I Bleed Blue and White

In anticipation of ‘Senior Night’ and our Wednesday night clash with South Florida, I caught up with Ken DeCelles from the USF Blog Voodoo 5. Make sure you head over there and check out my answers to Ken’s questions, and as always, give him some hell while you’re over there!

On to the questions…

Chris (IBBW): Is there a more under-the-radar player in the BIG EAST than Dominique Jones? He’s averaging over 20 a game but still doesn’t get much press. What has he meant for the Bulls’ program?

Ken (V5): I’d like to see one. He did get some national recognition during our four game Big East winning streak earlier this year, but he is still widely unappreciated. Jones’ biggest contribution has to be making USF relevant again in basketball. I’ve heard more USF basketball talk this month then I have over the past 5 years. Jones has said that he will be back if USF doesn’t make it to the Sweet 16 this year, so I hope there will be some national buzz about the team next season.

Chris (IBBW): Jarrid Famous is a guy that Villanova was heavily involved with and was disappointed to miss out on. How is his first year on campus going? Would you say he’s below, met or exceeded expectations?

Ken (V5): It took a little bit of time for Famous to adjust to the higher level of competition, but he has done exactly what we needed him to do this season. He rebounds well, does a good job in the post, and he is improving everyday on defense. He has been knocked around by stronger guys like Yancy Gates, but I’m sure an offseason of strength training will help.

Chris (IBBW): You’ve scored some good wins this year (Pitt, Georgetown) but taken a few bad losses (St. John’s last time out, and a sweep at the hands of Notre Dame isn’t pretty). Many think you’re still on the bubble for The Dance, so what do you need to do to get in?

Ken (V5): A win tomorrow would be a great start. I thought that if we could win 5 games between our last 5 games of the regular season and the Big East Tournament would get us in. An NIT bid would be a little bit of a letdown considering what happened earlier this season, but any type of tournament would be a huge step in the right direction for the program.

Chris (IBBW): You’ve got nearly 5 guys averaging in double-figures (with G Mike Mercer barely missing with 9.0 ppg). How should we read into that? Does that mean there is a glaring lack of depth on this team?

Ken (V5): Depth has been a concern this year, but we finally have everyone healthy for the first time this season. We do have one huge void that’s missing from our team, and that is a competent three-point shooter. For the season we are only hitting 29.2% of our shots from three. In an offense where its mostly dribble penetration, defenses have quickly learned that all they need to do is collapse in the paint and make our guys beat them from deep.

Chris (IBBW): What does Villanova have to do to stop it’s two-game losing streak and dispatch the Bulls, who’ve given a lot of teams problems this year?

Ken (V5): Run zone on defense, and collapse when Jones drives to the basket. We have a hard time hitting anything from distance, and it has burned us the last couple of games. But because I said this, I wouldn’t be surprised if we go 10-15 from three tomorrow.

Chris (IBBW): It’s Senior Night at The Pavilion, which means Scottie Reynolds’ last game on campus. What are you expecting out of him?

Ken (V5): I think that Chris Howard and Anthony Crater will do a decent job holding Reynolds to below his season averages. Last season we did a great job limiting Reynolds to one made basket and seven points, and while I don’t think we will hold him to single digits, I think Reynolds will finish up with 14 points and 5 assists. Not a bad scoreline, but its not what everyone will expect from Reynolds on
Senior Night.

Chris (IBBW): Give me a prediction for how this one plays out.

Ken (V5): USF will keep it close for 30-35 minutes, but Villanova will pull away late and crush USF’s fleeting tourney hopes.

Nova 71-63.

…Thanks again to Ken for making this happen on such short notice. Good luck tomorrow night and as you put it, let’s hope for a clean, injury-free affair…

Latest video from Sean Donovan — and let’s be honest, we could all use something to make us happy these days. Thanks Sean!

While many of you would like to just forget about the most recent poor performance by Villanova, I don’t think it is that simple.  This group of Wildcats has some glaring weaknesses that need to be addressed.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for some), the next game is less than 48 hours away, so the time to really learn from the mistakes made against Pittsburgh is miniscule.  Of course, the issues are not going to be fixed overnight, but I expect to see a much, much better game from the good guys on Wednesday night against a dangerous South Florida team.  Another clunker will result in complete chaos for the Nova faithful.  Anyways, we have no choice but to start focusing on the next game and hoping the Cats can right the ship.  Below are some quotes from South Florida head coach Stan Heath’s Monday press conference following a tough home loss to the St. John’s Red Storm, which really put a damper on their NCAA Tournament hopes. 

