Jay Wright talks with Mike and Mad Dog

Villanova coach Jay Wright appeared today on the popular WFAN (New York) drive-time sports radio show hosted by Mike Francesa and the "Mad Dog," Chris Russo.

Wright discussed Villanova's first two games in the NCAA Tournament, including the Wildcats' comeback vs. Clemson and Wright's late-game technical foul.

Wright also talked about the healing injuries of Dwayne Anderson and Reggie Redding, and discusses Villanova's prospects in tomorrow night's game against Kansas.

Wright said his team's key to the game tomorrow was to respond to the runs that Kansas will inevitably make. Wright also cited the importance of freshmen Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher to score when the Jayhawks focus on Villanova star Scottie Reynolds.

You can download an MP3 of the 12-minute interview directly from WFAN.

'Nova comes back to shock Clemson

Villanova came back from the dead to defeat the 5-seed Clemson in Tampa tonight, where all four lower seeds won for the first time in NCAA history.

Villanova had trailed by as many as 18 before beginning a furious comeback just before the half. The Wildcats were able to complete the dramatic comeback in the second half to win, 75-69

Villanova moves on to face the 13 seed, Siena, which upset Vanderbilt earlier today on the same court.

Villanova-Siena is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. EDT on Sunday, the very first game of the day. The next game is not slated until 2:15 p.m, so Villanova-Siena should air nationwide in its entirety.

A full analysis of the Clemson game with player grades will be up tomorrow.

Meet the Clemson Tigers

#22 Clemson Tigers
Atlantic Coast Conference
24-9 Overall Record (10-6 ACC)
Head Coach: Oliver Purnell (94-67 at Clemson)
Clemson, South Carolina


Villanova faces the #5-seeded Clemson Tigers in Tampa, Fla. on Friday night. The tipoff is set for 9:50 p.m. Villanova fans may be relatively unfamiliar with out-of-conference opponents, so an informal introduction of Clemson is below.

In 2007-2008, Clemson was 10-6 in ACC play. Despite three losses to UNC, Clemson twice extended the games into overtime, in addition to almost upsetting the top-ranked Tar Heels in the ACC championship game one week ago.

Clemson has built quite an impressive resume that boasts key wins over several NCAA tournament teams. The Tigers started the season off strong, going 12-1 in out-of-conference play. Wins included an 84-82 victory over tournament-bound Mississippi State, and a 61-58 win over Purdue. Within the ACC, Clemson split the home-and-away series with 2-seeded Duke and 7-seeded Miami, in addition to defeating NIT 1-seed Virginia Tech.

Key Players

K.C. Rivers
#1 G-F, 6-6 Junior
14.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 41.0% 3-point

Rivers leads the team in points per game, and averages nearly 2 steals per game. An athletic guard/forward, Rivers plays an essential role in Coach Purnell's press defense, and has the ability to light it up beyond the arc.


Cliff Hammonds
#25 G, 6-3 Senior
11.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.0 apg

Hammonds is a hard-working player who has averaged double figures in scoring in each of his four seasons at Clemson. Like Rivers, Hammonds also averages 1.9 steals per game. His in-you-face style of defense wears on opposing guards to the point of exhaustion. He has shown leadership by playing with a hand fracture that will require surgery at season's end.

Trevor Booker
#35 C/F, 6-7 Sophomore
11.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.9 bpg

One of the "bookends" of Clemson's imposing front line, the 240 lb. Booker is a force down low. Only 6-7 as a center, he plays much bigger than his height suggests. Has an improving mid-range game that complements his post play. He rebounds extremely well on the offensive end, but has trouble with free throws.

James Mays
#40 F, 6-9 Senior
10.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg

The team's vocal leader along with Hammonds, Mays is the point man in the Tigers' press who defends the inbounding pass. For 13 games, Mays wore a hand brace that tied his last three fingers together for a broken bone in his left hand. Since then, Mays has regularly scored in double figures, but has a tendency to miss easy layups, as seen in the UNC game.

