Grant rides pine as 'Nova drops 3rd straight

Pittsburgh 69
Villanova 57
(box score)
(ESPN video highlights)

#21 Pittsburgh: 17-4 (5-3 BE)
Villanova: 13-6 (3-5 BE, 3-0 B5)

Next game: vs. Syracuse, 02/02 at the Wachovia Center.

For an instant, six minutes into the second half, it seemed like Villanova was poised to finally get things back on track.

It seemed that perhaps Jay Wright had addressed the fans' growing concerns. After all, slumping junior Shane Clark did not appear in the starting lineup, and only received three minutes of playing time.

Sure, stellar freshman Malcolm Grant was still pinned to the bench, but at least Villanova had overcome its customary first-half deficit to take a 38-37 lead over the #21 Pitt Panthers, in Pittsburgh no less.

The hope was short-lived.

Villanova fans watched as the team fell apart before their eyes. Over the next 8.5 minutes, the Panthers outscored the Wildcats by a ridiculous 19-3 margin.

The Wildcats could not score. The Wildcats could not defend. And still, Malcolm Grant, arguably among the team's best scorers and defenders, languished on the bench.

Watching the game at a neighborhood watering hole (thanks, Comcast!), I sent the following text message to a friend, when the 'Cats trailed by seven and showed no signs of getting back in the game:

Can't wait till we get down 15, so Grant can legally come in.

It was supposed to be a joke, but it turned out prescient. Indeed, Jay Wright finally pulled the trigger on Grant the instant Villanova fell down by 15.

This is becoming a disturbing trend.

Let's play a hypothetical. Say your team is struggling to score in the second half of a crucial conference road game. Say you had a one-point lead, but watched it turn into a five-point deficit, and then a 10-point margin.

As the clock ticked down, under 10 minutes to play, and then under eight, would you sub in a player who torched your current opponents for 22 points, and led your team to victory against them just three weeks ago?

Apparently for Jay Wright, the answer is no. Wright did not turn to Grant until the 'Cats were down the full 15 and under five minutes to play.

Though it was by then far too late to make a difference in the game's outcome, Grant promptly drained a three pointer that gave Villanova fans just enough false hope to let the loss sting a bit extra.

Grant wound up playing just four minutes in each half, and the Wildcats were (yet again) blown out for their third straight loss. Villanova had not lost three straight in nearly four years.

The 'Cats have lost four of their last six, and are now in the preposterous danger of missing their own conference tournament after being nationally ranked for much of the season.

This site's drumbeat will continue: why is Malcolm Grant not getting minutes?

We exhausted all the familiar theories last time, and most of us remained unconvinced.

Tonight, LetsGoNova.com contributor NovaFan09 posted in a comment thread that he'd heard Grant was secretly injured after the Cincinnati game on Jan. 12.

A fan on Villanova's Rivals message board said he knew Grant had been injured at Cincinnati, but that the injury was no longer an issue and did not affect him for recent games.

This seems to make sense. After all, the DePaul rematch was just four days after Cincinnati, and Grant played 22 minutes in that game. Grant also looked just fine last week at Rutgers when he scored 17 points in just over two minutes, notching 18 minutes on the night.

After considering that evidence, and just by simply watching Grant run up and down the court, it seems unlikely Malcolm is bothered by a health problem.

Even so, if Grant is indeed saddled by a secret injury, Villanova should release it to the public, as it has with center Casiem Drummond.

At least that might quiet the cacophony of fan outrage over Grant's lack of playing time, a cauldron of concern that nearly spilled into outright fan mutiny this weekend, when students chanted for Grant's insertion into the Notre Dame game on Saturday.

Barring an unknown and unlikely disciplinary issue, the only other option, it would seem, is that Wright simply believes the team plays better with Grant on the bench.

The numbers, however, say otherwise.

In the last three losses, Villanova was outscored by a margin of 239-205, an average of 11.33 points per game. In those three games, Grant has played a total of 36 minutes. In those 36 minutes, Grant shot 9-19 from the field and scored 34 points.

Not bad for a single box score, but unfortunately for the 'Cats, those numbers were spread across three losses where Grant saw a paltry 12 minutes per game, on average.

Compare Grant's numbers to those of his freshman teammate, Corey Stokes. In the last three losses, Stokes played a total of 70 minutes. During that time, Stokes shot 7-22 to score 20 points.

You could argue that Wright played Stokes twice as much as Grant in that stretch for defense, or for chemistry, or for height, or because Stokes's horoscopes were more promising, or for any reason you'd like. The fact is, Villanova was blown out the past three games, so it hasn't worked.

I am not even saying that Stokes deserved fewer minutes. Stokes appears to be progressing, and 23 minutes per game seems reasonable, if not a little on the high side.

But at this time, right now, Stokes is nowhere nearly as skilled as Malcolm Grant in any facet of college basketball, and Grant should be getting double Stokes's minutes, not half.

Need some more numbers? Let's take a look at Grant's minutes in Villanova's eight conference games:

• Depaul: 15 min. LOSS


• Pittsburgh: 27 min. WIN


• Cincinnati: 8 min. LOSS


• DePaul: 22 min. WIN


• Syracuse: 10 min. WIN


• Rutgers: 18 min. LOSS


• Notre Dame: 10 min. LOSS


• Pittsburgh: 8 min. LOSS

Now, I am no statistician, but even I can see a pattern in those numbers. In Villanova's three conference wins, Grant has averaged 19.67 minutes per game. In the five losses, his minutes drop down to 11.8.

