Villanova faces UNC in Final Four

#11 Villanova (30-7) vs. #2 North Carolina (32-4)
8:47 p.m., 4 April 2009 at Ford Field.

TV: CBS

Line: UNC -7.5

Game day has arrived.

One week ago, Scottie Reynolds secured his place in history with a buzzer-beater to defeat Pittsburgh and send Villanova to the Final Four.

It's been a fun week, looking forward to this game, Villanova's first Final Four since the 1985 championship season.

North Carolina. In the Final Four. If there were polls this week, the Tarheels would surely be ranked number one in the nation. Villanova would be in the top five.

It does not get bigger than this.

We already talked about the history between these two teams from 2005.

We know Vegas likes Carolina by 7.5 points, and KenPom predicts a 4-point margin, with a 66 percent chance of victory for UNC.

We've listed the keys to the game, what Villanova needs to do to pull off the upset.

All that's left to do is predict the final score.

Check out the other Villanova blogs linked at right for their previews, and then try to predict the game's final score in the comment thread below.

The winner of this game will take on the winner of UConn and Michigan St. in the national championship game on Monday. Holy crap.

Countdown to the Final Four!

Villanova's return to the Final Four, 24 years in the making, is now just over two days away.

Game time is set for Saturday, April 4, at 8:47 p.m.

Before we get into the more serious game previews tomorrow, allow me to give you that beloved mainstay of trashy MySpace sites everywhere, the blinged-out Flash countdown timer!

See the top right sidebar for the high-tech countdown timer.

Use this comment thread to discuss just how excited you are for the game.

\V/ for \V/endetta?

Well, not really.

Although Villanova's 2009 Final Four opponent, North Carolina, represents a loaded memory to most Wildcat fans, none of the current Villanova players were around for the 2005 team's Sweet 16 loss to the eventual national champion Tarheels.

The 2005 loss is a particularly brutal memory for Villanova fans, because the game turned on a very questionable -- "phantom," even -- traveling violation on star Villanova shooting guard Allan Ray, just as he put in a basket that would have brought the 'Cats to within one point.

Instead of calling an "and-one" foul, as many fans expected, the official whistled Ray for traveling, thus ending the season of the upstart 2005 Sweet 16 Villanova team.

Then, as now, Villanova was a heavy underdog to what looked to be an unstoppable Carolina team, loaded with future professionals at nearly every position.

That didn't faze the 'Cats so much in 2005; let's hope the 2009 team can play with a similar swagger on Saturday.

The 2009 version of Villanova-North Carolina is scheduled for an 8:57 p.m. (EDT) game time on Saturday.

Video highlights of the 2005 game embedded below.

FINAL FOUR 'NOVA EDGES PITT IN CLASSIC

Villanova 78
Pittsburgh 76
(box score)

[See end of post for video highlights.]

Villanova defeated the top-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers tonight in Boston to earn a trip to the Final Four after one of the greatest, most epic, and most nerveracking games in Wildcat history.

It was fitting that a game featuring a ridiculous 10 ties, 15 lead changes, and 66 AP photos would come down to two last-second shots -- one rimming in, and one bouncing just high off the backboard after time expired.

Facing a tied score and a possible overtime with the Wildcats in severe foul trouble, Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds dribbled nearly the length of the floor to put in the winning floater with half a second left. The play will no doubt go down in Villanova and NCAA tournament history as one of the greatest winning baskets ever.

Reynolds's brilliant shot put the Wildcats ahead, 78-76, which was the final score after Levance Fields's desperation heave from 65+ feet bounced just errant off the backboard, way, way too close for comfort.

Although the entire game was an instant classic, the last few minutes were especially amazing. With a little over three minutes to go, Villanova trailed by four points, and Pittsburgh had the ball. Chances of a comeback seemed slim.

Dwayne Anderson, though, had different ideas, as he stole the ball and put in a crucial and-one layup -- and hit the foul shot. That play itself should be considered one of the most clutch sequences in Villanova history.

Then, up by two points with 13 seconds left in the game, Villanova called timeout before attempting to inbound the ball on its own baseline. Instead of simply inbounding the ball safely and shooting free throws to put the game out of reach (Villanova had made an astounding 22 of 23 fouls shots), Villanova and Reggie Redding executed one of the most boneheaded plays in NCAA tournament history.

Redding attempted to hit Dante Cunningham for the "home-run" play, throwing the ball almost 90 feet and nearly out of bounds. Not only did the play turn the ball over, it did not run much time off the clock.

I don't know if that was the play drawn up by Jay Wright in the timeout, but it seems likely it was, given Cunningham's home-run trajectory -- and Redding's eagerness to roll the dice. You cannot fault Jay Wright too much, however, as it was a good coaching job to even have the team in position at the end to potentially put the game away.

The inbounds play, in my mind, ranked right up there with Chris Webber calling timeout with none remaining in the 1993 championship game. Had Villanova lost this game, it would have been in the parthenon of all-time NCAA tournament errors. Thankfully, that did not happen.

Villanova proceeded to foul Levance Fields on the ensuing Pitt possession with just over five seconds remaining, which was nearly as bad a decision as Redding's inbounds throw.

After Fields calmly sank two free throws, the prospect of overtime looked grim for the 'Cats, who were beset by front-court foul trouble.

But then Scottie Reynolds made a play that will be included in NCAA tournament highlight reels for decades to come, and the rest is history.

Villanova advances to its first Final Four since the 1985 NCAA championship.

All in all, Villanova's last-second win over Pitt concluded one of the greatest basketball games in recent memory. I would argue that it topped this year's six-overtime thriller between Syracuse and Connecticut in the Big East tournament, simply because the game meant so much more and ended much more closely.

Personally, I have never rooted so hard for a sporting event in my life. It will be difficult to ever top this game for young Villanova fans -- but the Wildcats have the chance to do just that next weekend.

Right now, though, the win stands for me and many other young Villanova alumni as the greatest basketball game ever seen. The game, of course, triggered racous celebration on Villanova's campus (video).

Congratulations to reader "JohnnyB1" for most closely predicting the final score.

Villanova awaits the winner of Sunday's North Carolina-Oklahoma regional semifinal. I like the Oklahoma match-up much better for the Wildcats, so I'll be a Sooner fan tomorrow.

"READ MORE" below for player performance grades and analysis, followed by the embedded video highlights and links to other recaps.

• Reggie Redding (S, 36 min)

  Redding's solid 36 minutes risked being overshadowed by his foolish inbounds with 13 seconds left. Luckily, Villanova won the game, so Redding's effort can be properly appreciated. Redding shot 2-6 from the field to score 5 points. He was the only Wildcat to miss a free throw, shooting 1-2 in the game's closing minute. He co-led the team in rebounds with 6. Redding added 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals, and a team-high 3 blocks. His overall defense was excellent. Redding is the heart and soul of a surging Final Four team. No top grade, because of the end-game sequence and small offensive impact, but Redding's tenacious defense earns him an above-average rating.
  Grade: B-





• Scottie Reynolds (S, 33 min)

  Reynolds hit the game-winning shot in one the great finishes of NCAA tournament history. As Jay Wright said after the game, they will be replaying that basket when Reynolds is 40 years old. Reynolds's clutch play is even more amazing when viewed through the lens of his mediocre shooting night. Scottie shot 4-11 overall, and 0-3 from the three, and the team still won. Reynolds definitely seems bothered by his sore right wrist. Hopefully the full week's rest between now and the national semifinal will allow the wrist issue to fade away. Reynolds was perfect tonight from the foul line, a cool 7-7. He did not handle the ball very well, committing 4 turnovers, but of course he handled it well when it counted. Even though he shot 4-11 with 4 turnovers, no steals, and 1 assist, how can I not give Reynolds an excellent grade after one of the biggest shots in NCAA tournament history?
  Grade: A-




