I Bleed Blue and White

As I sit here watching College GameDay, it occurred to me that is a pretty big weekend in the Big East. We’ve been discussing the clog in the middle of the conference, and depending on what happens, it could help clear up the murky waters of the conference. Or it could make it even more jumbled.

West Virginia @ #7 Louisville (Saturday, 12:00 ET on ESPN360) — The Cardinals are undefeated and West Virginia is in a dead-heat with Villanova. Especially having already lost to the Cardinal (at home nonetheless), I think we’re pulling for Louisville here. They’re still undefeated and at this point a mortal lock for the tournament, so we won’t be fighting with them for a spot later on.

#22 Notre Dame @ #3 Pittsburgh (Saturday, 12:00 ET on ESPN) — Same thing applies here. Although ‘Nova are currently ahead of the Irish, Notre Dame is finishing off a brutal stretch and their schedule gets easier. Pitt is going to be a great looking win for ‘Nova and if they continue to win that helps Villanova, as does ND losing.

#23 Georgetown @ #8 Marquette (Saturday, 2:00 ET on ESPN360) — Call me selfish, but I want Marquette undefeated when they have to enter the confines of The Pavilion. Well, that and the fact that the Hoyas are slumping big time, and it’d be nice if that could continue. At 3-5 in conference play, they are dangerously close to putting themselves in a hole that they can’t climb out of. Let’s Go Golden Eagles.

Providence @ #2 Connecticut (Saturday, 4:00 ET on ESPN360) — Providence has a history of knocking off UConn at home, but I hope that ends today. At 6-2 Providence is the shocker of the year so far, even if it has come at the hands of the bad teams in the Big East. Villanova has a home and home with the Friars, but they’ll need some help too. Go UConn.

DePaul @ Rutgers (Saturday, 8:00 ET on ESPNU) — Somebody’s getting their first conference win!!

USF @ St. John’s (Sunday, 2:00 ET on ESPNU) — I’m sorry about these last two being so depressing. That’s all I’ve got.

I try not to be a “scoreboard watcher” but on a weekend with some very good games, it’s hard not to. I’ll be quietly rooting for Louisville, Pitt, Marquette and UConn, but this all really doesn’t matter one bit if Villanova doesn’t take care of business on Sunday.

One of the common topics of conversation in this relatively young Big East season has been the logjam in the middle of the conference. There are several teams who are hovering somewhere between just above .500 and just below .500, including Villanova.

We may be starting to see some separation. The difference has been avoiding losing to the perceived “bottom dwellers.” That is something that Villanova has been able to avoid with victories over St. John’s, Seton Hall, and USF. On the other hand, it has been a plague for Georgetown, with their most recent loss coming at the hands of the same Cincinnati team that Villanova faces on Sunday.

While not in the same class as Rutgers or USF, Cincinnati is a team that most likely doesn’t have the horses to make a strong finish to its Big East slate. With the exception of a 34 point loss to Marquette, they’ve competed well in conference play, no matter the opponent. Currently, they stand at 4-4 and are right in the thick of things in the aforementioned logjam.

The Bearcats are led by Deonta Vaughn, a junior guard who is averaging almost 16 points and 5 assists per game. If you remember the game last year, Vaughn was instrumental in upsetting the Wildcats in Cincinnati. He had 25 points to upstage Scottie Reynolds and his 32 point outburst.

Reynolds was blocked with 27 seconds left before Rashad Bishop made his only basket of the game (a 3 pointer from the wing) to give the Bearcats the win.

A lot has changed in a year though. For Villanova, the same squad (minus Malcolm Grant and Casiem Drummond) returns, and they’ll play in the comfy confines of The Pavilion. Even though it’s a Sunday matinée, the Wildcats have energized the fanbase with their recent win over Pitt.

On Cincy’s side, Deonta Vaughn returns, but the other characters who hurt Villanova last year are gone. Vaughn’s main running mates are Mike Williams and Yancy Gates, two players who did not see time last year against Villanova.

While Cincinnati is a dangerous team (as Villanova is well aware), this one sets up to go smoothly for Villanova. Dante Cunningham came back strong against Pitt, Reggie Redding is on an unrivaled hot streak and as a team, Villanova is looking very good.

They cannot afford to look past this game to their match-up with the upstart Friars of Providence, and I don’t think they will. They’ve done a great job of staying focused and not succumbing to the typical let-down game, and I don’t believe that’s going to change on Sunday.

Villanova already has two future Wildcats in Montrose Christian (MD) stars Mouphtaou Yarou and Isaiah Armwood, but there could potentially be another one in the 2010 class according to The Gazette.

2010 Oregon native Terrence Ross is the teammate of Yarou and Armwood, and legendary coach Stu Vetter gives him rave reviews.

“Terrence is one of the most athletic players I’ve been able to coach,” Vetter said. “I’ve had some great athletes over the years. He combines the athleticism with basketball ability. He can shoot the ball very well and he’s got the size at 6′5″ that gives him unlimited potential. And he’s a very unselfish player. He blends in well with our players.”

When asked about his interest future schools, Ross listed Villanova among in a who’s who list of national powers. Needless to say, this kid is wanted to everyone.

…Any kid who has descriptions like “Jordan-esque” and “athleticism off the charts” is okay by me…From what I’ve read he sounds like a perfect fit for Villanova’s offense…

If you’ve been reading around the Villanova blog network in the last week, you may have heard that Maalik Wayns suffered some type of knee injury. It appears that the news appears of the “good” variety (if injuries can have good news).

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Wayns will miss just 2-5 weeks, while The Daily News reports that an ACL injury has been ruled out, but the meniscus is still in play.

