Here’s the game recap and the box score.
AP/Frank Franklin II
I’m going to be brutally honest right here, and you’ll probably kill me for it. About 30 seconds into the 2nd half, I knew there was no chance we were winning that game. Call it giving up if you want, but I just had the feeling. They were ready to play, and we were not.
We played an exceptional first half, despite all the turnovers and missed opportunities. We were committed to defense first, which is what we should have been. At the beginning of the 2nd half, the team looked disinterested in defending. And it was all downhill from there.
Down by 8 at the break, Louisville outscored Villanova by 22 after the break en route to a statement win (and one that probably locked up a 1 seed for them).
So where did things go wrong? For one, Scottie Reynolds picked up right where he left off yesterday. Against Marquette he had a great first half, and then disappeared. He was clearly bothered by the pressure tonight, but it’s not an excuse. He’s very good, and should be able to handle that.
Dante Cunningham started off on fire, and then disappeared himself, although in my mind that’s on Jay Wright. He was abusing Samardo Samuels and Greg Jennings in the first half. Then we ignored him. Not sure why, because he was having a great game.
Corey Fisher had 14 points but 6 turnovers in a game that made you think he hasn’t quite arrived yet. Corey Stokes looked like he had never seen a press before.
On Louisville’s end, they just decided to stop driving against Villanova. The Wildcats continually picked their pockets in the first half, so the Cardinals adjusted and started to make good passes and drain open shots. Jerry Smith and Andre McGee absolutely killed ‘Nova after the intermission from the outside.
The most frustrating part of all though was Louisville’s press. It’s not that good. Yes, they play with intensity and in your face. But come on. We’re loaded with guards and none of them could handle it. That’s not good. We played lazy and stood around while Louisville was all over the place. That was the difference.
In the end though, it’s okay. Selection Sunday can’t come soon enough. Did we do enough for a 3 seed? Yes. Did we do enough to land in Philly? A 14-point loss on national TV does not help, that’s for sure. I’ll talk more about that later. Don’t stress over this game though. The NCAA Tournament is what is important, not the Big East Tournament, although this feels like a gut-wrenching loss right now.
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Vinnie
anon
SpecialK '73
March 13, 2009
Couldn’t be said any better.
Not sure what that 2nd half was all about, and it is shocking to see how Stokes handled the press.
That was the blueprint to beating our team right there. Deny Scottie, let Fisher get himself into foul trouble, and pressure the ball. LVille combined that with taking advantage of our defensive overplaying to nail open 3s.
I hope our perimeter defense doesn’t rear it’s ugly head again in the tournament. Hopefully we end up in Philly with a nice regional that includes a lame #2 like Duke. Although… I’m starting to wonder if they’d be a nightmare of a match-up for us, which sickens me that I even think that.