Providence did it. I’m stunned. 81-73 is the final score. Well done Friars, and congratulations to Dave from Friarblog. He hasn’t been able to watch LOST after a Friar’s win in weeks. Enjoy it buddy.
This really helps Villanova. The possibility of getting into the Top 4 is becoming more real.
Providence is up by about 12 at home on Pittsburgh with about 8 minutes left. I was convinced that Pitt would roll the Friars, but DeJuan Blair is in foul trouble and the Panthers are struggling. Conventional wisdom from everyone had the Panthers cruising to the finish line, but it appears they ran into the desperate Friars on the wrong night.
As they usually do, Providence is scorching the nets, but it is their defense that has shown up today. They’re even working the glass hard. This really shakes up the Big East. Pittsburgh would have 3 losses with the loss tonight, and Villanova owns the tiebreaker over them should they fall into a tie. They have home games with Marquette and UConn to finish the year. Not easy.
Didn’t see this one coming, but there is a lot of time left. This isn’t over yet.
As I promised, here’s my chat with Brian from Orange:44 following Villanova’s victory over the Orange last Sunday. Brian was kind enough to answer my questions this time. I know it will pain you, but we want Syracuse to win out until the BET. Not only will it help our SOS, but if they can score a victory over Marquette, that will help our push for a Top 4 seed.
Chris (I Bleed Blue and White): Well, it appears Andy Rautins is over the injury bug. He was scorching the nets. Syracuse as a team attempted 39 3-pointers Sunday, while Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson and Kristof Ongenaet combined to attempt just 6 shots. Obviously I haven’t watched a ton of ‘Cuse this year, but is this how they typically play, or was this a strategy for the ‘Nova game only?
Brian (Orange::44): Yeah this is not normal. They practically shot almost 50% more three point shots this game then they average. It did not seem too strategic, but I suppose if Andy Rautins is feeling good and getting open shots, why not take that many? Only one of his shots was bad. Similarly, Eric Devendorf had a few bad shots, but most of them he was open so I can understand why he would want to take it. Plus, I think this was a flow of the game adjustment as well. It seemed like Syracuse was having trouble, save Paul Harris, driving on this Villanova defense, therefore they felt like shooting a lot and it worked for a while.
Chris (IBBW): What player (players?) need to pick up their game down the stretch for Syracuse?
Brian (O::44): Clearly Arinze Onuaku needs to get back in this game. I realize he is battling some knee problems, but he looked fine the last game, and then with Villanova he basically phoned it in, did not have his hands up on defense and was certainily not hungry enough to rebound. He will be a key factor in playing any future teams with decent big men. Similarly, Rick Jackson will have to do a better job of filling Onuaku’s shoes when he is on the floor. Our entire low post presence in this game was practically non-existent, and that is a problem in the future if it’s not fixed.
Chris (IBBW): What was up with Jonny Flynn? I heard some rumors about him having the flu, but he didn’t seem like himself. I know how he feels about ‘Nova and expected more from him, but he seemed to shy away from the spotlight all game. Off-day or were other factors present?
Brian (O::44): Yes, I think it was a combination of feeling under the weather and just having an off day. You could visibly see a difference with him in the second half. I think he overcame the sickness mentally and started playing like vintage Flynn, cutting to the hoop and breaking defender’s ankles. But the first half was definitely not his best work by far. Flynn definitely does not have these kinds of games often so he gets a pass from me on this one. However, he definitely needs to show up from here on out. Get this kid some Vitamin C.
Chris (IBBW): Without getting too ahead of ourselves, do you think either Flynn or Harris leaves school early for the NBA? To me, both could clearly use more seasoning in college, but after reading that SI article last week, I got the feeling that harris wasn’t totally happy at Syracuse.
Brian (O::44): Be under no illusion that Jim Boeheim is not the hardest on Paul Harris. He is always yelling at him. For good reason though. Paul Harris has had the most epic of mental lapses in his Syracuse career over anyone else currently in the program, and if you may recall it cost Syracuse a victory over Pittsburgh at home last year, and possibly an NCAA berth. However, I think everyone knows that Harris is not ready for the NBA (if he ever will be) and will most likely stay around another year. I think if Syracuse does not get that far in the NCAA Tournament Flynn will be back for sure. Frankly, I think he will be back either way. Flynn play with Harris in high school in Niagara Falls and was basically the reason Flynn came to Syracuse. He will most likely stay until Harris graduates anyway. But you never know.