Wayns and his Roman Catholic teammates were scheduled to play Chester at The Pavilion tonight. It would have been great to get a glimpse of the future, but it looks like that will have to wait.

Hopefully Wayns has a safe and speedy recovery.

Terry Toohey of The Reporter writes a phenomenal article about Reggie Redding’s big night and why it was extra special for him. Reggie Redding Sr. was in the crowd last night, and looked on as his son played the best game of his Wildcat career.

“Everything I know about this place I learned from my dad,” Redding said. “I was born in 1988 so I never saw a game here but my dad told me all about it. He told me about the Sixers and Dr. J, Moses Malone and Andrew Toney.”

Toohey also writes about Villanova’s toughness, Pitt’s foul trouble, and Jay Wright’s thoughts on the win.

Highlights from the big win over Pitt, courtesy of ESPN.

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If you missed it here is the recap the the box score.

Last game at The Spectrum. You know what? It was freaking loud. Really loud. Being from New York, I don’t have any history with The Spectrum. And from what I heard before the game, neither did anyone else. Who cares though? It’s Villanova basketball.

But there was just something in the air tonight. Yeah, you’ll look at Dante Cunningham at say he was uuuuuuuuuuuge. 15 points and no fouls — yeah, that’s right, no fouls – he came back in a big way. Scottie Reynolds? 3-11 from the field and the biggest 10 points of his career. He was phenomenal tonight. Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes? Yeah boys, you earned your stripes.

DeJuan Blair? You are a beast. But tonight, you hurt yourself with fouls and played right into ‘Nova’s hands. Sam Young? Respect.

But the biggest heroes? Reggie Redding and Shane Clark. Reggie with a career high 18. And 10-10 from the charity stripe. Good for you kid. Shane Clark? 6 offensive rebounds (3 straight on one possession). Y’all balled out tonight.

Credit to every person in that building. Who cares if it was the last college basketball game at The Spectrum? The students brought it tonight. So did the alumni and the fans. It was pouring rain out all afternoon. And people were there from 3:30 on. That is the spirit of this school.

Words honestly cannot describe the atmosphere of that arena. My ears are still ringing.

More so, words cannot describe this win. As a fan, this was never in doubt. There was that mystique in the air. We were going to win. And curse you if you were going to stop us. This was one of those nights. Gotta love it.

Villanova has legs. Beware Big East.

Instead of writing up my own thoughts for Wednesday’s clash against Pittsburgh, I thought it to be a good idea to get in touch with someone on the other side. Chas from Pitt Blather and I exchanged questions about the upcoming matchup. Below are his answers to my questions. You can see my responses to his questions here. Thanks to Chas for doing this with me.

Chris (I Bleed Blue and White): Because of injury troubles, Villanova did not see Levance Fields last year. He’s a proven Big East guard that has given ‘Nova trouble in the past. Blair and Young get most of the hype, but just how essential is Fields to the success of Pitt?

Chas (Pitt Blather): Well, much like last year, Fields is the only true point guard on the team. Pitt uses a motion-style offense so a point guard that sees the floor is absolutely vital. Fields, in particular, is invaluable because he doesn’t turn the ball over. His overall A/TO ratio is 3.54 and in Big East play it is 2.84. Pitt is a team that is big on offensive efficiency. Not a tremendous number of possessions, so they have to count.

To summarize, Pitt can’t succeed if Fields isn’t there.

Chris (IBBW): DeJuan Blair struggled offensively vs. Villanova last year. How’s he been doing and will he do more this time around?

Chas (PB): You know, averaging a double-double. Second only to Luke Harangody in that. He’s playing much better, in that he seems more of his teammates and is passing much crisper after getting boards on defense. On offense he is getting to be more consistent.

As far as how he’ll do this time vs. ‘Nova. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him struggled and be hindered by foul trouble. The most effective way to keep him from having a good game — limit his minutes. His worst games have come against teams that slash and attack to the basket. It puts him in a bad position defensively. His worst games in conference play came against Louisville and Rutgers. Both really came at the basket and got him into foul trouble.

I expect that Villanova will be doing some of the same, so it will be a test for Blair.

Chris (IBBW): There are some great matchups in this game, including Reynolds/Fields and Cunningham/Sam Young. What are guys like Wanamaker, Dixon and Biggs going to bring to this game?

Chas (PB): Jermaine Dixon is Pitt’s perimeter defender. He has embraced the idea of being a lockdown guy. He’ll probably draw the assignment of trying to contain Reynolds defensively.

Brad Wanamaker has started to blossom this year. He wasn’t ready for the game last year, but this year has confidence. He’s another guy that figured it out on defense. He’s one of Pitt’s better guys at getting steals and really going after loose balls, I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Nasir Robinson — who has seen his minutes rising the last few games — struggle on Wednesday. Both are Philly kids, so family and friends being there might be a distraction.

Tyrell Biggs is a solid back-up big man. The last few years, Pitt has had a guy that struggled for the first few years then has it all click in his senior year. This year it has been Biggs.

Chris (IBBW): Finally, both teams pride themselves on defense and toughness. How do you see this one ending?

Chas (PB): Well, a game in the 60’s doesn’t seem too strange. I expect a good amount of frustration on both teams at not being able to do as much as they expect to do on offense. It may not come down to a final possesion, but it will come down to the final couple of minutes.

So there you have, Chas sees a Pitt win, and if you check his blog, you’ll see that I forecast a ‘Nova win. In any case, this should be your typical Big East war. I’m very excited for the game tomorrow. I’m going to try and do as many of these as possible in the future, as I think it’s a good way to get a feel for the game and how the other side feels.