Villanova visits desperate Notre Dame
posted by Pete @ LetsGoNova.com3/02/2009 12:05:00 AM
#11 Villanova (23-6) at Notre Dame (16-12)
7:00 p.m., 2 March 2009 at the Joyce Center.
TV: ESPN
Line: Notre Dame -3.5
The Wildcats travel to South Bend, Indiana today to play a very desperate Notre Dame team whose NCAA tournament chances are teetering on the brink of the abyss.
Villanova, once among the hottest teams in the nation, opens the week in a bit of a slump, after losing two of its last five games and surviving close calls with cellar-dwellers DePaul and Rutgers.
Notre Dame will be fired up, and the Irish will come ready to play. Hopefully, Villanova will also feel the urgency after losing at home to Georgetown on Saturday.
The Irish, who lost to Connecticut on Saturday, have good wins over Texas, Louisville, Providence, and Georgetown. Conventional wisdom says Notre Dame must win its final two regular season games, against Villanova and St. John's, to finish 9-9 in conference and have a decent chance at an at-large NCAA bid.
Needless to say, this is the biggest game of the season for Notre Dame, because if the Irish are able to beat Villanova, it not only enables them to finish .500 in the Big East, it also puts one more premium win under their belt for consideration in a very tight NCAA bubble.
KenPom predicts a two-point Irish win, with a 43 percent chance of victory for Villanova.
Check out the previews on the other 'Nova blogs (linked in the right sidebar), and then predict the game's final score in the comments below.
7:00 p.m., 2 March 2009 at the Joyce Center.
TV: ESPN
Line: Notre Dame -3.5
The Wildcats travel to South Bend, Indiana today to play a very desperate Notre Dame team whose NCAA tournament chances are teetering on the brink of the abyss.
Villanova, once among the hottest teams in the nation, opens the week in a bit of a slump, after losing two of its last five games and surviving close calls with cellar-dwellers DePaul and Rutgers.
Notre Dame will be fired up, and the Irish will come ready to play. Hopefully, Villanova will also feel the urgency after losing at home to Georgetown on Saturday.
The Irish, who lost to Connecticut on Saturday, have good wins over Texas, Louisville, Providence, and Georgetown. Conventional wisdom says Notre Dame must win its final two regular season games, against Villanova and St. John's, to finish 9-9 in conference and have a decent chance at an at-large NCAA bid.
Needless to say, this is the biggest game of the season for Notre Dame, because if the Irish are able to beat Villanova, it not only enables them to finish .500 in the Big East, it also puts one more premium win under their belt for consideration in a very tight NCAA bubble.
KenPom predicts a two-point Irish win, with a 43 percent chance of victory for Villanova.
Check out the previews on the other 'Nova blogs (linked in the right sidebar), and then predict the game's final score in the comments below.
Labels: 2008-2009, Big East, bracketology, bubble, NCAA tournament, Notre Dame, predictions, preview
148 Comments:
Villanova 81
Notre Dame 76
It's senior night for them and its going to be crazy in that arena.
Villanova 77
ND 85
I hope it doesn't go this way, but ND is desperate and plays very well at home.
Notre Dame 79
Villanova 71
Villanova 82
Notre Dame 70
Jay Wright costs us on 28 possessions, however the will of Corey Fisher overcomes the significant Mike Brey coaching advantage, or should I say Jay Wright disadvantage.
Jay Wright -28
Corey Fisher (and 7 other guys) +110
So...
Nova 82
ND 76
Wildcats 79
ND 75
for those of you on the board who think Pete knows what he's talking about and is a true Villanova fan, please get that thought out of your head. Neither is the case. A win tonight will garner from 45 words from Pete...all critical of the coach and his decision to play Reggie Redding while a loss will garner 450 words with everyone being thrown under the bus. Pete is horrible and I'm still convinced he never actually sees a game at Villanova, the WC or god-forbid at an away site. We all do either of these, Pete. You should as you might learn something.
@ #6 -- huh?
I don't understand why everyone is jumping on Pete's case so bad. He's obviously a fan of Villanova basketball; he just happens to be a rather opinionated one. From my perspective, I'm happy to have a place to discuss the game on a somewhat higher level (offensive and defensive strategy, substitutions, clock management, etc.) When doing that, it's inevitable that some people are going to disagree with each other. But those disagreements can make for interesting conversations about basketball. That's what I'm looking for when I visit a website on Villanova Basketball. I think we get enough of the RAH-RAH Jay Wright circle jerk on the other sites. In the end, some of you people just need to calm down.
VU 74
ND 71
Yeah, #8 -- a lot of people treat this not like a basketball game / team but like a patriotic war effort.
It is a war, against Shane Clark!!! Get him off the court!!