Opening Statement…
“We would like to put the last one behind us. It wasn’t a good performance, and I didn’t think our intensity level was there at all. I don’t think we worked as a team as well as we needed to, but welcome to the BIG EAST. We are not the only team that has probably had those same ups and downs during the year, and there is still a log jam of teams right where we are so this is a pivotal game. Villanova is coming off of two losses so they are not going to be a happy bunch of guys, and we just laid an egg so were not very happy either. We get to play on their on-campus facility which is a little bit different because it seats about five or six thousand people and they are all right on top of you. We will have to block that out and we will have to bring a much better defensive effort and a much better offensive performance and really get back to where we were a few weeks ago. ”

On whether it’s harder to prepare for Villanova because they haven’t played them all year…
“That is our league. We play three teams twice and the majority of the teams we just play once. I don’t think it is a plus or a minus. They are in the same boat as us, but they are awfully good. They know who they are, they know what they do and they have great leadership and experience out of Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher. It is a very defensive minded team that is aggressive and takes you out of what you want to do. Offensively, they know what they can and can’t do and they do things very well out there.”

On if he’s concentrating on just the perimeter game with Villanova…
“They force you to make some plays. The key is, and I thought Pittsburgh did a phenomenal job, is having some ball movement and player movement before you attack. You’re going to see trapping ball screens. You’re going to see switching on defense. You’re going to see a lot of things a lot of teams aren’t usually playing, simply because they have, I think, forward positions, the 3, 4 and 5, that are so interchangeable and so moveable that they can do things that are a little bit unconventional that you see. It’s a difficult team in a lot of ways. I look back on our film from last year, we played them wire to wire. It’s the last three, four minutes of the game, and we missed a layup, missed two 1-and-1’s. I think we missed an open shot. It’s still a game that within the last three minutes we had a legitimate chance to pull off, we just didn’t get through. I don’t look at them as way up here and we’re way down here. They’re a good, good team, but it’s a team that we’re going to prepare as hard as we can to try to steal a win. Hopefully we liken it to maybe a Georgetown situation, where we go into there as the underdog but we just come together, we grind it out, and we find a way to win.”

UPDATED:

Postgame Quotes

ORIGINAL:

Game just ended: 2:26 pm eastern time.  Pittsburgh Panthers defeat Villanova Wildcats 70-65.  Some notes on the game are below.

-Before getting to the game action, let me first say that I love games on CBS, even though I may be in the minority that like Verne Lundquist. 

-The game started out very sloppy for both teams, with bricks being thrown up left and right along with fouls and turnovers galore.

-The Panthers began to seize the momentum of the back and forth affair about midway through the opening stanza.  They certainly weren’t lighting it up from the field, but they got numerous second chance opportunities via their offensive rebounding. 

-Jay Wright earned yet another technical foul, which has got to be about his 4th of the year.  Some of the calls were questionable, but I have definitely seen worse this season.  After the technical foul shots, the Panthers were up 10 or 11, but the Cats made a mini run towards the end of the half to keep themselves in the game. 

-The two biggest problems of the first half for Villanova stemmed from their poor foul shooting, and as I mentioned before, getting thoroughly dominated on the glass.

-Halftime score: Pittsburgh 29 Villanova 23

-Did you really expect anything else in the second half, other than a typical, hard-fought Big East slugfest?

-Each team bended but never broke in the final 20 minutes.  The Cats cut it to 2 on multiple occasions, but a response was delivered each time by Gilbert Brown or Ashton Gibbs.  Sometimes, it seemed like the Panthers might pull away, but a response was delivered each time by Corey Stokes or Scottie Reynolds.

-In the end, though, Pitt just made more plays down the stretch to stave off the Wildcats.  On a crucial 1-1 free throw opportunity with 2 mins left and Villanova down only 3, Gilbert Brown missed the front end, but the overpowering Gary Mcghee, as he did so many times throughout the game, muscled his way to an offensive rebound.  Then, with the Cats down 4 and a minute left, Villanova put the full court press on.  The Pitt inbounder tried to throw a bomb to a streaking teammate (ala Reggie Redding in last year’s Elite 8), but the pass was way too long.  The hustling Pitt player dove into the stands, somehow saved the ball by knocking it in play, and it went off Antonio Pena’s hand out of bounds.  One more…Ashton Gibbs, who shoots 90% from the free throw line, missed 2 free throws in a row with 45 secs left, but on the push-out, Scottie Reynolds threw it right to a Pitt player.  These plays were not the sole reason for the loss obviously, but they serve as an example of the mistakes made by the Cats today. 