• Dante Cunningham (S, 30 min)

  Cunningham picked up two fouls with over 8 minutes remaining in the first half. I emphatically diagree with the decision to sit him the rest of the half -- this was for a Final Four, after all, and you have to trust your senior not to commit an additional foul before halftime. As such, Villanova's arguably most important player was limited to just 30 minutes. Cunningham was not able to stop Blair, who scored 20 on 9-9 shooting, but he did manage to score 14 points of his own on decent 6-11 shooting. Cunningham pulled in a lower-than-usual 5 rebounds, and added 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and 1 steal. Whether Villanova next faces UNC and Tyler Hansborough or OU and Blake Griffin, Cunningham's next assignment will be the toughest and most important one of his career.
  Grade: B-




• Dwayne Anderson (S, 28 min)

  Despite how good Dante Cunningham has been the last three years, Dwayne Anderson is the senior I will miss the most next year. His play in the NCAA tournament run has been astounding. Tonight he was easily the player of the game, and he made play after play to keep Villanova competitive. As mentioned, what's lost in Reynold's game-winner was how crucial a play Anderson's steal and three-point play was. Anderson shot a good 5-10 tonight, inlcuding 2-6 from the three and a very nice 5-5 from the foul line. He grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds. He also led the team in steals, with 4 of the 6 Wildcat picks overall. It was an amazing performance, and Villanova will miss Anderson's hustle, athleticism, decision-making, and resourcefullness next season.
  Grade: A




• Shane Clark (S, 26 min)

  I've got to hand it to Clark. He has been much-criticized in this space in his career, but he saved us tonight. Clark scored in the first half when no one else seemed able. He shot a good 4-7 overall, including an amazing 3-4 from the three. He notched 4 rebounds and committed just 1 turnover. Excellent hustle play from Clark, whose late-season emergence has been one of the bigger reasons for Villanova's improvement.
  Grade: B+
  
  

• Corey Stokes (23 min)

  As predicted in the Duke recap, Stokes improved his shooting considerably against Pitt in the second game in the arena. Here is hoping that he will have the chance to play two games in Detroit's Ford Field stadium. Tonight, Stokes shot an excellent 3-4, including 1-2 from the three. He showed he could put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. Stokes added 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, and 1 block. I still think Wright subs Stokes in and out too frequently for him to develop an optimal rhythm. Stokes, though, will need to be a reliable scorer in the next game if Villanova hopes to advance to the national championship.
  Grade: B
  
  

• Corey Fisher 18 min)

  Fisher only received 18 minutes tonight, but they were 18 huge minutes, and he was on the floor when it counted at the end. Earlier in the game, Fisher initiated one of the most entertaining plays I have ever seen. He dove to the floor for a loose ball and tipped it behind his body to a trailing Reggie Redding, who proceeded to make a fantastic pass to Reynolds in the corner. Reynolds pump-faked, getting his defender airborne, before driving baseline to make a very nice reverse layup. Without Fisher's extraordinary hustle, Villanova would not have had those two points. Fisher shot poorly again tonight, just 1-7. But where he really shined was on the foul line, where he was a perfect 7-7, including a pair of ultra-clutch late-game trips. He added 4 big rebounds for a 6-foot guard, and handled the ball reasonably well, dishing for 2 assists while committing 2 turnovers.
  Grade: B+
  
  

• Antonio Pena (6 min)

  Pena contributed 6 decent minutes, and while he did not have any impact on the box score, he absorbed two personal fouls that would have disqualified any of Villanova's other frontcourt players.
  Grade: C
  
  

• Incomplete grades: None.



• Did not play: Frank Tchuisi (CD), Jason Colenda (CD), Maurice Sutton (RS), Russell Wooten (CD).

Video highlights:



Other recaps:

• Rush The Court
• Villanova Viewpoint
• Nova News
• Zagsblog

I am sure VBTN, VUhoops, and IBBW will have their recaps up soon, as well.

Villanova duels Pitt for Final Four trip

#11 Villanova (29-7) vs. #4 Pitt (31-4)
7:05 p.m., 28 March 2009 at the TD Banknorth Garden.

TV: CBS

Line: Pitt -2

Villanova clashes with a very familiar opponent today in Boston for a Final Four berth.

The top-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers have won 31 games, and were ranked #4 in the country in the last AP poll. But Villanova beat Pitt last time, and that was before the Wildcats began to look like a top-5 team during their recent tournament run.

There's not much to write about this game that hasn't already been said. Villanova and Pittsburgh are both tough, defense-oriented teams with penchants for physical play.

Unlike its last three games against American, UCLA, and Duke, Villanova will probably be at a disadvantage on the interior tonight, facing Big East player of the year Dejuan Blair.

The Wildcats will have to make up for Pitt's edge down low by using their superior scoring guards and athletic running game. A key player tonight will be Dwayne Anderson, and his ability to score whether or not his three-point shot is falling.

Corey Fisher will need to get to the rim, even if Blair is patrolling the key. Scottie Reynolds will need to bear some of the Wildcat scoring load. Dante Cunningham will have probably the toughest task of all, containing Blair on one end and scoring on the other.

Pittsburgh is a tall order and a legitimate top-5 team nationwide, but the Wildcats are arguably the hottest team in the NCAA tournament. While the Panthers have largely struggled their way to the Elite 8, Villanova has absolutely demolished its last two opponents, with slaughters of ranked UCLA and Duke.

KenPom predicts a 2-point victory for the Panthers, giving Villanova a 40 percent chance for the win.

Oddsmakers installed Pitt as a 2.5 favorite on Friday, but the line has dropped to 2 points as of Saturday afternoon.

Check out the other Villanova blogs linked at right for their previews, and then try to predict the game's final score in the comment thread below.

The winner of this game will take on the winner of North Carolina and Oklahoma in Detroit's national semifinal next Saturday.

'Nova destroys Duke on way to Elite 8

Villanova 77
Duke 54
(box score)

#11 Villanova: 29-7
#6 Duke: 30-7

Villanova put together another excellent 40 minutes of basketball on Thursday to absolutely dismantle the 2nd-seeded Duke Blue Devils in Boston.

Villanova head coach Jay Wright thoroughly out-foxed the much-celebrated Coach K, whose Blue Devils had no answer for Villanova's high-pressure defense.

The Wildcats advance to the Elite Eight to face the top-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers, with a Final Four berth on the line.

Villanova-Pitt will tip at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday.

Villanova overcame a slow start out of the locker room on Thursday to score 11 straight points after falling behind 5-0. The Wildcats took a three-point lead into halftime before totally dominating the second period by a margin of 20.

Villanova used its superior athleticism to generate a tremendous pressure defense and an edge on the boards. The Wildcats out-rebounded Duke by a tally of 49-34.

Villanova's manic defense held Duke's Gerald Henderson, a future NBA player, to a dismal 1-14 shooting. Blue Devil forward Jon Scheyer shot nearly as poorly, going 3-18.

On the offensive end, Villanova focused on shooting efficient shots with good looks. Forwards Dwayne Anderson, Dante Cunningham, and Shane Clark followed all misses with reckless abandon, helping the 'Cats pull in 13 offensive rebounds and put in a bunch of follow-up buckets.

Villanova once again played hard and crisp basketball for the entirety of the game, as the Wildcats had done against UCLA. After the game, Jay Wright attributed this consistency to an improving team.

Congratulations to reader "Pena Power" for most closely predicting the final score.

Villanova advances to the regional finals on Saturday for a game against top-seeded Pittsburgh. The winner of that game, of course, earns a trip to Detroit and the Final Four.