#7, #8 and #9 all = Pete
Any agreement with Pete on this board are him writing as anonymous....cut it out Pete. And its obvious that he hasn't been on a court since CYO
I am not the one who comments here anonymously -- ever. Unlike you, coward.
ND - 85
Nova - 69
We will be taken behind the woodshed tonight
#6 What are you talking about? Please go away.
Nova 94
ND 76
Letstrashnova.com
@ #16
Is that domain available?... hmmm....
if you support Pete, you do not support Villanova Basketball.
If you support Villanova basketball, you probably support Hope's Cookies -- am I right... I like the caramel ones... delicious.
Pete - Have you considered moderating posts? Or closing down comments and maybe posting the most insightful emails of the day?
I used to like this blog because of the discussion, but the trolls have become too dominant. I'm going to stop reading the comments, but will miss some of the more interesting commenters.
I've considered it. I have always been a believer in making it as easy to comment as possible, though.
One workaround you can try is skimming the comments until you see one with a username you recognize.
I can think about this some more.
This is a major trap game for the Cats tonight.
Wildcats 64
Bad Guys 71
Reynolds might need to keep scoring...!
http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/viewcbse.asp?sid=1146&cs_key=1936
Rivals has Jay as the #18 coach in the nation in it's power rankings
For one possession, it was fisher, reynolds, stokes, pena, cunningham -- thats a lineup i could get behind. Of course, the very next possession, Jay yanked out Stokes as he loves to do.
Nice airball by Dante -- this guy SUCKS at jumpshots... im sorry. I love him but he has NO j whatsoever... he just takes so many of them some go in.
Pass the ball fisher
what a move by fisher! Steal and then behind the back spin to get the foul.
Dante takes so many of them that they happen to go in at a high percentage... weird
stupid third foul
uh oh... 3 fouls on fisher
at least wright didnt bench him with 2 fouls like he dante for a whole half a few weeks ago. I actually agree with wright here.
Come on guys -- admit it. Admit how much nicer the team looks with Clark on the bench for extended time.
And don't forget Fish on the bench too!
Villanova's promotional commercials are sooo lame. it's like they are written by the anons from this blog.
We look better with Pena in instead of Clark, so long as Pena isn't kicking the ball around on offense, and hacking people on defense.
anderson is killing us on both ends...and with clark on the bench we haven't grabbed an offensive board
Why does Redding need to fade-away when posting McAlarney?
Another missed jumper by dante-- STOP TAKING THOSE
gorgeous shot by stokes -- nice job rotating to the top of the key for that
jay using a time out...wow
Stokes is looking for his offense big time, moving around well without the ball this game.
Jay drew it up nicely, but that was well defended. Couldn't get the ball into Dante.
Seems like we have missed a lot of make-able shots. At least we are getting good looks. I'm feeling good about the 2nd half.
How did we play in the first half?
I just got here
We played all right... a little lazy on offense, and allowed too many open shots on D. Fisher has 3 fouls which is not good.
I think we played well. The officiating was pretty inconsistent and lousy.
We need to defend the perimeter better, get more 2nd chance looks, and force more TOs.
Reynolds looks up to the task tonight.
yeah, i don't understand why the guys guarding Ayers are helping when ND penetrates. we've been leaving him wide open.
I would prefer that we get a little more aggressive and get to the basket more, but a lot of the jumpshots we're taking are just rimming out. I don't remember many bricks (except for a handful from Dante).
Kevin, don't forget that really ugly brick from RR.
Corey Fisher needs to come in at the 16 mark
This officiating is terrible.
WOW Reggie!
We need more of that from him
Annoncers totally stealing my "Pena on Milk Carton" joke!!!!!!!!!! THEY READ THIS BLOG
AP giving us a lift.
Pena!
Jay Bilas = Anon #26
Fisher in at 16:50. You are going to applaud Wright's coaching effort no matter what tonight aren't you?
Pena got fouled on his airball I thought, bumped on the floor.
glad to see fish back in at the 16 min mark... GOOD JOB JAY
We'll see how Wright handles the end game... but so far, so good.
And that's why Pena's minutes were cut severely.... blows a beautiful look by Fisher, gets it back and then throws a little bunny of a pass back out.
that was indeed a pathetic pass
stop forcing shots fish
Ugh... Pena fouling the three-pt shooter
F Pena. Get Stokes or Clark in.... friggin' awful.
wow, dwayne can't hit anything
anderson is 0-15
DA is a spot up shooter... can't take a guy off the bounce and fadeaway from 16 -- awful selection. WHERE IS STOKES
Even when we dont make a basket, the offense is better when fisher has the ball
Fisher is just... off. Nothing looks as smooth in the last couple games.
I love him too Pete..but fisher is a mess
Yeah Scottie -- love to see him talk those shots
Fisher has just missed a few midrange shots.. he still is doing fine -- has made some amazing passes
pete, that was for you.