-Two last comments from me…1) As unathletic as Gary Mcghee is, he absolutely mandhandled the Villanova frontcourt today, and in my opinion, he won the game for the Panthers.  2) Jamie Dixon deserves coach of the year honors. 

Pittsburgh had 20+ offensive rebounds.  Enough said.  Let the ranting begin. 

Sorry for the late post everyone. I forgot I emailed Chas and just realized he probably answered. Which he had. So for the latest installment of …Keep Your Enemies Closer we talked with Chas Rich of Pitt Blather, the best Pitt Panther blog out there for my money. As you’ll see in a few minutes, Chas was not happy when we raised “the incident” in Boston.

Enjoy everyone, and make sure you head to Pitt Blather for some more Pittsburgh coverage before the game tomorrow!

(Note: No pick’em as it is a noon game and the turnaround time is too quick)

Chris (IBBW): If this season doesn’t cement Jamie Dixon as one of the top coaches in America, I don’t know what will. You lost 3 players who were so important to the program, and many people expected you to struggle, yet that hasn’t been the case. Talk about all that for me.

Chas (PB): Oh, there have been struggles. Plenty early. It’s just that the team has made steady improvement as the season continued. Gary McGhee has gone from an awkward foul machine to, in the words of Bill Raftery, “a very serviceable center.” Jermaine Dixon is healthy and has reprised his role as the defensive stopper. They are more of a perimeter team. While the offense hasn’t changed, the emphasis is less on pounding it inside. There’s more driving an shooting jump shots.

Chris (IBBW): I’ve got Ashton Gibbs as my Most Improved Player this year. Did you see this jump coming?

Chas (PB): I expected some improvement, but beyond the shooting it has been the way he has been able to handle the need for him to lead the team that has been surprising. There were parts early in the Big East schedule where he not only had to run the offense, but generate his own shot. He’s not a lockdown defender by any stretch, but he plays solid and is already like another coach on the court.

Chris (IBBW): Dante Taylor was pegged by many to be one of the biggest impact freshman in the conference. Were those predictions premature? What’s been the story with him this year?

Chas (PB): First, he is playing out of position. He’s a power forward and he plays center because of need and because he isn’t ready to play the 4 in Pitt’s offense. The second, is that he is still a freshman big man. It’s astounding how few have the immediate impact expected. I covered this a couple weeks ago, and if you take a look at the top freshman big men, most are in the same boat.

Expectations and pressure were too high because he followed DeJuan Blair and there was arguably an unrealistic expectation that since he was a McDonald’s All-American he would be an immediate force. That isn’t the way it has worked. He will be great in time. He needs to get his conditioning improved and he needs to play better on defense.

Chris (IBBW): How much will last year’s Elite 8 loss serve as motivation for this Sunday’s game? That team was Fields’, Blair’s and Young’s, but do these guys feel that pain too?

Chas (PB): Jermaine Dixon is still bitter. He blames himself for the turnover late in the game when Pitt was up 5 and the game got away. Guys like Brad Wanamaker I am sure thinks about this one.

(IBBW Note: Short answer. We think Chas is still bitter as well.)

Chris (IBBW): What have been the keys to stopping Pitt this year in your losses?

Chas (PB): Turnovers. Lots of turnovers. Strong guard play that forces Pitt out of tempo by speeding the pace. It disrupts the offense and you see them struggle to execute. Basically, Villanova’s strength.

Chris (IBBW): Give me a prediction for Sunday’s game.

Chas (PB): Ugh. I hate predictions. Fine. It won’t be pretty, but Pitt guts it out at home in a close one.

Thanks to Chas for the quick work on a busy weekend! Good luck tomorrow brother, so long as it doesn’t interfere with ours!

From the Villanova Athletics Department comes some Kerry Kittles highlights in apparently what will be a recurring theme from them to showcase the Villanova greats! Happy Friday everyone!

