior - Guard - 11.2 points/2.8 rebounds/2.9 assists/2.7 turnovers/31.4 min/per game (Harvest, AL)

Wallace is vulnerable to Villanova’s intense defensive schemes, as he committed half a dozen turnovers in the first game, and through the whole season, he has only a few more assists than turnovers. Despite those limitations, Wallace is of central importance to the Georgetown offense. He is a stellar marksman from three-point range, shooting an incredible 46.8% from that range and an impressive 49.8% from the floor. This makes him particularly valuable, as the Princeton motion offense places a premium on the three-point shot – one of its central tenets is that three-point shots should be taken without defenders in the way, something the weave strives to do on a regular basis. In addition, even for a guard, he is a great foul shooter, converting 91.2% of his shots from the line. Great shooter, mediocre ball-handler.

#21 Jesse Sapp - 6-3 - Sophomore - Guard - 8.9 points/4.1 rebounds/3.3 assists/2.0 turnovers/32.7 min/per game (New York, NY)

Sapp takes fewer three-point attempts than Wallace, but is far less talented at them, shooting only 29.7% from that range. Villanova will need to permit open looks on the perimeter, and one of Villanova’s goals will be to assure that Sapp, rather than Wallace, Summers or Green, receives those opportunities. He’s an OK foul shooter for a guard (63.1%). With the mid-season departure of Marc Egerson (see below), Sapp and Wallace are the only reliable ball-handlers the Hoyas have, and if one or both fall into foul trouble, Georgetown will have enormous problems

# 3 Dajuan Summers - 6-8 - Freshman - Forward - 8.7 points/3.4 rebounds/25.2 min/per game (Baltimore, MD)

Summers was the star for the Hoyas in the first game, as we discuss below in “What to Expect”. Of the five starters, he is the one who missed three starts and also plays the fewest minutes. Good foul shooter, at 77.4%. His status as a perimeter threat, at 32.6% from beyond the arc, has dipped slightly from the Wachovia Center contest, where he was at 38.9%.

Finally, the newly crowned Big East Player of the Year:

#32 Jeff Green - 6-9 - Junior - Forward - 13.6 points/5.9 rebounds/3.5 assists/2.8 turnovers/32.5 min/per game (Hyattsville, MD)

For a 6-9 forward, Green handles the ball a lot, as his high total of assists, as well as turnovers, indicate. The team leader in minutes played, he is a great three-point threat at 41.0%, and well as 76.7% from the line.

Off the Bench

A Player No Longer With the Program

#34 Marc Egerson 6-6 - Sophomore - Guard/Forward - 7.5 points/4.0 rebounds/24.1 min/per game (Wilmington, DE)

Egerson had been the clear sixth man, playing the most minutes by far of any bench player, and also starting three games. However, he had only participated in 13 games this season - a good foul shooter and a weak perimeter shooter. His final game was the December 30, 2006 trip to Michigan. Obviously, he was not all that crucial, as he didn't play a single BE game and the Hoyas went 13-3 without him.

On January 5, 2007, Egerson announced that he was leaving the Georgetown program, due to personal rebounds. The Washington Times speculated at the time that Egerson might have been unhappy that JT III had apparently recruited "over" him, so to speak, with the next recruiting class. Regardless of the reason for Egerson's departure, however, his loss means a considerable lack of depth, particularly due to his role as one of the trio of ball-handlers, as none of the other bench players play significantly. The three bench players are likely non-factors.

#5 Jeremiah Rivers - 6-4 - Freshman - Guard - 1.4 points/1.5 rebounds/11.8 min/per game (Winter Park, FL)

#1 Vernon Macklin 6-9 - Freshman - Forward - 3.0 points/1.4 rebounds/10.4 min/per game (Portsmouth, VA)

# 33 Patrick Ewing, Jr.- 6-8 - Junior - Forward - 3.9 points/1.8 rebounds/12.9 min/per game (Marietta, GA, via Indiana University)

The younger Patrick Ewing also wears his father’s #33. He’s not as big, fortunately for the Big East, being only 6-8 and thus not big enough to be the dominant post player his father was. Ironically, he did not initially attend Georgetown. Instead, he opted for Indiana, where he played for two years, and then transferred, possibly because of the ascension of JT III as head coach. Ewing, Jr., sat out 2005-06 as a transfer, and is newly eligible. He’s the ninth man, though, in a nine man rotation.

