Time to actually dissect what happened last night. If you missed the game, you can read the game recap and the box score to get a feel for what happened.
As I watched last night’s game unfold, I was amazed at what was going on. If you told me before the game that Villanova shot
nearly 60% from the field, had 48 points, and Hasheem Thabeet was in foul trouble, I would have told you we were up by at least 10 points. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the entire story. AJ Price was having an un-Godly game, and all 5 ‘Nova starters were in foul trouble. So the teams walked to the locker rooms knotted up at the half.
In the 2nd half, UConn gradually pulled away from Villanova, but there was one play where the game really turned around. Reggie Redding threw an errant pass that Jerome Dyson took for a breakaway slam. Corey Stokes committed a dumb touch foul, and the refs inexcusably called an intentional foul on him, giving Dyson an extra shot at the line and the ball. From there, ‘Nova just couldn’t get back into it.
A major part of the problem was the night that Dante Cunningham had. He played just 14 minutes and committed dumb foul after dumb foul to take himself out of the game. While I thought Antonio Pena, Shane Clark, and even Frank Tchuisi were serviceable, Villanova sorely missed Cunningham tonight.
Moreover, the silly mistakes really plagued this team tonight. All teams have turnovers. They happen, and they are a part of basketball. But the turnovers that ‘Nova committed tonight were just brutal. When they needed a bucket, they turned it over consistently. When they had open shots and layups, they missed them. And it was a host of characters. Scottie Reynolds (another off night for him), Fisher, Pena, Anderson, Clark. Literally everyone was in on the act. That’s tough to overcome, and Villanova couldn’t do it. They mounted a last ditch effort at the end of the game, but it was too late.
I didn’t think Jay Wright had the best of nights either and I thought he should learn from the way Calhoun coached. When UConn started to assert themsevles early on after ‘Nova built a lead, he let them tie it up before he called timeout. In the early parts of the 2nd half, the game was starting to get away from Villanova, but he waited too long to stop it. On the other bench, Jim Calhoun at one point called back to back timeouts, infuriated that his team turned the ball over. It worked, and the Huskies began to take over the game. Jay needs to improve in that department.
But there is a bright side to all this. UConn is ranked #3 for a reason. They are very good. They took multiple punches thrown by ‘Nova tonight and brought it right back. With Thabeet in foul trouble, AJ Price showed tonight why he’s considered the best point guard in the Big East. Jerome Dyson was equally brilliant. UConn is a borderline great team in this college basketball season, and a road loss to them, in which ‘Nova could have won, is nothing to be ashamed of.
‘Nova fought to the end, and even in defeat, you have to like the attitude of this team. They aren’t afraid and they don’t quit. A lot went wrong for them tonight, and they were still in the game. They are improving and if they can cut down on the little things (like turnovers at inopportune times) they’ll do very well this year.
Next up is a trip to USF on Saturday. Villanova needs to pick up wins against the bottom dwellers in this league.
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