Wow -- Dante shoots 5 jumpers in a row, misses 4 of them, and the 5th bounces off the rim and the backboard and goes in.
What did I say -- take enough of them, and some go on.
ha ha ha ha
Thank God for Scottie
I want frank the tank in
Dante, Dwayne, and Fisher are all off tonight.
Reynolds is keeping us alive, along with ND's FT shooting. Need to try Stokes over Dwayne for a bit, if it kills us on the glass, then switch back. It's looking like offense is going to win this game, not defense.
I hope we bring back the zone press.
Oh and 6 team fouls in 28 minutes? On 45 shots (34 of which were not 3s)? C'mon now....
dante has that all day
now thats the kind of shot i want dante to take... short, effective.
agreed...and another good timeout
Why is Clark the one responsible for the close-out on Ayers? He was guarding Haragondy and stepped up on people's drive. WTF!!
Who is blowing that assignment!!??!
all that switching we do results in losing key guys (like Ayres). i hate all the switching
Haragondy has 1 f'in foul. WTF are the announcers talking about?
1st degree murder by ND may not result in a whistle in this game.
It wouldnt be the first time an Ayers has gotten away with something ZING!
This is great news... for John McCain!!!
Another bricked jumper by Dante -- what is that, 6 tonight. Oh yeah but he likes that shot HA HA HA HA.
Just call a token foul at this point. I find it hard to believe ND hasn't pushed off once on a rebound.
Geez, they almost didn't call that foul on Haragondy there as he landed on Dwayne.
Fisher should come back in after this TV timeout. Keep ND back on their heels.
Yeah.. it's definitely time for Fisher to come back in to up the pace on ND... He only has 3 fouls, not 4. Get him in.
IMKL -- how can you know the ref "almost did not call a foul"? Can you read the ref's mind?
we are losing our offensive momentum -- need fish!
Scottie doesn't know... how to miss!
I can tell when the whistle is blown basically after Dwayne steps out of bounds from the body check. That doesn't require telepathy.
Nice feed from fisher to clark inside
you got jay on the cell phone pete...he's dialed in tonight
good foul. make him earn it.
ugh... 4 on fisher.
yeah, wright is responding to everything i write ha ha
Let the Clark v Pena 08-09 debate continue. He may be a terrible defender in your mind Pete, but Pena's defense is even worse.
Fisher has 2 fouls that I can recall on Haragondy. Why?
how did clark miss that rebound? He had it in his hands!
dear lord, Dwayne's jumpshot is off -- but way to stay with the play!
Hey, Dwayne found a way to score tonight!
that jumper by dwayne was the worst/stupidest shot of the year. but hey, it's our night. results in a dunk
Keep it up Cats!! Who knew that Shane Clark would be making Harangody his biatch??!?
Let's hope we handle the press well so we don't end up making a 16 pt lead with 5 minutes to go interesting.
Christ Dwayne, stop shooting threes! Quick 6-0 run by ND = not good
what are we doing???? two threes early in the shot clock.
hopefully they are discussing clock control during this tv timeout
What is Anderson doing shooting that?!?!?!?! WTF?!?!?!?
Anderson was WIDE open. I can't be angry at that one, even with how bad he's been shooting, and our lead.
The Stokes one was tough. It was a deep 3 and he didn't have his legs squared up.
If we blow this one................
Still... do they know we are actually the team with the double digit lead???
Who do you want in the game from this timeout?
Dante, Clark, Reynolds, Fisher, Redding.
IMKL, both of those shots are dumb shots. I like the fact that Jay gives our guys the green light. But, my God, we are trying to WIN THIS GAME, right? Stupid shots like that lose you games.
Clark for 3! ha... not the best shot but i'll take it
Great possession by Nova!!!
best possession of the year, right there.
Is it still trendy to hate on Shane?
Scottie should have taken that one -- he was open and he is on fire. And we had someone under the hoop.
It was a smart possession with Shane there, I agree.
NICE SITUATIONAL BALL MOVEMENT.
But we need to get 50% foul shooter Clark outta there ASAP.
Clark to line... how is he shooting less than 60% from the line??
He isn't that bad of a FT shooter though. I'm telling you... wrist.
Clark making great decisions with the ball but he can't be out there in closer games because he is bad from the line.
Everything going Villanova's way this time.
Oh.. thats how... Nice play by Anderson!!!
Mike Nardi would've dribbled that one around, haha.
HUGE WIN
This is a solid win... We take care of business vs PC (which will be tough) and win 2 games in the BET and we will be in Philly.
Best coached game of the year by Jay Wright? Write that up in your post game recap.