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

• Dante Cunningham (S, 33 min)

  Cunningham was the best post player in the game by far, and luckily for the Wildcats he asserted himself as such. Dante shot a decent 5-13 from the field and a good 4-6 from the foul line to score 14 points. He led the 'Cats in rebounds, with 11, and blocked 1 shot. He committed just 1 turnover, which is excellent. He had 1 steal that led to a very nice fast break dunk.
  Grade: A-




• Reggie Redding (S, 32 min)

  Player of the game -- and it's not even close. Redding was a force on defense. His help defense was so perfect, I took to watching him on every possession, just to appreciate how well he moved within the flow of the pressure D. He played efficiently on offense, shooting 4-7 to score 11 points. He added a helpful 9 rebounds, and led the team in assists with 4. He blocked 2 shots, stole 1 ball, and committed 2 turnovers. All-around outstanding play, but truly special on defense. Villanova will need a similar effort from Redding on Saturday to get past Pitt.
  Grade: A





• Scottie Reynolds (S, 32 min)

  Reynolds, plagued by minor wrist pain, finally got going a bit in the scoring department. Though he shot a mediocre 5-15, he was a perfect 4-4 from the line, and hit 2 of his 6 threes to lead the team with 16 points. Reynolds added 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers, and 2 key steals. He made good decisions with the ball, and played well on defense. His 6 three-point attempts were all good shots, and 2 more of them could have easily fell. Villanova will need Reynolds to score against Pitt, especially since Blair might limit the Wildcats' interior offense.
  Grade: B+





• Dwayne Anderson (S, 26 min)

  Anderson plays so hard and with so much passion. He always seems to be in the right spot for a tip, a follow, a lay-up, or a fast-break. Against Duke, he shot an efficient 4-8 from the field despite missing badly on his 2 three-point attempts. He grabbed 7 rebounds, passed for 2 assists, and turned the ball over just once. Anderson has developed from a practice player for Villanova into a real asset, an athletic weapon that can hardly be defended against. Along with Fisher, Anderson has become my favorite Wildcat to watch play.
  Grade: A-





• Corey Fisher (24 min)

  Fisher managed to have a very positive impact on this game despite struggling a bit offensively. He shot a bad 1-6, including 0-3 from the three, but most of those were very good shots. He was 4-6 from the foul line. He added 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and handled the ball very well, committing just 2 turnovers. (No, I am not going to count that low-class ball-grab by Nolan Smith as the last 3 seconds ticked off the clock as a turnover.) Fisher's one basket came on a beautiful dribble drive with a nice pump fake at the end. Villanova is going to need Fisher to shoot better next time in Boston, but Fisher played well today despite the poor shooting percentage. His defense was so good I was surprised to see he only had 1 steal -- he likely caused several more turnovers with his pesky pressure.
  Grade: B-
  
  

• Shane Clark (S, 22 min)

  Clark had some great moves in this game. He shot 3-5 to score 7 points. Clark grabbed 5 boards and notched 1 brilliant assist on a fantastic interior pass. The box score credits him with 0 turnovers, but he did actually make a turnover when a perfect Scottie Reynolds pass sailed through his hands. This has been a regular occurrence this year -- perhaps Villanova can spend a little more time on the passing drills with Clark before Saturday? Still, a very solid game from Clark.
  Grade: B
  
  

• Corey Stokes (21 min)

  Stokes looked good handling the ball today, despite the 3 listed turnovers. He shot 2-7 from the field and 1-4 from the three. He was perfect from the line at 2-2. He pulled in 4 rebounds, and added an assist and a block. Not the most explosive game from Stokes, but he played 21 solid minutes, including good defense. Look for Stokes to heat it up from the three at the next opportunity. A very unscientific "pattern" would seem to indicate that Stokes shoots much better the second game in an arena.
  Grade: B-
  
  
  

• Antonio Pena (8 min)

  Pena was only in for 8 minutes but played very well. He shot 1-1 on a very nice dunk, and was a perfect 2-2 from the foul line as well. He added 3 rebounds in his limited time, and committed no turnovers and no fouls. Can't ask for much more than that in 8 minutes.
  Grade: B+
  
  

• Incomplete grades: Frank Tchuisi (1 min), Jason Colenda (1 min).



• Did not play: Maurice Sutton (RS), Russell Wooten (CD).

Villanova to battle Duke in Sweet 16

#11 Villanova (28-7) vs. #6 Duke (30-6)
9:57 p.m., 26 March 2009 at the TD Banknorth Garden.

TV: CBS

Line: Duke -2.5

Villanova returns to the Sweet 16 this year with a game against the Duke Blue Devils in Boston.

The game, scheduled for 9:57 p.m., is the last of the four match-ups tonight and will be the featured game by CBS.

In an ESPN poll today, 54 percent of voters listed the Villanova-Duke game as the match-up they most want to see tonight.

Villanova-Duke is also the closest handicapped by oddsmakers of the four games tonight. Pitt-Xavier (7), UConn-Purdue (6.5), and Memphis-Missouri (4.5) all see the higher seed favored by significantly more than Duke's 2.5-point spread over Villanova.

The Wildcats will try to use their penetrating backcourt and athletic forwards to out-hustle and out-muscle the well-coached Blue Devils.

Duke plays a run-and-gun, perimeter-oriented game, and the Devils love to score in transition, especially by pulling up for a three.

Villanova will have to stay at home on defense to limit Duke's triple opportunities. On offense, the 'Cats would do well to test Duke's interior with dribble penetration and posting up Dante Cunningham.

KenPom favors Duke by 3 points in this neutral-court match-up, giving Villanova a 41 percent chance at victory.

Check out the other Villanova blogs linked at right for their previews, and then try to predict the game's final score in the comment thread below.

The winner of this game will face either Pittsburgh or Xavier on Saturday for a trip to the Final Four.

Report: Wright gabs thru open practice

Well, this is not encouraging.

The excellent Rush The Court blog attended Boston's open practice session today for all five mind-numbing hours, and files reports on each team's session.

Though the nonpartisan Rush The Court blogger concedes that 'Nova's practice was "more intense" than the preceding Xavier session, it looks like that was mostly due to Scottie Reynolds, who initiated the team's drills after warm-ups.

Rush The Court reports that during this time, Jay Wright spent nearly 30 minutes chatting with the CBS announcing team:

Where was Jay Wright while Reynolds was running the drills? Talking to Raftery and Lundquist of course. He spent almost 30 minutes talking to the CBS announcers. I certainly hope CBS got some amazing insights that they will share with us because they seemed to be talking up a storm.

I know it's cliche to say that Jay Wright is less an X-and-O's coach than a master of public relations, but here, at least, it seems to be the case.

It's nice that Jay Wright is confident enough to spend a major chunk of his team's practice session chewing the fat with the announcers, but is it really the best use of time, considering the major battle Villanova is in for tomorrow against Duke?

Duke's coach Mike Krzyzewski, to his credit, took the practice more seriously. According to RTC:

You could tell the difference in practice styles right away. [...] The other teams' practices were loosely organized, [but] the Duke practice was methodical and organized with a military precision. [...] The Duke session was much more crisp than the other sessions with very little wasted time. I don’t think I saw any of the players in the other sessions sweating (with the exception of Redford), but every Duke player was sweating by the end of the session.

Even for the Jay Wright apologists, it has to be a little troubling to hear about Wright gabbing away with the announcers for half an hour just one day before the biggest Villanova game in three years.

Meanwhile, Krzyzewski looked to have used his time much more efficiently, even though his team is a solid 2-point favorite in the game.

Wright's lackadaisical approach to practice may not -- and hopefully will not -- cost Villanova the game, but it should make Villanova fans a little less confident about the Wildcats' chances Thursday night.


