'Nova extends slide with home loss to Irish

Notre Dame 90
Villanova 80
(box score)
(ESPN video highlights)

Notre Dame: 14-4 (4-2 BE)
#18 Villanova: 13-5 (3-4 BE, 3-0 B5)

Next game: at Pittsburgh, 01/30 at the Petersen Events Center.

Villanova was beaten badly by Notre Dame at the Wachovia Center Saturday afternoon.

In a game where the Wildcats had hoped to rebound after a devastating loss to Rutgers, Villanova came out soft and listless, and never really competed with the Irish.

Sure, Villanova unleashed its now-traditional desperate comeback attempt at the end of the game, but it fell far short against the experienced Notre Dame team.

It almost seems like this is becoming Jay Wright's preferred gameday strategy: start out weak, fall behind due to poor defense, trail at the half, fall further behind in the first 10 minutes of the second period, then finally, with the 'Cats down 15 or so, put in Malcolm Grant and mount a furious comeback attempt.

O.K., obviously that is not Wright's ideal script for a basketball game. But it has played out just like this in more than a few Wildcat games this year, and the increasing frequency of the pattern has left many Villanova fans confused.

Why is Malcolm Grant riding the pine? The issue spilled from the halls of Villanova and the tubes of the Internet out into the open of the Wachovia Center on Saturday. Students and alumni alike repeatedly called for Grant in the face of Jay Wright's inexplicable refusal to play him.

Maybe I am forgetting past incidents, but in seven years of watching Jay Wright's Wildcats, I have never heard the student section so explicitly question Wright's substitution patterns with chants and screams during the game -- aside from calling for walk-on players to be inserted into the last minute of blow-out victories.

After serenading the team and Wright with actual booing in the second half, the fans and student section erupted with a chant of "we want Malcolm" until Wright finally called Grant's number in the middle of the second period. The Wildcats, of course, were down 16.

Grant, who scored 17 points in two minutes at the end of the Rutgers game, did not even see the Wachovia Center floor until the 5:44 mark of the first half. Wright yanked Grant from the game just two and a half minutes later, and he did not see the court again until 12:29 in the second half.

Grant also inexplicably lost his spot in the starting lineup Saturday afternoon, which was a real slap in the face to several 'Nova fans who blamed the Rutgers loss on Grant's absence from the court. Meanwhile, Shane Clark continues to start, though Wright did sub him out after three and a half minutes after Clark gave up two easy baskets with almost no defensive effort.

There are lots of theories floating around regarding Grant's lack of playing time, ranging from an emphasis on height or defense to an unknown team discipline issue.

To me, the height and defense arguments make little sense: what good is height when the team is trailing and can't score? It's also not as if the Wildcats' defense has been solid without Grant; in the past two games with Grant on the bench, Villanova's defense has been atrocious. Grant even looks to be the best defender of the three scoring point guards on the team, superior to Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher.

As for other reasons Grant might not be seeing the floor, this site does not deal in speculation. We do not have access to the inside of the huddle, so who knows why Jay Wright has decided to sit Malcolm until the team falls irrecoverably behind.

It's almost as if Let's Go Nova has become Let's Go Malcolm, with the amount of time and text we spend on the subject. But the issue is valid. It is a mistake for Grant to be sitting during these crucial stretches, and it appears that Wright hardly realizes it.

With the loss to Notre Dame, Villanova drops to 3-4 in the Big East and is squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

Officially, (and now, humorously) the Wildcats are still ranked #18 until Monday afternoon when both polls come out.

Not only will Villanova plummet into the unranked abyss on Monday; if the Wildcats receive even a single vote for the top 25 this week, it will be because the voter hasn't been paying attention to the past week of basketball.

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

Next up for Villanova is a trip to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for a rematch with the Panthers as the 'Cats attempt to stave off a three-game losing streak.

The last time Villanova lost three games in a row was nearly four years ago, on Feb. 28, 2004, when the 'Cats dropped a heartbreaker by one point in overtime to UConn. The 2003-2004 Villanova team did not make the NCAA tournament and was beaten in the NIT by -- you guessed it -- Rutgers.

The Panthers are fresh off an upset loss themselves at home against Rutgers. The Panthers' loss was detrimental for Villanova; the Wildcats' (2008) loss to Rutgers now looks slightly more palatable, but the Jan. 6 win over Pittsburgh becomes much less impressive.

Comcast customers should stake out a chair at a sports bar, because the game is once again airing on that channel no one actually gets, ESPNU.

Let's move on to the player grades. "READ MORE" below for player performance grades and analysis.

• Corey Fisher (S, 33 min)

  Fisher did not shoot the ball very well, but did score 13 points on 5-15 shooting. He was good from the three, going 2-3. The rest of Fisher's line in the box score was solid. He grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and had 3 steals. He committed just 2 turnovers in 33 minutes, and generally handled the ball well. This was a huge bump in playing time for Fisher, who saw just 15 minutes in the loss for Rutgers. Fisher is one of the Wildcats' best players and should be seeing 25-30 minutes per game.
  Grade: B-
  
  

• Scottie Reynolds (S, 32 min)

  Reynolds played very well inside the three-point line, shooting 5-8 on 2-point field goals, and going 3-4 from the foul line. Unfortunately, Reynolds was 0-5 from beyond the three-point arc. He finished with 13 points on a reasonable 5-13 from the field. He had 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, and committed only 1 turnover. This was definitely an off-game for Reynolds from outside, as he just couldn't find twine from long-range. Obviously, Reynolds will not shoot 0-5 from the three in every game, so I don't think any adjustment is needed on the offensive end.
  Grade: B-
  
