Villanova tops Stony Brook

Villanova 84
Stony Brook 62
(box score)

Next game: vs. Bucknell, 11/18 at the Pavilion.

Villanova opened its regular season Friday night in the Pavilion with a win against a scrappy Stony Brook squad that put up a decent fight for most of the game.

The contest against the Seawolves was a far cry from the slaughter of Bloomsburg in last week's exhibition. Stony Brook was a good ball-handling team, committing just 13 turnovers in 40 minutes against a swarming Wildcats' defense.

Stony Brook also shot the ball reasonably well, making more than half its shots and sinking 43 percent of its three-point attempts.

The Villanova squad looked strong as it outclassed Stony Brook and eventually shrugged off the Seawolves' attempts to stay in the game.

Villanova went with a fairly large starting lineup of Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding, Shane Clark, Dante Cunningham, and Casiem Drummond. Just two years removed from the four-guard attack that made Jay Wright and his program known as "Guard U," Villanova went with a lineup featuring one guard, one guard/forward, two forwards, and a center.

Freshman guard Corey Fisher did not dress for the game due to knee tendinitis. With the Wildcats' excellent depth this year, do not be surprised to see Jay Wright keep Fisher off the floor until he is 100 percent healed. I would think Fisher is questionable for the Bucknell game, but check for more information as the game approaches.

Congratulations to reader "Matt" for most closely predicting the final score of the game. Matt's prediction of Villanova 84, Stony Brook 62 was just 4 points off the final score. Impressive.

On to the player grades. As always, click "READ MORE" below for player performance grades and analysis.

• Scottie Reynolds (S, 33 min)

  Reynolds played well despite uncharacteristically struggling from beyond the arc. He scored 13 points on 5-11 shooting, including 0-4 from the three. Reynolds was relentless in attacking the rim, often driving to the basket and finishing with sheer willpower. Reynolds also displayed his passing prowess, leading the team in assists with 6. His court awareness and basketball instincts remain unparalleled on this team.
  Grade: B+
  
  

• Dante Cunningham (S, 32 min)

  Cunningham was a fairly large part of the offense, and led the team in shots taken. Dante scored 14 points on 6-13 shooting. Some of the shots seemed outside his comfort zone in the paint, but Cunningham also showed nice touch. He rounded out his effort with 6 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
  Grade: B




• Shane Clark (S, 29 min)

  Clark was on fire the entire night. He shot a blistering 8-11 from the field, including 4-5 from the three, to lead the team with 25 points. His unconscious shooting was complemented by an active presence on the glass; Clark led all rebounders with 7 boards. If Clark can keep up this scoring efficiency -- and remain injury free -- the Wildcat offense becomes that much less stoppable.
  Grade: A




• Reggie Redding (S, 27 min)

  Redding did not have much impact on the box score, and did not take a shot. He played solid basketball for his 27 minutes, but did suffer a few rare defensive lapses. It would be nice to see more offensive assertiveness from Redding, but he continues to get the job done.
  Grade: C+
  
  

• Malcolm Grant (27 min)

  After the Bloomsburg game, I wrote this about Malcolm Grant: "If he ever finds his long stroke, watch out." Well, it's time to watch out. Grant exploded for 16 points on 4-6 shooting, with all 4 field goals from beyond the arc, where he shot 4-5. But that's not the entire story. Grant was a fantastic defensive presence as well, and generally played with passion and hustle. Grant may also be the fastest Wildcat this year. Expect big things from Malcolm Grant.
  Grade: A




• Corey Stokes (15 min)

  After lighting up the Wachovia Center with his outside shot, Stokes was relatively quiet in his Pavilion debut. He shot 1-3 from the field, including 0-2 from the three, with one air ball. It just seemed like an off night for Stokes. I have no doubt he will quickly rebound from this quiet perfomance.
  Grade: C-




• Casiem Drummond (S, 15 min)

  Drummond was active underneath the rim, and had several nice put-backs. He scored 8 on 4-7 shooting. Sometimes it was clear he should have gone up stronger or more decisively to the rim. Drummond may need to spend a little bit more time in the weight room before Big East play.
  Grade: B-




• Antonio Pena (12 min)

  Pena is a gifted athlete who could develop into an outright game changer. He played some solid minutes in the first half before suffering from what appeared to be a back injury. If the injury is minor, expect Pena to continue to improve this fall.
  Grade: B




• Incomplete grades:
  Dwayne Anderson (5 min), Andrew Ott (3 min), Jason Colenda (2 min).



• Did not play:
  Corey Fisher (knee), Frank Tchuisi (wrist).

Predict tonight's final score

This year, I'd like to try something new to see which readers can best predict the scores of individual Villanova games.

To make your prediction for the Villanova-Stony Brook game, just post the scores in the comments section below.

The reader closest to the final score will receive a valuable prize -- her name (or handle) printed in a post on LetsGoNova.com!

My official prediction is Villanova 81, Stony Brook 59.

Predict away.

TV for tonight

Tonight's game vs. Stony Brook will be televised!

The game will air on Fox Sports Net (FSN) in the Atlantic region.

This means you will be able to see the game on basic cable on FSN if you live in the NY/NJ/PA area, or anywhere on digital cable if you get FSN-Atlantic. Check your local listings; the game is at 7 p.m. Villanova time.

Fisher may not play Friday

According to Dana Pennett O'Neill of the Philadelphia Daily News, Villanova coach Jay Wright said Corey Fisher missed Tuesday's exhibition with "severe tendinitis" and is only a 50 percent chance to play Friday at the Wildcats' season-opener against Stony Brook at the Pavilion.

Fisher, a freshman point guard, was arguably Villanova's highest-regarded recruit for the season, and fans who didn't make it to Canada this summer or Hoops Mania last month are anxious to get a first look at the potential star.

Shane Clark, the junior forward, also missed Tuesday's blowout of Bloomsburg, but only has a sprained thumb and should be able to play Friday, according to O'Neill.

As for the actual game, Villanova By The Numbers runs an in-depth preview. Check out his thoughts on the game before the 'Cats tip off against the Seawolves Friday night.

'Nova demolishes Stony Brook

Villanova 72
Stony Brook 44

Villanova (4-1) (0-0) [unr]

I missed the game itself, so my commentary here will be extremely limited. Villanova easily defeated Stony Brook on the road tonight, winning 72 to 44.

The Wildcats jumped out to a quick lead in the first half, outscoring Stony Brook 42-18. It looks as though Jay was very liberal in emptying the bench, as 10 players got double figures in minutes played.

Sumpter led all scorers with 14. No player on the Seawolves scored in double-figures. What is a seawolf anyway? Is it a wolf that lives in the sea? Very strange. Wikipedia says it's a fish, but Stony Brook's logo clearly depicts a wolf.

Mascots, however, were the least of Stony Brook's problems as the 'Cats hustled on the court, forcing 18 turnovers and winning the battle of the boards by a margin of 41-24.

Next up for Villanova will be Penn at the Palestra, Saturday at 7 p.m. That game will air live on CN8.

[update] I just saw that a Stony Brook alley-oop was the number-two top play on Sportscenter tonight. Normally this might be an embarrassing moment for the 'Cats' defense, but the scoreboard at the bottom of the screen revealed that the 'oop advanced Stony Brook's score from 2 to 4, while Villanova had 15.