[Photo credit: rushthecourt.net]

Villanova soars past UCLA to Sweet 16

UCLA 69
Villanova 89
(box score)

#18 UCLA: 26-9
#11 Villanova: 28-7

Villanova fired on all cylinders on Saturday to blow out a very good UCLA team and march on to the Sweet 16 next weekend.

Not only was the game never really close; The Wildcats uncharacteristically played well for a full 40 minutes, the first time this season we have seen both the consistent effort and the results from this team across an entire game against top-flight opposition.

I have to hand it to Jay Wright: he coached an excellent game. His game plan worked well from start to finish, and the Wildcats' output looked like the result of meticulous preparation.

I even agreed with most of his substitution patterns and other in-game decisions.

After surviving too close a call against American where the Wildcats looked lost for two-thirds of the game, Villanova obviously had the Bruins' number from the tip on Saturday. With just two days between the games, the coaching staff certainly had begun preparing for UCLA before the American game on Thursday.

And it worked out.

Villanova's physical defense, its "nothing-easy" philosophy, and its tenacity in attacking the weak Bruin interior on the offensive end exploited UCLA's vulnerabilities while minimizing its strengths.

The Wildcat defense contained senior Darren Collison more than I thought possible in his final collegiate game, and his high-flying back-court mate Josh Shipp never cleared the tower.

Early physical play by Villanova helped set the tone that nothing would come easy for UCLA, leaving the Bruins' offense in disarray from the start. The Wildcats played a pressure defense, with a nifty 1-2-1 press and aggressive contention of all passing and dribbling lanes.

On the offensive end, the Wildcats used a balanced attack that emphasized getting to the rim, post play, and interior passing to rip the Bruins' exposed underside to shreds. Point guard Corey Fisher and shooting guard Reggie Redding were integral to the first tactic, and senior forward Dante Cunningham took care of the latter two.

These strategies, in turn, opened up some nice jump shots for Villanova's shooters, most notably Corey Stokes.

Overall, the game was a nice realization of the potential latent all season, given Villanova's offensive weapons. And it's almost scary to consider that Scottie Reynolds, the team's best scorer, remained in a bit of a shooting slump -- though his numbers improved Saturday, as well.

With Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Dante Cunningham, and Dwayne Anderson all scoring well, Villanova was unstoppable. Add a hot Scottie Reynolds to the mix, and the Wildcats would be able to play with -- and beat -- anyone this year.

In addition to the game itself, another highlight on Saturday was Jay Wright's decision to invite the 1971 Villanova team to sit behind his bench, and to join his team in the locker room afterwards.

Jack Kraft's 1971 team, of course, advanced to the national championship game before falling to John Wooden's UCLA Bruins.

Saturday was the first time the two programs had met in the NCAA tournament since then. Inviting the 1971 team to be front and center at the festivities was a classy move, and further demonstrates Wright's excellent handling of public relations for the team and the university.

Congratulations to reader "IMKL" for most closely predicting the final score.

Villanova now moves on to Boston for a Sweet 16 match with the Duke Blue Devils on Thursday. The game seems favorable for the Wildcats, as Villanova may be able to again exploit its athletic interior versus slower Blue Devils.

Shock and awe saturation coverage of the Duke game to follow later this week.

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

• Reggie Redding (S, 34 min)

  One of the better games of Redding's career. This was why Wright prefers to give so much time to Redding over those who might score more efficiently -- and why Wright will likely start Redding next season despite the presence of five more talented guards on the roster. Redding played efficiently on offense, shooting 4-8 from the field, 1-2 from the three, and 4-4 from the line. He grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out a team-high 7 assists. He played excellent defense, not only coming up with 4 steals, but also doing great defensive jobs on UCLA's three perimeter stars (Collison, Shipp, and Jrue Holiday). The only downside to Redding's game was that he committed 4 of the 11 Wildcat turnovers, but it was till one of his best performances of the year.
  Grade: A-




• Dwayne Anderson (S, 34 min)

  Anderson didn't shoot nearly as well as he did against American, but he was hardly less effective. He shot 4-14 and 2-4 to score 10 points. Though the shooting numbers are bad, he made up for them with energy and aggression on defense, passing, and on the glass. Anderson led the team in rebounds with 11, and rounded out his box score with 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 turnovers. Anderson's athletic, explosive game in the halfcourt will be key against Duke's runners and gunners.
  Grade: B+




• Scottie Reynolds (S, 31 min)

  Reynolds went a long way to break out of a recent shooting slump with some very decent offense on Saturday, He was 4-9 from the field and 2-6 from the three, scoring 11 points. He played very good defense, limiting Collison and Holiday substantially. Reynolds did not compile many more statistics -- he had 0 rebounds, 1 assist, and 0 steals -- but he did not commit a single turnover in 31 minutes, which was huge. Look for Reynolds to have a monster scoring game before this tournament is over.
  Grade: B+




• Corey Fisher (25 min)

  Corey Fisher was the best player on the court on Saturday and it was not even close. Fisher ran the Wildcats offense flawlessly -- literally without an error. In 25 minutes, Fisher was explosive and under control, simultaneously. He scored 13 points on 4-7 shooting, including another perfect performance from the foul line (4-4). His four baskets included some spectacular finishes that were impossible to defend. He passed for 5 assists and committed 0 turnovers, even while being guarded by Collison and Holiday, two of the best pickpockets in the nation. The only limit on Fisher's performance Saturday was his slight foul trouble, and he will have to monitor that issue against Duke on Thursday. The Blue Devils have been known to get their share of calls. This offense is now Fisher's to run, and he will be front and center in the Sweet 16.
  Grade: A
  
  

• Dante Cunningham (S, 24 min)

  Cunningham was spectacular on Saturday. Taking advantage of UCLA's questionable interior, Cunningham looked like a man against boys in the lane. He shot an excellent 7-11 from the field and a decent 4-7 from the line. He did not take any questionable jumpshots, instead focusing on running the floor and owning the post. He grabbed 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, and dished out 2 assists. He had 2 turnovers. Cunningham sat for most of the first half due to foul trouble, although he probably could have played with 2 fouls. Then again, the Wildcats were rolling, so Jay Wright's caution was justified this time.
  Grade: A





• Corey Stokes (23 min)

  Stokes was hot from long range on Saturday, especially in the first half. His early long-range bombs forced the Bruins to collapse less on Cunningham, which opened the interior. When Stokes is firing threes and Cunningham is patrolling the post -- all while Fisher is threatening to get to the rim at any given moment, and Anderson is running circles through the paint -- this offense is difficult to contain. Stokes was also good defensively on Saturday. He finished 4-9 from the three with 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 turnover.
  Grade: B+
  
  

• Shane Clark (S, 16 min)

  Clark was back to his complementary game on Saturday, shooting an efficient 4-7 and bringing the help on the offensive glass. He grabbed 4 rebounds, had 1 steal and 1 assist each, and did not commit any turnovers. His defense improved since the American game, too. In limited doses, Clark's hustle game is a nice change of pace for the Wildcats.
  Grade: B
  
  

• Antonio Pena (10 min)

  Pena mysteriously did not see any time against American, but he got 10 minutes on Saturday. He was fairly ineffective in his playing time, however. He shot 0-1 from the field and 2-4 from the foul line -- hardly impressive numbers. He also committed 2 turnovers while grabbing only 1 rebound, with no assists, steals, or blocks. Pena will be a key post player next year, and hopefully he can pick it up as a reserve in the Sweet 16. One positive note was his physical defense on Saturday.
  Grade: D+
  
  

• Incomplete grades: Frank Tchuisi (1 min), Jason Colenda (1 min), Russell Wooten (1 min).



• Did not play: Maurice Sutton (RS).