Overall Analysis of the Hoyas

JT III has opted to install the pure version of the Princeton offense, which he learned as both a player and while the head coach at the elite school, which Pete Carril had devised and perfected, for so many years. It is a gorgeous illustration of the method of play of days gone by, with its emphasis on weaving, cutting, bounce passes, and the like. Carril actually tried very hard to keep its secrets within the Princeton family, correctly recognizing that if the offense became commonplace, it would be easier for opponents to stop.

Accordingly, only Princeton family members (of which JT III was one, as a former player and eventual head coach) were let in on its true nuances, guarded as carefully as the inner workings of Freemasonry. Other schools have had some success with it, most notably NC State, although the Wolfpack’s Herb Sendek had to puzzle it out on his own, not being a member of the Princeton inner circle.

As a result, the transformation of Georgetown’s program is one of the most radical undertaken, by any significant program in the entire history of the sport. The formula of his father was to play incredibly ugly basketball, with an emphasis on tenacious and aggressive defense. As a result, the typical Georgetown game in that era was slow, marred with fouls, hideous shot selection, and scores in the 40s and 50s. In fairness, Thompson had a glittering run of success with this strategy, as he did win a national championship, go to three NCAA title games, and produce a stellar list of NBA players such as Sleepy Floyd, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, and the long-time 76er star Allen Iverson, to name just a few. (See the Villanova/Georgetown Rivalry History for more on that era.)

After Thompson resigned in the midst of the 1998-99 season due to a highly messy and public divorce, one of his inner-circle disciples, Craig Esherick, took over the program. Esherick had played under Thompson and also served as an assistant for many years, and by and large, he continued the formula established by his mentor. However, Esherick – for a variety of reasons too numerous to deal with year – did not enjoy anything beyond modest success in the five-plus seasons at the helm. Out of six postseasons, the only feathers in the Hoyas’ collective cap were a NIT championship and one NCAA tournament bid. This decline took place, ironically, at the same time that Georgetown had finally developed a significant home-court advantage. Beginning with the 1998 season, the Hoyas moved from the dilapidated Capital Centre – located in distant Landover, MD – to the plush new MCI Center (now Verizon), located in downtown DC. Fans, especially students, now had a state-of-the-art facility as well as a much shorter trip.

Esherick, after a long siege shared by his AD, Joe Lang (who was encumbered by the albatross of foolishly stating – at least, publicly – that it was unreasonable to expect that Georgetown should make the NCAA tournament every year) was finally fired at the end of the 2003-04 season, under enormous pressure from alumni.

When Thompson took over, he inherited a program which had largely lost the interests of the students (in general, Georgetown hadn’t really been a major national power, since Iverson left in 1996), and had entirely lost the interest of the DC media market, always Redskins-obsessed. The stellar success of cross-town rival Maryland, in nearby College Park, became the focus of college basketball in the market. Georgetown just didn’t matter any more. And so his success in reviving the program – and doing it in such an innovative way – is really quite an achievement.

Thompson abolished the previous approach of his father and Esherick, of emphasizing defense over offense and a commitment to winning ugly. Instead – and moreover, doing it with players who had been recruited under Esherick – he installed the elegant Princeton offense, beautiful to watch but extremely unpleasant for opponents to face. In addition, it had the advantage of destroying the orthodoxy on how to beat Georgetown (which by 2004, the end of the Esherick regime, had spread throughout the entire conference). Every opponent had to discard their previous ideas on how to stop the Hoyas and adapt to facing the same players, but playing a radically different style, the basketball equivalent of being used to playing at the equator and suddenly having your game shifted to the South Pole.

What to Expect

The most instructive source for what will happen, are the previous games on January 8 at the Verizon Center and February 17 at the Wachovia Center.