In fact, Malcolm has played 59 minutes total in all of Villanova's wins and all of Villanova's losses. The problem is, there are five losses and only three wins.

I am actually being conservative, too, by keeping this analysis inside conference play. If you look at the entire season, as was pointed out on a message board, Villanova is 7-0 when Grant plays at least 19 minutes, and is 6-6 when he does not.

If you'd like, you can even forget all of the statistics. Forget the numbers. Just look at how Grant has played. He single handedly pulled out miracles at home against LSU and Pittsburgh, and nearly completed the hat trick with his furious barrage at Rutgers.

It's pretty clear that while this Villanova team needs to improve in several areas, one of the biggest is for Malcoln Grant to see more minutes.

O.K., this signals an ends to tonight's Grant Rant, the longest yet. I reserve the right to be even longer winded should Villanova lose another game with Malcolm on the bench.

Congratulations to reader "Matadorm83" for most closely predicting the game's final score.

Next up for Villanova is a home rematch against the Syracuse Orange at the Wachovia Center on Saturday.

On to the player grades. "READ MORE" below for player performance grades and analysis.

• Scottie Reynolds (S, 36 min)

  Reynolds looked to be back in form tonight, playing a spectacular game in the loss. Scottie scored a game-high 26 on good 9-15 shooting, including a decent 3-7 from the three. The one weakness in his offensive game tonight was a shaky 5-8 performance from the foul line, 62.5 percent. Reynolds led the team in assists, with 4. He was also good for 6 rebounds, second-best on the team. He committed 4 turnovers and had 1 steal. If Reynolds can keep up his hot hand on offense, the 'Cats might be able to break their losing streak against Syracuse.
  Grade: A-
  
  

• Antonio Pena (S, 34 min)

  Pena has really emerged this season and now seems to be the Wildcats' best player underneath. He notched the minimum double-double tonight, leading the team in rebounds, with 10. Pena scored his 10 points on terrible 4-15 shooting, however. That is not a typo: he was 4-15 from the field, as a forward. His dominance of the glass is encouraging, and Pena usually shoots far better. He has been one of t he few bright spots for the 'Cats during this losing streak.
  Grade: C+
  
  
  

• Corey Fisher (S, 27 min)

  Fisher really could not find the basket tonight. He shot 2-10 from the field, including 0-3 from three-point land. Fisher could use a boost from the three lately, as his shot is better than recent results. Fisher finished with 4 points, 2 assists, 4 turnovers, and 2 steals. He did show some stretches of spectacular ball-handling, and his future looks bright on the Main Line.
  Grade: C-
  
  
  

• Dwayne Anderson (23 min)

  Anderson was given 23 minutes of court time after a lackluster performance against Notre Dame, and he really didn't deviate from that result tonight. Anderson scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting, and was 0-2 from the foul line. What's worse, his trip to the line was at a crucial junction, and neither free throw was even close. He rounded out his line with 3 boards, and 1 each of steals, turnovers, and blocks. It is a little disconcerting to see Anderson play 23 minutes at the wing and notch 0 assists.
  Grade: C-
  
  

• Corey Stokes (22 min)

  Stokes missed tonight. A lot. He missed from short, and he missed from long. He missed while he was covered too closely to even shoot, and he missed when he was wide open. Stokes was 0-5 from the field, and 0-3 from the three. He scored no points in 22 long minutes. He had 2 rebounds, an assist, a turnover, and a steal. The only thing saving the grade from an F is that he didn't shoot more, and he kept turnovers down. I may be being too kind, however, since Stokes was hopeless on offense.
  Grade: D-
  
  

• Dante Cunningham (S, 22 min)

  Cunningham was ineffective tonight. It seems like the junior is regressing this year after a breakout season during his sophomore campaign. Dante scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting, and was a ghost down low, grabbing just 3 rebounds. He had no turnovers, no assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. Dante has got to get back to his early-season form, especially on the glass, if 'Nova is to break out of this slump.
  Grade: D-
  
  

• Reggie Redding (18 min)

  Redding got the starting nod tonight and put in a typically solid but not spectacular performance. He shot a good 3-6 from the field to score 6 points. He did not grab any rebounds, which is unusual for the tall, athletic Redding. He rounded out the night with 2 assists, 1 turnover, and 1 steal.
  Grade: C-
  
  

• Malcolm Grant (8 min)

  Grant needs to get more minutes. Period. Tonight he was 1-2 from the field to score 3 points in just 8 minutes of play, 4 per half. Why Jay Wright plays such an energetic, streaky guard in such a fractured manner is beyond me. Grant also found time to grab 1 rebound and make 1 spectacular assist. He had 1 turnover, but made up for it on the same play when he took a charge on the resultant fast break. I'll say it again: more minutes for Malcolm.
  Grade: B
  
  
  

• Casiem Drummond (7 min)

  Drummond returned to the Wildcat lineup after missing long stretches this year with an injured ankle. He did not look solid in his return. Drummond shot 1-2 from the field to score 2 points, and did not come up with any rebounds in his 7 minutes. He also picked up 3 quick fouls. Clearly Drummond is not all the way back from his injury and needs to work himself into his rhythm.
  Grade: D, with a grain of rehabilitation salt
  
  

• Incomplete grades: Shane Clark (3 min).



• Did not play: Frank Tchuisi (CD), Jason Colenda (CD).