'Nova, UCLA to clash in round 2

#11 Villanova (27-7) vs. #18 UCLA (26-8)
1:05 p.m., 21 March 2009 at the Wachovia Center

TV: CBS

Line: Villanova -2

Villanova returns to the Wachovia Center this afternoon to face UCLA for the right to go to the Sweet 16.

UCLA has been to three consecutive Final Fours, but the Bruins appear to be a bit weaker this year, earning just a 6-seed and beating an upstart VCU by a single point on Thursday.

Despite those chinks in UCLA's armor, the Bruins will be an extremely difficult out. UCLA point guard Darren Collison is a force on both offense and defense, and he figures to be the best player on the Wachovia Center court on Saturday.

Senior Josh Shipp has also been to three Final Fours, and is as athletic as they come at shooting guard.

UCLA also has one of the most talented freshman guards in the country, Jrue Holiday. Holiday excels on defense and is one of the best and quickest on-ball defenders in the nation.

This game will be one of the few times the guard-laden Wildcats actually have a disadvantage in the backcourt. Villanova has the chance to make up for that with their athletic scoring forwards, Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham.

Oddsmakers have installed Villanova as 2-point favorites, largely, one would think, because of the home-court advantage. UCLA might actually have been favored on a neutral court.

Indeed, KenPom favors UCLA by one point even after factoring the home-court edge to the Wildcats. KenPom gives Villanova a 45 percent chance at victory.

Check out the other Villanova blogs linked at right for their previews, and then try to predict the game's final score in the comment thread below.

The winner of this game earns a trip to Boston next week to face the winner of Duke/Texas in the Sweet 16.

'Nova avoids disaster with win over American

Villanova 80
American 67
(box score)

American: 24-8
#11 Villanova: 27-7

Villanova used a furious second-half run and some very accommodating officiating to hold off an American team that looked for much of the game like it might pull off a major upset.

The Wildcats opened up limp in the first half and trailed by 10 at the break. Villanova would fall behind by as many as 14 points in the second half before turning the game around.

Villanova played to its low-major opponent's strength for the first part of the game, settling for outside jumpers and not guarding the perimeter closely.

The Wildcats started pushing the ball inside more in the second half, when they also benefitted from some very early American foul trouble.

Villanova was in the bonus for the game's final 12:27. American's most dangerous player, Garrison Carr, picked up his fourth personal foul with more than eight minutes to play.

Overall, Villanova attempted 29 free throws in the game, while American received just five foul shots. Some of that disparity can be attributed to the team's differing offensive attacks, but the officiating was certainly favorable to the pseudo-home-team Wildcats, as well.

One major question tonight was the total absence of Antonio Pena, who did not see the court at all. Is Jay Wright shortening the bench just for the sake of post-season shortening?

Logic would dictate that when the two tallest post players in the major American rotation are 6-8, it would be a good move to give Pena even more time than usual, not less. Pena, after all, is the team's second-best post scorer.

Chalk it up to another Jay-Wright playing-time mystery. One would hope Wright had a good reason this time and that it was not just an illogical whim; but one could very well be disappointed clinging to that hope.

With the win, Villanova avoided what would have been one of the most embarrassing losses in school history. The Wildcats will need to play at much higher level, much more consistently, if they hope to beat a non-Patriot League team in this tournament.

Congratulations to reader "Pena Power" for most closely predicting the final score.

Next up for Villanova is what should be an epic match with UCLA on Saturday.

The Bruins have been to three consecutive Final Fours, and are ranked #10 in the country by KenPom, nine places ahead of Villanova. Even after factoring in Villanova's semi-home-court advantage, KenPom gives UCLA a 53 percent chance to win.

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

• Reggie Redding (S, 36 min)

  One would have liked a bit more offensively out of Redding in 36 minutes versus a lesser-talented team. He was 1-4 from the field and 1-2 from the line. He was 1-3 on three-point attempts, including one very ill-advised shot. He grabbed 4 boards, passed for 1 assist, and had 1 turnover. He did not get any steals, but did lead the team in blocks with 4.
  Grade: C-




• Dante Cunningham (S, 36 min)

  Cunningham handled much of the team's scoring load, putting in 25 on 9-16 shooting. As usual, he was great inside and on the break, but terrible outside. He has got to stop shooting outside jumpers: for one, he is a terrible jumpshooter from outside of 16 feet, and two, when he is out of the paint shooting them, he can't be inside the paint looking for rebounds. Cunningham was a perfect 7-7 from the foul line, which was crucial to the victory. He grabbed 7 rebounds, passed for 2 assists, and blocked 3 shots. He did have 4 turnovers, which is unacceptable against such an unathletic frontcourt.
  Grade: B-




• Scottie Reynolds (S, 35 min)

  Reynolds struggled on the offense, but did find a way to get the job done in the game. He is just simply not suited to be a point guard, no matter how much Jay Wright tries to shoehorn him into the position. As noted by the announcers, Reynolds made terrible decisions with the ball, and indeed, the game did not turn around for the Wildcats until Fisher took over point duties. Reynolds shot 2-7 from the field and missed all 3 of his three-point attempts. He was 4-5 at the foul line. He dished out just 2 assists and committed 4 turnovers, but at least he had 3 steals. Villanova is going to need Reynolds in stride in order to score against Collison, Holiday, and Shipp, which might be the best defensive backcourt in America.
  Grade: C-




• Dwayne Anderson (S, 31 min)

  Anderson basically won the game for Villanova. It was a dream match-up for Anderson; American had no one who could deal with his size, speed, athleticism, and scoring ability. Anderson shot a super-efficient 9-10 from the field, including 4-5 from the three. He was perfect from the foul line, shooting 3-3. He led the team in rebounds, with 8, stole 1 ball, passed for 1 assist, and committed 3 turnovers. He ran the floor well and played with energy and intensity. This is the kind of play Villanova needs from Anderson if the Wildcats plan to make a deep tournament run.
  Grade: A




• Corey Fisher (27 min)

  Along with Anderson, Fisher was the difference in this game. Fisher put the team on his back in the second half and willed the Wildcats to victory. How well he played definitely is not reflected accurately in the box score: Fisher shot just 1-5 from the field to score 11 points. Fisher, however, drew so many fouls with his aggressive penetration play that he almost got the Eagles in foul trouble single-handidly. Fisher was an excellent 9-10 from the foul line. He passed for a team-high 4 assists. His three turnovers were mitigated by his 3 steals. Fisher's defense was also excellent. My guess is that this game would never have been in question if Fisher played 37 minutes instead of 27.
  Grade: A-
  
  

• Shane Clark (S, 19 min)

  Clark is the worst defender in the rotation by an order of magnitude. He allowed so many threes in the first-half by unnecessarily doubling down on American's 6-8 post players, I didn't know what to say. Clark handled the ball slowly and clumsily and generally was in the wrong places at the wrong times. He did have one very nice interior assist to Cunningham, I will give him that. He also was a perfect 2-2 from the foul line. But he was 0-2 from the field and was not even a remote threat to score. He only grabbed 3 rebounds, tied for the lowest on the team. He passed for 3 assists and did not have any turnovers. He did, however, kill two fast-breaks prematurely (by my count) when the ball was routed through his hands. Nineteen minutes for Clark and zero for Pena is not a winning formula for this NCAA tournament.
  Grade: D-
  
  

• Corey Stokes (16 min)

  Stokes is actually Villanova's most efficient offensive player, statistically, and he needs more time on the court. Tonight, Stokes shot 2-6 from the field and a bad 1-5 from the three. He added 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal, and 1 block. I would like to see him in the 23-25 minute range next time.
  Grade: C-
  
  
  

• Incomplete grades: None.



• Did not play: Antonio Pena (CD), Frank Tchuisi (CD), Russell Wooten (CD), Jason Colenda (CD), Maurice Sutton (RS).