The First Game - January 8

Villanova’s 56-52 victory was a throwback to the old Big East days of ugly ball, as the teams combined for an astonishing 39 turnovers (21 by Georgetown, 18 by Villanova; ‘Nova also had 11 steals, and steals are more likely to lead to easy baskets than other sorts of turnovers). The eventual Villanova victory can be attributed to three major factors, beyond the defense that forced 21 turnovers:

1) A superb 16-point effort by Scottie Reynolds, who as a freshman in the early part of the season, was not well known to the Georgetown coaching staff, who realistically underestimated the offensive threat he posed.

2) An equally superb 14-point outburst from Shane Clark, a sophomore who was used primarily as a defensive specialist during the 2005-06 season.

3) Finally, and most importantly, a clampdown on Roy Hibbert.

This clampdown was the most effective of any Georgetown opponent this season. He was a complete non-factor on the offensive end. Hibbert played 24 minutes, and not due to foul trouble (he finished with only two fouls). In those 24 minutes, he never even had a field goal attempt (his two points came at the line), and grabbed only three rebounds. Hibbert ranks among the nation’s leaders in field goal percentage, shooting at a 68.8% clip, and he didn’t even get a single shot that day. He was a presence on the defensive end with three blocks, but Georgetown was not able to get him the ball (when he gets no shots, it’s safe to say that Georgetown had no ability to integrate the low-post into their offense. The low number of rebounds – rebounds for big men generally come when short shots are missed – also reflects this fact.For Georgetown, the star was Dajuan Summers, who finished with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists. The only other Hoya who reached double figures was Jonathan Wallace, whose dozen points were partially offset by the fact that he committed a half-dozen turnovers and had only two assists.

The Second Game - February 17

Villanova was unable to hold a lead, permitting the Hoyas to score the final seven points and emerge with a 58-55 victory at the Wachovia Center. Villanova was once again able to render Hibbert a nonfactor; he did not take a shot in the first half and had only one point. He quickly sank into foul trouble and logged only 18 minutes, ending up with four points on 2-4 shooting, three rebounds and two blocks.

The star for Georgetown was Jeff Green, who posted a career-high eight blocks and also made the game-winning basket with 19.8 seconds to play, finishing with 19 points while playing all 40 minutes. Jessie Sapp also made a significant contribution, with 16 points and five rebounds. For Villanova, Scottie Reynolds had 18 points and Curtis Sumpter added 15. The Wildcats had a poor shooting percentage of 34.6%, making only 18 field goals – while Georgetown had 14 blocked shots. As noted in the recap of the game (see the archive for more), when the opponents block almost as many shots as your team makes, that’s a very bad sign for your offense.

Villanova Update

The #9 Wildcats (9-7 Big East, 22-9 overall, CollegeRPI rank of #18 as of Sunday, March 4, 2007) defeated #8 DePaul, 75-67, in the opening round today. The foul line was the source of many Villanova points, as were the duo of Scottie Reynolds (29 points) and Curtis Sumpter (25 points).

The emergence of Dante Cunningham (last year, as with fellow freshman Clark, he was used primarily as a defender, and would be shuttled in and out on defensive possessions in the end game) as an offensive force has helped propel the Wildcats off the bubble, and into safe NCAA territory. His high field goal percentage has taken some of the burden off Curtis Sumpter, and given Villanova additional presence in the paint.

One big question mark, however, is the availability of Mike Nardi, one of Villanova's major offensive weapons and arguably its best ball-handler. Nardi injured his ankle in the victory over Syracuse in the regular-season finale on Saturday, March 3, 2007, and has not practiced since then. Reggie Redding started in his place against DePaul; Nardi played just five minutes, in order to give Reynolds a rest at the point, and it was obvious that he is not 100%. His absence made Villanova's stellar foul shooting (33-38) that much more impressive, as he is the best free throw shooter on a team that leads the conference in that department. Wright clearly does not have much confidence in sophomore guard Bilal Benn, or he would have played far more today than he did, given the fact that Nardi was largely unavailable.

Villanova had already secured its bid in the NCAA tournament, prior to the DePaul game, and since defeating Georgetown is equally unnecessary, it would seem likely that Wright would prefer to use Nardi sparingly (if at all), in order to permit his injury more time to heal, before the NCAA tournament commences next week.

I’ll have a full recap after the game.

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