Chris (IBBW): At 7-7 in a brutal conference, with a few quality OOC wins and a favorable schedule down the stretch, how do you see ‘Cuse finishing in conference and where are they going to be seeded in the NCAA Tournament (I don’t care what the “experts” say, ‘Cuse has done enough to get in)?
Brian (O::44): I think Syracase will definitely finish in 6th or 7th in the conference. Syracuse has a rather soft schedule coming down the stretch, with the only possible stumbles coming from Cincinnati and Marquette in my opinion. Now the Cincinnati game is at home so I am not that worried, but they are playing Marquette on the road, and frankly we would need a miracle to win that probably. Either way, they are looking no better than a 6 at this point. Similarly, pending a good run in the Big East Tournament against some really elite teams, I think Syracuse will be a 6 or 7 seed in the big dance as well. I think right now Syracuse has done enough to get in, with marquee wins against Memphis, Florida and Kansas. So at the very least, the mission of Boeheim and his team to get back to the NCAAs should come true, pending a horrific, horrific collaspe.
Thanks to Brian for doing this. We had fun this season. Good luck the rest of the way and hopefully we won’t see you again in the BET because it’s tough enough beating the same team twice in a season, let alone 3 times. Make sure you check out Orange::44, he does great work over there.
Just win baby.
I hate to quote The Sea Monster, but the reality of tomorrow’s clash with DePaul is that the only thing that matters is getting in, gettin
g the win, and getting out. It doesn’t matter how pretty it is, because honestly, nobody is going to care. When you play a team who is winless in the conference, no good can come of it. If you win big, it was expected of you, and if you win a tight one, people wonder why it was so close. And I’m not even going to go into the possibility of losing.
So really, just win and get home healthy. All that Villanova needs to do to win this game is to play ‘Villanova Basketball.’ While we’d all like to see a 30 point blowout and multiple highlight reel plays, the truth is we don’t need them. Show up, play your game, and move on. At 10-4 in the conference, Villanova is a virtual lock for a Top 5 finish in the Big East. But they have put themselves in a position to get a Top 4 seed and a double-bye in the Big East Tournament.
True, they need help from other teams. But it is possible, and they would be throwing the chance to get there by losing tomorrow. Now that I’ve made playing DePaul sound like playing St. Mary’s School for the Blind, we do need to address some concerns that the Blue Demons will bring.
Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal are just sophomores, but they are the stars and future of the program. At 6′5″, Tucker possesses great size for a guard and great scoring ability, piling up 18.3 points per game. Koshwal on the other hand gets his damage done inside. He also possesses plus size at 6′10″ 255, and is averaging almost a double-double at 13.3 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game. Past that, there isn’t much, but if there is anyone else who could really hurt ‘Nova it is junior guard Will Walker who is scoring 12.8 points per game.
Last year, Villanova traveled to Allstate Arena and fell 84-76 in their Big East opener. 2 weeks later they got revenge on DePaul at The Pavilion, winning 76-69. To me, this only helps Villanova’s cause. Jay Wright won’t let the team forget the shocker that the Blue Demons pulled on them last year. Furthermore, star guards Draelon Burns and Cliff Clinkscales (find me a better name than that!) are gone.
Still though, it’s a year later, and while most of Villanova’s team is back, there will be big differences in this game. Antonio Pena averaged 12.5 points in the two meetings last year, but can barely find the court these days. Dwayne Anderson was hardly a factor in either game last year, and is now one of ‘Nova’s headlining players.
So tomorrow, we’ll all feel confident. But the thing to remember is to not take anything for granted. DePaul played us tough twice last year (and if I’m not mistaken may have been the last team to win at The Pavilion). They have some good players, and we can’t sleepwalk through the game. Go out there and win, and then get back to the Main Line and prepare for Georgetown.
As you can tell, I wasn’t able to locate a DePaul blogger to talk to, but make sure you visit the official home of DePaul basketball.