Villanova faces American in tourney opener

#11 Villanova (26-7) vs. American (24-7)
7:20 p.m., 19 March 2009 at the Wachovia Center

TV: CBS

Line: Villanova -17

After a full season of resume building, RPI watching, bubble debating, seed calculating, and bracket plotting; of wishing, hoping, thinking, praying, planning, and dreaming, the NCAA tournament is finally here.

Villanova, a 3-seed in the East region, draws the best possible geographic assignment for tonight's game against the 14th-seeded American Eagles.

The Wildcats need only take a short bus ride down 476-south and I-95, three-quarters an hour at most, to reach their first-weekend tournament site at the Wachovia Center in South Philadelphia.

Villanova has already played the NCAA-maximum three games here this season, and will try to make it an even five this weekend before potentially advancing to Boston.

American University itself has a relatively short trip from Washington, DC, and will try to pull off the upset.

The Eagles feature a senior-laden team that pushed 2-seed Tennessee to the edge of elimination for 35 minutes last year.

American's biggest weapon is a pair of sub-6-foot guards, Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, who each typically play 90 percent or more of available minutes. Stopping these quick guards will be the main focus of Villanova's celebrated back-court of Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, Reggie Redding, and Corey Stokes.

The Eagles have another pair of major contributors, two 6-8 forwards: Brian Gilmore and Stephen Lumpkins. Gilmore, in particular, is dangerous on offense. Dante Cunningham, Antonio Pena, Dwayne Anderson, and Shane Clark will look to shut those two down.

Villanova will be favored in every possible way: talent, experience, home-court, seeding, and expectations.

American will have nothing to lose, everything to gain, and the relevant memory of staying right with Tennessee for 88 percent of its tournament game last year.

Oddsmakers favor Villanova by 17, which I think is a tad high, even for a pseudo home game. It is the NCAA tournament, after all, and American has lost just seven games all year. The Eagles are also winners of 13 in a row, one of the nation's longer win streaks.

Of course, the best win on the season for American was a road victory against Jacksonville four months ago, so Villanova really should be in the driver's seat.

Stats oracle KenPom predicts a 12-point Villanova victory, with a 90 percent chance for a Wildcats win.

Take a look at more previews than you can shake a stick at!

• VBTN
• IBBW
• VUhoops 1 and 2!
• Nova News
• Villanova Viewpoint 1, 2, and 3!

If Villanova is able to come away with the win, the Wildcats will face the winner of tonight's UCLA/VCU game on Saturday afternoon, also at the Wachovia Center.

Try to predict the game's final score in the comment section below.

Best and worse cases for Villanova

Every March, Let's Go Nova's favorite college basketball writer Pat Forde pens his best and worst cases column, where he outlines the wildest dreams and worst nightmares for all 64 NCAA tournament teams.

Forde hit the nail on the head for Villanova last year, when his best-case scenario of Villanova beating Clemson and Siena before losing in the Sweet 16 came true to the letter.

This year, he sets the bar a little higher. According to Forde, the dream 'Nova run ends as national runner-up:

Best Case: Under-the-radar Big East power flexes its muscles, pounding American and VCU while taking advantage of absurdly friendly Philadelphia draw. The Wildcats wear down Duke and then beat Pitt for the second time this season to reach their first Final Four since winning the whole thing with the Perfect Game in 1985. Dante Cunningham finishes off NBA audition by averaging 20 and 10 on the way to Detroit, where Jay Wright looks flawless as the Wildcats beat North Carolina and then lose to Louisville for the third time this season in the final.

I think that scenario is a tad generous, even as the best case. Just getting to the Final Four would be a dream come true for this 'Nova team, and I am not sure the Wildcats could defeat the UNC juggernaut even in my wildest dreams. But, you never know, especially with Ty Lawson's toe on paparazzi watch all March.

Villanova's worst case is exactly the scenario I dread will happen -- a second-round loss to an excellent UCLA team:

Worst Case: Nova is slowed down and taken out in the second round by UCLA, but that's only the beginning. Turns out Wright was doing his own NBA audition and takes a job in The Association. Guard Reynolds bugs out after his junior season for the pros as well. Rollie Massimino agitates to get his old job back. Even worse, so does Steve Lappas.

Exactly my fear, although as regular readers of this column surely know, I would not mind having Lappas or Rollie back over Jay Wright!

Let's hope that Forde makes it two years in a row for his best-case scenario coming true for Villanova.

What are you best and worse cases? Does anyone think we could actually lose to American? And who is dreaming even higher than Forde, wishing for a national title?

How good is 'Nova's draw?

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We've had a few days to digest the NCAA tournament bracket, and we can start to draw some conclusions about Villanova's draw to Detroit.

At first, I was thrilled to find Villanova in the East regional -- not only for the excellent geography, but also because I consider Pittsburgh to be the weakest of the 1-seeds by far. There is no 1-seed I'd rather see Villanova play than Pittsburgh, especially since the Wildcats have already beaten the Panthers this year.

Similarly, I am happy Villanova has a potential Sweet 16 match-up with #2 Duke. The Blue Devils scare me a lot less than some of the other 2-seeds, especially Memphis.

But then I started to take a look at Villanova's earlier path to the Sweet 16 itself -- particularly, its mini-tournament in one of the two Philadelphia pods.

Of course, it is a tremendous advantage for Villanova to play its first two games in the Wachovia Center, its home court away from home. But are Villanova's podmates conducive to an easy trip to Boston for the Wildcats?

No way.

In the first round, Villanova draws a feisty American team. The Eagles return nearly everyone from last year, when they took 2-seed Tennessee to the brink of elimination in the first 35 minutes of the first round.

This year, American boasts an RPI in the 70s and actually received a vote in this week's AP top 25! Does that look like the profile of a lowly 14-seed?

Villanova, favored by 17, should win the game, of course. KenPom gives American just a 10 percent chance at the upset. If the Wildcats are able to hold on, they will not get a pushover in the second round.

Waiting for Villanova will be either #6 UCLA or #11 VCU.

First, let's start with VCU, in the event the Rams are able to pull off the upset.

VCU is ranked 55th this year by KenPom. The Rams also have excellent NCAA tournament experience from 2007, when they beat Duke in the first round and took Pitt to overtime in the second.

Senior guard Eric Maynor is back for one more tournament run before heading to the NBA. The Rams also have another future pro in big man Larry Sanders.

VCU is going to be a very tough out in this tournament.

But its opponent, #6 UCLA, looks even better.

Is UCLA the best-ever #6 seed in tournament history? Well, I can't think of one better. The Bruins have been to three consecutive Final Fours, and feature three seniors -- Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, and Alfred Aboya -- who have as much NCAA tournament experience as anyone in college basketball.

UCLA also has Jrue Holiday, one of the very best freshman guards in the country -- the Kemba Walker of the West.

The Bruins are ranked #17 in the nation by the coaches, and #18 by the writers. Those are significantly better rankings than the 21-24 range implied by the #6 seed.

Most frightening, however, is UCLA's KenPom rating: #9 in the country. For a 6-seed! Ahead of 3-seeds Mizzou (#10), Kansas (#11), and Villanova (#19). The Bruins are also ahead of 2-seeds MSU (#13) and Oklahoma (#17).

That means, according to KenPom, Villanova would be better off playing any of the other 3-seeds, two of the 2-seeds, all of the 4-seeds except Gonzaga, and all of the 5-seeds, than to play 6-seeded UCLA in the second round!

In fact, since UCLA is ranked a full 10 spots higher than Villanova, the Bruins would be significantly favored on a neutral court over the Wildcats. It's a good thing that the Wachovia Center will not be a neutral site for that game.

An obvious repudiation of this argument is the idea that the tournament is tough for everyone.

