preGame: #12 Villanova vs. Rutgers

Posted by Chris on February 19, 2009
Big East Play
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The Game: #12 Villanova (20-5, 8-4) vs. Rutgers (10-15, 1-11)

Location: The Pavilion in Villanova, PArutgers-logo1

Time: 9:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: ESPN2

Brief Rundown: Villanova is coming off a horrendous loss at West Virginia last Friday. It was the 4th straight game that the Wildcats played with a lackadaisical defensive effort. They never found their offensive rhythm against the Mountaineers, with only Fisher and Stokes able to find any level of success.

Rutgers is in the midst of a terrible season, with just 1 Big East win over lowly DePaul. The future appears to be bright as freshman Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique have showed flashes of stardom this season, but the Scarlet Knights are a long way away.

Last season, Rutgers sprung an upset on Villanova at The RAC, 80-68.

3 Keys to Victory:

  1. Remember your identity – Villanova was built on defense and hustle. They are known around the league as one of the toughest teams to play every time they step on the court. Lately, they’ve forgotten those attributes that made them who they are, focusing much more on the offensive aspect on the game. Getting back to basics should ensure a victory.
  2. Stop Rosario – Mike Rosario is the only player scoring in the double-digit area for Rutgers. While just a freshman, he can catch fire and really cause problems for a team. Villanova’s perimeter defense awful the past few games. There main focus should be to deny Rosario on the perimeter, and make somebody else beat them.
  3. Follow the leaders- The 4 seniors have meant so much for this program. They exemplify true Villanovans both on and off the court. It will be an emotional night. By following the lead that the 4 seniors set for the evening, Villanova will put itself in a strong position to win. I don’t see anyway that those guys let this team lose tomorrow. In fact, I’d look for huge games from Cunningham, Anderson and Clark if they don’t hurt themselves with fouls.

Links:

…Lets Go Nova…lets have some talk about the game in the comment section…

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11 Comments to preGame: #12 Villanova vs. Rutgers

James
February 19, 2009

Commenting from Australia once again and can I just say this game can’t come soon enough. The break has been hard to stomach after such a dissapointing game against West Virginia and it has been boring waiting around for the next Villanova game. Really looking forward to seeing how the team responds after such a crushing defeat…

Chris
February 19, 2009

You’re as dedicated a fan as I’ve ever seen. I know how tough it can be to stay up until all hours of the night trying to watch a game though. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve done it trying to watch the World Cup or a European soccer game.

James
February 19, 2009

The night games are actually good because they are on here at around 10 am or so in the morning but if they are on in the evening in the US it’s on at like 3 am here which is tough but worth it. I also have to stream the games through the net because no cable companies show the games here but it’s all worth it when they play like they did against Marquette and Syracuse.

VU > RU
February 19, 2009

Strange how the offense has gone on such a tear lately (until the WVU loss) while the defense has suffered. I agree that if we play tough defense we’ll be more likely to win than if rely on hot but streaky offense. Just goes to show though that when this team puts it all together, they could be VERY dangerous to any team that faces them in the Big East & NCAA tourneys.

JGREEN
February 19, 2009

Chris,
Check ESPN recruiting page. They have an article about the McDonald’s game Showcasing Maalik Wayns.

Chris
February 19, 2009

JGREEN -

Writing a post about it as I write this.

Boom
February 19, 2009

Great article in the Philly DN about Scottie Reynolds doing everything he is asked.

VU > RU
February 19, 2009

You were right about the Rutgers blogs, they really have nothing going on about basketball

Pete
February 19, 2009

Always wondered why you capitalized the G and not the P in Pregame?

Chris
February 19, 2009

Pete,

Just something that’s different I guess. I do it for the postGame as well haha.

Publisher
February 19, 2009

Hello, Chris-

I enjoyed the preview, and I would agree that stopping Rosario would be the central Villanova strategy. Likewise, the fact that this particular RU squad pulled an upset last year, would probably help ward off complacency on VU’s part…. and Senior Night enthusiasm should help, too – this really should not be close…

I’ll look forward to your recap afterwards…

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