With DePaul on tap for tomorrow, I’m not sure what there really is to talk about. I must confess I haven’t watched them once this year. I don’t subject myself to teams that play that poorly (that I’m not a fan of). Since the Blue Demons have yet to win a Big East game, I guess the motto is “For the love of all that is good and pure, don’t lose.”
Cheek is raising his game down the stretch.
Anyways, here’s some links to keep you busy while I try to research what went so wrong for DePaul this year.
That’s all for right now. I’m going to do a little digging into DePaul and figure out what’s going on there. Or at least try to find out where Jerry Wainwright is hiding the comprising photos of the Board of Trustees.
As reported earlier by Jamie, Maalik Wayns went to the doctor this afternoon to check on his knee in hopes of playing in tonight’s Philadelphia Catholic League Final. Wayns is not playing in the game tonight, so it appears that his knee is not yet fully recovered, or he doesn’t want to risk further injury.
The game, between Roman Catholic and Neumann-Goretti, is currently on CN8 for those interested.
…Smart move by Wayns if you ask me…no need to push yourself too hard…although I know how hard it can be to sit yourself out and feel like you are leaving your teammates…but you have the bigger picture to think about…
Going completely off of his Facebook status – God don’t you just love Facebook stalkers? Lord knows I do – it looks like Maalik Wayns headed to the Doctor today to check on the progress of his injured knee. I would assume that this rules him out of the Catholic Championship tonight, barring of course a Willis Reed like moment. I’ll post updated info as I see it.
An especially comical CBSSports BlogPoll write-up this week from Jerry Hinnen. A definite must read. But first let’s congratulate the bloggers from around the country for their work in putting Villanova in the Top 10. Well done sirs.
If you missed it, here’s my ballot, and as you’ll see, there isn’t a ton of difference between mine and the actual poll. Most teams I have right in the general area, except for my harsh treatment of Illinois and my apparent undying love for the Seminoles.
As for the article itself, as I mentioned before, it’s phenomenal in my opinion, and has been getting better every week. I made my weekly appearance in the Coulter/Kos Award category for being one of the most biased voters. Even better, I made my inaugrural appearance in the Mr. Manic-Depressive Category, which is given out to those whose ballots change drastically week to week, or as Jerry so eloquently put it, “people who are obsessed with shiny things.”
But I made a strong headline for the second week in a row by abusing my power. Last week, LSU were the victims, but this week it’s the Illini. As you’ll see below, I was assisted by my good buddy from Friarblog.
“Elsewhere, Friarblog says what I think just about everyone was thinking: Hey other BlogPoll voters….raise your hand if you considered dropping out Illinois completely out of your poll for the sole fact that they only scored 33 points in their loss to Penn State.
There’s your call, and I Bleed Blue and White has your response: Illinois , you are gone. Probably forever. 33 points in the entire game ? Good Lord.”
Dave, if you throw the ball up there, I’ll be damned if I’m not going to flush it with authority. Good work pal.
That was frustrating. And not really because I couldn’t get on the blog, but more because it is midterms week and I had to go to the morgue of a library we have to do work. But we’re good now (we won’t be all good until I finally decide to get a Mac).
So the big news today was Villanova moving up in the new rankings (somewhere login77 is yelling “Victory!” Johnny Drama style). They moved up two spots in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll to #12, and more importantly moved up to #10 in the AP Poll. Not a terribly tough week ahead with DePaul on Wednesday, but a desperate Georgetown comes to town at the same time the students leave for break. That could possibly be tricky. I’d hate to be a one week wonder in the Top 10.
…Shocked at Michigan State staying in the Top 10, but people forget about your losses when they are earlier in the week…still though after the thumping they took from Purdue and the nailbiter against Wisconsin this weekend I figured they would drop more…
Hey everyone. My computer is in the shop right now with a virus (I really need to make the jump to a Mac) so I’m struggling at the moment to post anything of substance.
Quickly, as I’m sure many of you have noticed, ‘Nova moved into the Top 10 of the AP Poll. Highest ranking of the season so congrats to the team.
I’ll hopefully have the computer back shortly so look for a bevy of posts in a couple hours.
Thanks for understanding.
-Chris