Terrence Oglesby
#22 G, 6-2 Freshman
10.5 ppg, 41.4% 3-point

A sharpshooter from beyond the arc, the "Tennessee Rifleman" is a prototypical guard in the mold of Drew Neitzel and Mike Nardi. He is something of a liability on defense, as he was substituted possession-by-possession in the closing minutes of Clemson's ACC tournament games.


As a team, Clemson averages just under 80 points and 10 steals per game. This is a talented team with a lot of experience and should present a formidable matchup for Villanova.

Check back Friday afternoon for Villanova Keys to the Game and X-factors. Let's go 'Nova!

'Nova-Clemson coverage map

CBS has released its coverage map for the late games on Friday.

Villanova-Clemson is the preferred game in the Northeast, meaning the game will be shown on CBS affiliates there unless the network deems another game is more compelling.

As expected, the game is given "constant" status in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware, and South Carolina. In these markets, the game will be shown in its entirety regardless of the score.

See below for the full map. You may click on the map to enlarge it.

If you'd like to see the Villanova-Clemson game or any other NCAA tournament contest, you can watch for free online via "March Madness On Demand."

Anderson sprains ankle

According to Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the starting junior Dwayne Anderson sprained his ankle in practice on Monday and is listed as "day-to-day."

Many Villanova fans have credited the swingman Anderson's insertion into the starting lineup with the Wildcats' resurgence in the second half of the season.

This injury does not sound all that serious, but it would be a huge blow to the 'Cats if Anderson were sidelined for their first round game against the 5-seeded Clemson Tigers on Friday night.

Fortunately for Villanova, Anderson still has more than two full days to heal, as the Wildcats do not tip off until 9:50 p.m. Friday night.

'Nova-Clemson tips 9:50 p.m. Friday

The official tournament schedule (PDF) with game times has been released, and Villanova will play at 9:50 p.m. EDT on Friday night in the second-latest game of the first round.

Villanova vs. Clemson will begin about five minutes before the Memphis-Texas (Arlington) game, and should be "protected" in the Philadelphia CBS market. Outside of protected markets, CBS will air what it feels is the best game going on.

The 9:50 p.m. Villanova-Clemson start time means the game will have a larger potential audience than early afternoon games.

See below for the full bracket, with start times. Click on the bracket for a larger version.

'Nova in as #12 vs. #5 Clemson

Villanova grabbed one of the last at-large invitations to the NCAA tournament, the #12 seed in the Midwest.

Villanova draws #5 Clemson for a Friday game in Tampa, Fla. The winner of that game will likely face #4 Vanderbilt on Sunday.

Times have yet to be announced.

You can view the full bracket at CBS Sportsline.

Clemson gets robbed at Duke (w. video)

Right after scoring 5 points in a single trip down the floor to tie the game, the #17 Clemson Tigers got robbed by the officials when #10 Duke was awarded an extra 2 full seconds on the final possession. What happened next? Duke scored with one-tenth of a second left on the clock to "win" the game. If the error hadn't been made, time would have run out 1.9 seconds prior to the winning basket and the game would have been sent to overtime, and Clemson had the momentum.

Instead, the Dukies get another batch of Cameron Indoor home-cookin' and take the win, 68-66. The worst part about the whole thing is that the referees actually took the time to review the play on the television monitors and somehow concluded that act of Clemson's catch, shot, flight, and made basket took only 0.6 seconds, contrary to any definition of common sense.

This sort of thing seems to happen unusually often at Cameron Indoor Stadium, doesn't it? And surprise, surprise, ESPN's Mike Patrick, play-by-play announcer and Duke-fanboy extraordinaire, had nothing to say about the bonus 2 seconds during the broadcast. To be fair, ESPN did highlight the error on the ensuing broadcast of SportsCenter.

Here is the key play on YouTube. The timing error is clear as crystal. Here's hoping the ACC will investigate this situation.



For those interested, here is the original, unedited ESPN broadcast of the last 12 seconds of the game. Notice how Patrick tries to advance the ridiculous argument that Clemson's last basket only took up 0.6 seconds including the catch, shot, and flight of the ball. Unreal.