Well, not this tough. Look at the other 3-seeds this year and their paths to the sweet 16.

• Missouri: Cornell; Utah St./Marquette
  
• Kansas: ND State; Dayton/WVU
  
• Syracuse: SF Austin; Temple/ASU
  

There is not a team on that list I wouldn't rather play than UCLA.

All in all, if the Wildcats are lucky enough to get past American on Thursday, UCLA is a monster assignment. It's more like an elite-8 game than a second-round match-up.

VCU would not be a cake walk, either.

If not for the friendly confines of the Wachovia Center, I'd be even more worried. But with the home-court edge, I think Villanova gets to Boston -- barely.

Once the 'Cats are in Boston, it's the smoothest possible sailing to Detroit. I really like the team's chances vs. Duke or Pittsburgh (or Texas or FSU).

So what do you think? Vote in the poll below.

Did the selection committee give Villanova a bit more of a test, factoring in the pseudo-home-court advantage? Or did Villanova just get unlucky in its first-weekend draw?

Maybe you totally disagree with me, and love Villanova's draw to the Sweet 16.

Either way, let me know in the comments.

Villanova-American game time

The NCAA has just released the official bracket with game times (PDF).

Third-seeded Villanova plays its first-round game against 14-seed American at 7:20 p.m. (EDT) Thursday at the Wachovia Center.

This was an expected time slot for the Wildcats, because it made sense for the NCAA to slate 'Nova podmate UCLA 30 minutes following Villanova, at about 9:50 p.m. Eastern, or just before 7 p.m. in Los Angeles.

Connecticut, which shares the Wachovia Center with Villanova but is not in the same pod, will tip off 30 minutes after Philly's opening game Thursday, the 8-9 game between BYU and TAMU. Expect UConn to take the court at about 3 p.m.

Should Villanova win on Thursday, the Wildcats will face the winner of UCLA-VCU at either 1:05 p.m. or 3:35 p.m. on Saturday.

Villanova: 3-seed in Phila. v. American

Villanova will play American University at the Wachovia Center on Thursday, March 19.

Villanova, a 3-seed, faces the 14th-seeded American Eagles, champions of the Patriot League.

Game time is yet to be determined, but since UCLA is from the West Coast, the Bruins will most likely get the 9:30 p.m. slot, leaving Villanova-American to start at 7 p.m.

Villanova is in the East region (Boston), where Pitt is the #1 and Duke is the #2 seed (and potential Sweet 16 matchup).

UCLA is the 6-seed in Villanova's Philly pod as the potential second-round matchup. UCLA as a 6-seed is a very rough break for Villanova, as the Bruins might be one of the most dangerous 6-seeds ever, just one year removed from the Final Four.

KenPom ranks UCLA as the #9 team in the nation, while Villanova is #19. If both teams make it to the second round, KenPom will actually have UCLA favored to win, if you consider the Wachovia Center a neutral court. (Which it won't be.)

UCLA has one of the best resumes for a 6-seed I've ever seen. The Bruins are 14-6 in a good Pac-10, and have some great games out of conference. UCLA blew out Villanova common opponent Notre Dame by 26. They lost to Texas at Texas by fewer points than Villanova lost to Texas in a very pro-Villanova Madison Square Garden in New York.

The good news is that UCLA itself has a rough first-round matchup with Eric Maynor and VCU.

UCLA will be tough, but aside from that, you couldn't ask for much better for Villanova. Geographically, Villanova will own the crowd in Philadelphia and is very familiar with the Wachovia Center court.

If the Wildcats are able to win their Philly pod, it's off to to Boston and potential match-ups with Duke and Pitt in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, respectively. You have figure that Villanova will have a large contingent of alumni in Boston.

As for matchups, Villanova has already beaten Pitt this season, and I like the way Villanova matches up with Duke as long as the Wildcats can figure out a way to stop Gerald Henderson.

But Villanova might face an extremely difficult test in round-2 vs. a seasoned UCLA team. This is where having the home crowd at the Wachovia Center, Villanova's home-away-from-home, is a huge advantage. Even so, go VCU!

Tickets still available for Philly

A small number of general admission tickets are available for the three sessions in Philadelphia on Thursday and Saturday.

Villanova plays American in the #3 vs. #14 game in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Game time is yet to be determined, but it's likely Villanova will play in the early session to accommodate West Coast viewers watching UCLA in the other game.

The tickets come with seats, but the seats are not yet specified.

The tickets for the three sessions (six games) are being sold by Ticketmaster for their $220 face value plus fees.

Selection Sunday predictions

The official NCAA tournament brackets are just a few hours away, but there's still time to make some quick predictions.

First of all, I would be very surprised if Villanova is not a 3-seed in Philadelphia for the Thursday-Saturday games at the Wachovia Center. It's looking very likely the 'Cats will be sent to South Philadelphia to play a 14-seed on Thursday.

My wild guess for Villanova's first-round opponent? East Tennessee State.

Louisville, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, and Memphis look pretty solid as the one-seeds. Duke, Connecticut, Michigan State, and Oklahoma should be the two seeds. If any of those teams could swap places, it would be UConn and Memphis, but with 25 straight wins and an absolute demolition of the C-USA, it would be unfair to the Tigers to leave them off the top line.

In the Big East, I have Syracuse as a solid #4, Marquette as a weak #6, and West Virginia as a solid #6. Providence heads to the NIT as a 2-seed, a victim of a brutal Big East schedule and a tight bubble due to mediocrity in the Big Ten and the SEC.

I have Penn State out. San Diego State in. Maryland in. St. Mary's out. (That cheap tactic of scheduling a cupcake after the conference tournament cannot be rewarded!) Arizona gets in, and its streak of tournament appearances survives one more year. Minnesota? Sorry Tubby. The Gophers are out despite his excellent coaching job turning that team around. Wisconsin is in, and is the safest of all the teams listed in this paragraph.

I think Creighton gets in as the very last team, as long as Tennessee holds off Mississippi St. this afternoon in the SEC final.

If I were in charge of the committee, Davidson would be in on the strength of a recovered Stephen Curry alone. But all signs point to Davidson heading to the NIT, where Curry will have one more chance to perform his magic in Madison Square Garden before heading to the NBA. 

We'll see how I did in a few hours.

What are your bracket predictions?

Villanova completes Syracuse sweep

Villanova 89
Syracuse 86
(box score)

#12 Villanova: 22-5 (10-4 BE)
#24 Syracuse: 19-8 (7-7 BE)


Well, it came down to the wire, but Villanova earned its best road victory of the season with a three-point win at Syracuse.

The Orange, aided by a mini-collapse by Villanova, came back from down seven with half a minute remaining to hoist an open look at what would have been the game-tying three in the closing seconds.

Johnny Flynn's shot, however, found the rim, and Villanova finally came away with a solid victory on the road.

I still don't like Wright's decision to play the Coreys so lightly (24 for Fisher, 13 for Stokes), and his weird offense-defense substitution at the end of the game. Does Wright realize that if he yanks both point guards for a crucial defensive possession, and Syracuse scores anyway, he has to face a press without any ballhandlers? Was his plan to burn timeouts every time? I don't get it.

Wright's offense-defense substituting nearly cost Villanova the game. The Wildcats were up a nearly insurmountable seven points with 36 seconds left. Wright's lack of preparation for the Syracuse press, and his inexplicable reliance on poor ballhandlers and free throw shooters could have been disastrous.

Syracuse pulled to within two points on defense, and ended the game down three on offense, with three looks at the tie. If the game had gone to overtime, the momentum was with the Orange.

Despite the troubling last-minute lapse by the 'Cats, the game was the latest victory in Villanova's hot streak. The Wildcats have won eight of their last nine games and improve to #10 in the nation.

The Big East is loaded at the top end, with a ridiculous five teams in the top ten.

