I Bleed Blue and White

The Game: #21 Villanova (15-4, 3-3) vs. Pittsburgh (18-1, 6-1)

Location: The Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: ESPNU

Brief Rundown: Villanova returns home after a win over USF in Tampa. The Wildcats struggled to put away the Bulls for much of the game before closing it out. Pittsburgh, after a brief #1 ranking remains in the Top 5 with just one loss on the season (at Louisville).

Pittsburgh is built on defense and toughness. They’ll slow the game down and rely on superior offensive execution and defense. This will be the last college basketball game ever played in The Wachovia Spectrum.

3 Keys to Victory:

1. Negate Blair — DeJuan Blair is a double-double machine, and a guy that can dominate the boards. Villanova doesn’t have a true big man so Antonio Pena is going to have to shoulder the load with help from the rest of the team. Blair is susceptible to foul trouble, as is his backup Tyrell Biggs. How much they are off the court as much as possible could decide the game.
2. Dante Cunningham – Plain and simple, if he goes through foul problems again Villanova isn’t going to win. Pitt is too good. ‘Nova needs their star to not only stay off the bench but to score and play sound defense if they want to come out the victor.
3. The Crowd — It’s the last basketball game ever at The Spectrum, and the place is a soundbox. By all accounts, there will be plenty of sound in this place and while it isn’t quite The Pavilion, it’s better than The Wachovia Center. The fans can really have an impact on this game if they want to.

…As always…Let’s Go Nova…