  

• Dante Cunningham (S, 29 min)

  Cunningham played a below-average game, by his standards. He shot 3-8 to score 7 points, and he grabbed just 5 rebounds. He rounded out his line with 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 block, and 1 steal. Look for Dante to reassert himself in the paint if the 'Cats are to break out of this losing streak.
  Grade: C-
  
  

• Antonio Pena (S, 26 min)

  If there was one unqualified positive aspect of Saturday's debacle, it was Antonio Pena. Pena put forth a dominating inside performance, scoring a team-high 17 points on ultra-efficient 8-9 shooting. He just missed his double-double, collecting 9 rebounds, again tops on the team. He passed for 3 assists, committed 3 turnovers, and notched 1 block and 1 steal. If Pena can sustain this level of play while Cunningham and the guards find their marks, Villanova is going to be a dangerous team to defend.
  Grade: A-
  
  

• Reggie Redding (25 min)

  Redding got huge chunks of playing time after a less-than-stellar performance at the RAC. He did better against the Irish on Saturday, but I am not sure if he deserved 250 percent of Malcolm Grant's minutes. Redding shot 3-6 from the field to score 7 points. Redding grabbed 6 rebounds, had 3 assists, and picked up 2 steals. He committed only 1 turnover. His defense was what ostensibly earned him his playing time, and I have no complaints on that end, as his minutes presumably came at the expense of Shane Clark, whose defense was much worse. But the problem is that Redding is not much of a threat on the offensive side. Redding is a decent defender and a good "glue" guy, grabbing loose balls and not committing many turnovers. On the offensive end of the court, however, Redding does not have to be guarded all that closely, and teams are free to roam away and harass Villanova's scoring threats, mainly Scottie Reynolds. I know Redding works diligently on his jump shot, and if that shot can ever go in reliably, there will be much less of an offense-defense trade-off with Redding.
  Grade: C+
  
  

• Corey Stokes (22 min)

  Wright continues to stick with Stokes as he has all season, and it appears to be paying a few dividends now. Stokes played another decent -- albeit imperfect -- game. He scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting, and he finally may have found his stroke from the three, where he went 3-6. He grabbed 4 rebounds and had 2 assists. He did struggle, however, with handling the ball, committing 2 turnovers and several "near misses." His defense was what I would classify as below average, which could be due to his ongoing learning of the system. Stokes also seems to lack a "clutch factor": he had a wide-open look at a three with 1:00 to go that would have put the surging 'Cats within 5, and I don't think I was the only one in the building who just "knew" it wasn't going to find the bottom of the rim. That said, Stokes is clearly improving, and I think he is now at the point to justify 20-plus minutes per game. Stokes's offense, when everything starts clicking, could be the missing piece the 'Cats needs to take some burden off the three scoring point-guard, especially when opponents key their defense against them.
  Grade: C+
  
  

• Shane Clark (S, 14 min)

  It's quite painful to chronicle Clark's descent into mediocrity, especially as a huge fan of Clark's athletic ability. Clark is, nonetheless, mired in a funk, and nothing changed Saturday. Clark was flat-out bad against the Irish, especially in the first half. Clark's first-period box score was as follows: 0-2 shooting, 0-1 from the three, 2 rebounds, and 2 turnovers. That doesn't even tell the story of his porous defense, either. Clark allowed the first two Irish baskets on plays where he was exceedingly slow on getting to his man. Clark did not do much better in the second half, either. He finished with 2 points on 1-4 shooting. He did have 5 rebounds, which was something of a plus, but it does not make up for his total breakdown on the defensive end and his complete ineffectiveness on offense. Playing just 14 minutes is a vast reduction in time for the starter Clark, but his minutes should probably be reduced even further, at least until he emerges from his shooting cold streak and repairs his frequent defensive lapses.
  Grade: F
  
  

• Malcolm Grant (10 min)

  Most of what I have to say about Grant has been said above and in previous posts. In my opinion, Grant is one of 'Nova's two best players, and playing him for just 10 minutes against the Irish is complete and utter folly. Grant managed to score 8 points on 2-7 shooting, despite playing only 10 minutes and despite being unceremoniously yanked from the game after playing just 2 minutes in the first half. Grant did not exactly replicate his usual heroics, scoring "only" 0.8 of a point per minute of playing time on Saturday, compared to 1.28 PPM against Rutgers and 1.13 vs. LSU. What do these numbers mean? I'll leave that up to the reader, but allow me to make a relevant connection with the ever-popular world of poker. As the "mad genius" Mike Caro says, if you're averaging a huge profit every time you call, you're not calling enough. Absurd point-per-minute totals like Grant has been putting up lately would not translate if he were given increased minutes, but that is exactly the idea. When you have a weapon like Grant, let him play in the minutes that matter, instead of just relying on him to overcome a hopeless situation at the end of the game. Again, I am not privy to any "inside knowledge" that might explain Wright's baffling benching of Grant, so to me it just appears to be an out-and-out coaching error.
  Grade: B
  
  

• Dwayne Anderson (9 min)

  Anderson played 9 minutes? I guess that I didn't notice at least means he wasn't burned on defense too many times. On the offensive end, Anderson was quiet. He shot 1-2 from the field to score 2 points. He had 3 rebounds, and no other impact on the box score. I am a fan of Anderson and believe he should be getting 5-10 minutes per game, but against Notre Dame he didn't do much of anything.
  Grade: D+
  
  

• Incomplete grades: None.



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