The win keeps Villanova in the driver's seat for a three-seed in the NCAA tournament. Earning a top-three seed would greatly increase the Wildcats' chances of playing their first two rounds in Philadelphia, although it also depends on where other top seeds are slated to play.

As the season draws to a close, we are more and more concerned with bracketology. Looking at the top-ten ranked teams in the AP, Villanova appears to have a decent shot at Philadelphia, but only if the Wildcats are able to win out the rest of their games and remain in the top ten.

One possible scenario for 16 pod captains:

Team	Site
Pittsburgh	Dayton
Connecticut	Philadelphia
Oklahoma	Kansas City
UNC	Greensboro
Memphis	Kansas City
Louisville	Dayton
Duke	Greensboro
Marquette	Minneapolis
Michigan State	Minneapolis
Villanova	Philadelphia
Missouri	Boise
Clemson	Miami
Wake	Miami
Kansas	Boise
Arizona St.	Portland
Gonzaga	Portland

Remember, only two "pod captains" (top seeds) can play in each first-round site. The NCAA tries to keep 1-4 seeds close to home, and tries to make sure that these protected seeds don't play any opponent too close to its home court in the first round. That is why it's unlikely for Villanova to play in Philadelphia unless it is as a top seed.

It would be better for Villanova for Missouri to lose, because if the Tigers earn their way to a Kansas City first round, Memphis might have to go to Greensboro, bumping Duke to Philadelphia or Miami.

A Wake Forest hot streak would also bode ill for Villanova's Philadelphia chances, although the Deacons and the Blue Devils could just swap sites.

Also, keep an eye on a scorching Kansas team, and surging Florida State, both of whom could take up crucial spots in Kansas City and Miami, respectively.

But it's too early to worry about all the possible permutations.

The bottom line is that if Villanova keeps winning, the chances are very good Wildcats fans will get to watch their team in a very familiar Wachovia Center.

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

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

• Dwayne Anderson (S, 36 min)

  Love, love, love Dwayne Anderson's game, especially when the shots are falling. I criticized him last time for going 0-4 from the three, but I am thrilled that he kept shooting when they were going in at Syracuse. Anderson shot a decent 8-14 from the field, including a hot 4-6 from the three to score a team-high 22. He had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, and 1 steal. I like when he is involved in the offense, especially in the running game. Keep it up.
  Grade: A-




• Dante Cunningham (S, 34 min)

  It's an unpopular opinion, but I think Cunningham is hurting the team with all his poor shots. Despite what the announcers say, Cunningham is simply not a good jump-shooter. Yes, he can hit the open 15-footer, but take that out to 17 feet, or put a man on him, and he can't find the bottom of the net. I miss the days when Cunningham's line would read something like 6-8 shooting and 10 rebounds. Nowadays, Sunday's 5-14 is business as usual for Cunningham, who for some reason has assumed a role at the center of the offense. On an unrelated note, the Syracuse game was the first time (at least that I've noticed) that Cunningham was listed in the official box score as a center, not a forward. I don't know what that's all about, because Dante is a textbook college four. Cunningham scored 12 points on his hideous 14 shots. He did well on the boards, leading the team in rebounding with 12. He also passed the ball very well, with 6 assists, and cut down on his recent penchant for turnovers, committing 2. He had 0 blocks and steals. Good all around game for Dante, except with all the bad shots.
  Grade: B-




• Reggie Redding (S, 34 min)

  A monster game for Redding, doing the things he does best -- defense and passing. Six steals! Seven assists! And he shot a judicious 3-5 from the field. He was also 5-6 from the foul line, but he missed the most crucial free throw of the game at the very end, which would have put Villanova up by four instead of three. The offense definitely suffers with him out there sometimes, but with 6 steals and 7 assists, he earned his 34 minutes on both ends of the floor Sunday.
  Grade: B+




• Shane Clark (S, 31 min)

  Clark bounced back from his recent slump with a good game, at least offensively. He shot 6-8 from the field, and pulled in 5 rebounds on the offensive glass, to finish with 15 points and 8 rebounds total. I am still not sold -- at all -- on the defense. Sometimes it's like playing 5 on 4 on defense, with how slow he is to rotate or contest an outside shooter. And I can't remember how many times I've seen Clark just let a penetrator go right past him to the basket. That said, credit where credit is due for a nice hustle game. Clark is at his best with put-backs and follow-ups. I don't like to see him take jump-shots (his two misses were jump-shots that weren't even close), but more power to him on glass cleanup duty.
  Grade: B
  
  

• Corey Fisher (24 min)

  Five minutes more than last time and still 10 minutes too few. It's clear, now, that Fisher is by far Villanova's best player. Would anyone disagree? So why are there always five or more players with more time than him? Even against Syracuse, four players played nine-plus more minutes than Fisher, even though Fisher was the best player on the court. It makes zero sense to me. Against 'Cuse, Fisher continued his hot shooting, going 5-6 from the field, 1-1 from the three, and 5-7 from the foul line. When you shoot 5-6 from the field as a guard, it probably means you should be taking more shots. Fisher finished with 16 points, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, and 3 rebounds. Imagine what he could have done with 10 more minutes.
  Grade: A
  
  

• Scottie Reynolds (S, 23 min)

  I don't agree with just 23 minutes for Reynolds, but Wright doesn't like to play Scottie and Fisher together, which is a mistake on his part. Reynolds shot 4-9 to score 10 points, but was cold from the three (1-5) and the line (1-3). He had way too many turnovers (5), including two really disastrous turnovers in the game's final minute. It was a sub-par game from Reynolds, who needs to move to the two guard if this team is going to make any kind of tournament run. You read it here first. Scottie is an All=American talent from the two, but his proficiency at the one is less than desirable.
  Grade: C-




• Corey Stokes (13 min)

  Is it just me, or does Jay Wright often seem to yank out Stokes after any missed shot? (Steeling myself for many profane "it's just you" comments...) Stokes, a rhythm shooter if there ever were one, needs to be left out there to warm up. How can Wright not see this? It would be obvious to the laziest assistant in grammar school intramurals. Just 13 minutes for Stokes after his monster game against RU? I don't get it. Against 'Cuse, Stokes scored just 3 points on 1-4 shooting. He grabbed 3 rebounds, and had 1 block and 2 turnovers.
  Grade: C-




• Antonio Pena (5 min)

  I really don't think Pena is so bad that he has played himself completely out of the rotation. Has Pena regressed this much from when he was starting every game? If so, why has Wright allowed that? Or was Pena never good enough to start? Either way, it's baffling and unusual for a former every-game starter to be seeing so little time.
  Grade: Incomplete





• Incomplete grades: Antonio Pena (5 min), Frank Tchuisi (0+ min).



• Did not play: Jason Colenda (CD), Russell Wooten (CD), Maurice Sutton (RS).

Friday poll: Who don't you like?

If you're at this site, Villanova might be your favorite college basketball team. This week's poll asks which team you like the least.

Do you dislike one of Villanova's Big East rivals like Georgetown, Syracuse, or Pitt? Maybe you can't stand Coach K's Duke or John Calipari's Memphis. Or maybe you reserve your bile and vitriol for the Holy War against St. Joseph's in the Big 5.

Whichever team you dislike the most, vote in the Flash poll below or in the right sidebar on any Let's Go Nova page. Feel free to explain your choice in the comments section of this thread.

Last week's poll dealt with reader demographics. The largest voting group in this poll were people who attended Villanova in the 2000s, at 27 percent. The second biggest group (24 percent) attended Villanova in the 1980s or earlier, so apparently there is now Internet access at the old folks home. One in five voters is currently a Villanova student, and 14 percent of voters didn't attend Villanova.



Check back next Friday for this week's results and a new question.