God, Fisher is stinking up the joint. Second game in a row. Fortunately, unlike the Georgetown game, his ineptitude isn't costing Nova the game. Hopefully Wright will wake up and nail his ass to the end of the bench.
I agree, it probably was. Wright seemed to do everything I wanted him to tonight.
Good win!!! Way to bounce back after G-Town!! LET'S GO NOVA!!!
Fisher was fine tonight, #129. He missed some shots but played well on defense, handled the ball, and made some nice passes. He would have had three more assists if Pena and Dante had finished a few more.
Crap, here comes Colenda for the last 4 seconds, now I have to give him an incomplete.
Meaning put Fisher in when you want him in. That's all it takes huh.
The difference between Jay Wright Coach of the Year and Jay Wright In Search of Employment = minutes for Grant or Fisher. Who knew it was that easy to appease you? Except for all of the readers of LGN.
ha, some other stuff too -- come on IMKL, you read my post last time, all 5 points had nothing to do with Fisher.
IMKL is a deuscher....calm the fuck down hoss...Pete ain't hating and all his points have been legit. Good win and everyone should be happy
What a game. Reggie is put on McAlarney, who goes from 30 last year to only 5 tonight. Also Reggie hit that huge three to make it an 8 point game.
And Dante did what he's done all year, nice 18-8.
And what can you say about Scottie? Guy is so fun to watch and I'm really gonna miss him when he's gone. Fantastic night from him, not only scoring, but 5 assists, 2 steals, and only 1 turnover is great.
Hey 136, all Pete's points are legidimate??? How about these: Pete’s Reality: Nice airball by Dante -- this guy SUCKS at jumpshots... im sorry. I love him but he has NO j whatsoever... he just takes so many of them some go in. Reality for the Rest of Us: Shot 8-18, including four straight baskets; second leading scorer on the team. Pete’s Reality: Come on guys -- admit how much nicer the team looks with Clark on the bench for extended time. Reality for the rest of us: Clark scored 13 points in 18 minutes on 5-7 shooting. Shane looked great in the second half and was an important part of the win. Pete’s Reality: “Annoncers totally stealing my "Pena on Milk Carton" joke!!!!!!!!!! THEY READ THIS BLOG” Our reality: Pete: there is nothing you write on this blog worth stealing . Pete’s Reality: “Wright seemed to do everything I wanted him to tonight.” Our Reality: Oh yes, Pete, Jay Wright knows you exist. Pete’s Reality: “Jay Wright Sucks!!!” Our Reality: Acclaim from announcers all night about how Jay Wright knows how to put together a team that can win when he arguably does not have a great player on his roster.”
#138 stopped reading after you misspelled legitimate
@138
So... Dante shot 8-18 and missed about 7 jumpshots. Most of his baskets were in the paint. Wouldn't you be happier if he shot 8-11?
138....agreed..learn how to spell. Hard to take anyone seriously who didn't graduate 6th grade.
Also @138 --
If you don't consider Scottie Reynolds (McD all american), Corey Stokes (McD all american), Corey Fisher (other all american), Dante Cunningham (NPOY candidate; should be a joke but its true)
great players, who is great?
Anyone who has even seen a basket go through a hoop should be able to coach this talent to an NCAA berth. Jay is not exactly a miracle worker.
To all anons...grow a set. Pete is a dude who loves villanova basketball. You don't like his opinions then don't read. This isn't healthcare policy...it is a decent college basketball team. No need for personal attacks. Pete may be wrong a sizeable amount of the time....but no need to go after personal shit. I am confident enough in my opinion that if you have ever posted as anon..you have never seen a boob. Good luck with that lads.
If you've seen one boob you've seen em both....
Great effort tonight against a desperate team in a nasty enviroment. That's Nova ball right there!
I'm so glad Pete's somewhat satisfied....must be tough for him though since all his standard comments about who's good, who's not, why Jay's a bad coach,etc...were proven completely innaccurate tonight....I bet that just grinds him.
so, a loss does not prove that accurate, but a win proves them inaccurate? Love your logic there.
I hope that the guy begging us to bet the house on ND tonight is okay. Is there a suicide watch out for him?
We need to help a fellow Nova fan out. Where can we send donations?
Anyway, this was our best effort since the Marquette game. The 26-10 run to close the game proved that ND shouldn't share the court with us.
#138 is completely right...who care's he didnt use spell check?
IMKL... no need to send donations. Just click on as many google ads on here as you can.
147: ha ha, that's funny. I guess someone "care's"
"Wouldn't you be happier if he shot 8-11?"
No. That means Dante isn't touching the ball as much, and our offense needs to flow through him. Would I like him to go maybe 10 or 11-18? Of course. But definitely wouldn't rather him only take 11 shots. He needs to get the ball on every possession - even if his jumper has been off, the only way to get back on is to keep shooting.
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