It’s seriously hard to believe that we are two and a half weeks away from the regular season finale, three and a half weeks until Selection Sunday, and just four weeks away from the start of the NCAA Tournament.  The college basketball season really does fly, so we need to enjoy what’s left of it.  Obviously, the level of enjoyment will depend on how Villanova performs over this next month and a half.  If they continue to play like they did on Monday night against Connecticut, there will be a lot of disgruntled Wildcat fans.  However, I really do not foresee another debacle like that where there was virtually no energy, no passion, no adjustments, and no intelligence.  Practice this week could not have been fun, as Jay Wright must have let some steam out with the goal of getting his team re-focused on the task at hand.  Although a very tough schedule lay ahead, there is no reason to expect this team will not rebound.  One of the hallmarks of Wright’s teams over the years has been to come back with a solid game after a loss.  I expect nothing less this Sunday at the Pedersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.  With a long way until that contest though, here are some interesting articles/video clips to get you through the week.

-All-Access with referee Tim Higgins  (have a feeling this article has sparked some emotion from Big East fans) 

-Andy Katz’s Daily Word: Committee criterion still in eye of beholder

-Forde Minutes: 40 names, games, and minutiae making news in college hoops

-Villanova Video Clips from CSN Philly (this link will take you to the video page for Comcast SportsNet…click on the SPORTSNITE tab and the clips are from 2/15)

Sorry for the late postGame recap. I think there was a mixup as Brian usually handles it but he may have been busy and we didn’t sync up on that. By now you’ve probably seen the highlights ad nauseum on SportsCenter and if you live in the Northeast you’ve definitely read about it in the morning papers.

UConn ’shocked’ Villanova last night at The Wachovia Center, making it the 4th loss in 4 days for BIG EAST Top-10 teams. During the game, I really wasn’t even worried as we were only down a few points midway through the 2nd half. I figured the Huskies’ would stop hitting literally every shot (I’m pretty sure they didn’t miss a 2nd half FG attempt until under 10 minutes left in the game) and that our shooting would miraculously pick up. Neither occurred.

Kemba Walker delivered the best game of his career in my opinion, and virtually every Wildcat turned in one of their worst of the season. That’s a recipe for a loss. More concerning though, is that we’ve now seen the best game a team can play (Georgetown and now UConn) and we’ve gotten beaten soundly. Great teams can fight off those performances, at least in my mind. I’d like to see us find a way to adjust.

Some other random thoughts:

• After a brilliant first half, Scottie Reynolds didn’t do much after the break, and that really hurt us. Usually it’s the opposite with Scottie turning it up in crunch time. Jerome Dyson (one of the best defenders in the country) deserves a lot of credit as he made the proper adjustments to slow him down.
• Taylor King has hit the proverbial wall. His shooting is atrocious, and he’s beginning to make some boneheaded passes. The hustle is still there, but the confidence isn’t.
• When Antonio Pena gets in foul trouble, we’re in deep shit. Simple as that.
• Maurice Sutton has got to learn to stand and take a charge, or at the very least stand with his hands straight up. Jumping and trying to block every shot against elite guards is why he fouled out in just 9 minutes.
• The refs weren’t great (UConn certainly got the better whistle), but we forgot what has allowed us to succeed against them recently. The extra pass off the drive when their shot-blockers go up has led to easy buckets. Last night was a display of selfish basketball where we were constantly getting ours shots stuffed or altered. Their is a reason why they have been the best shot-blocking team of the past decade. Adjust.
• Since when does UConn shoot 80% at the FT line? Jesus.
• Our last two losses our opponents have shot 23 and 24 more FT’s than us respectively. Ummm?
• Scottie Reynolds did not attempt a FT. Wow.
• Foul trouble is becoming an increasing problem for Corey Stokes. And a lot of them are cheap ones around the hoop.
• Mouphtaou Yarou showed us something last night. Probably the only player that I came away impressed with in a loss (that never happens). I’ll get to Jay in a second, but Mouph should have played A LOT more last night.
• And finally, to our coach, who I love. I really do. But he needs to be called out when it was apparent to everyone but him that what was going on was not working. Yes, UConn shot the ball great. But they are awful in the halfcourt set. They have 2 guys who can create their own shot (Walker and Dyson). So what do we do? Press them, and allow them to run and throw alley-oops, which they are very good at. It was maddening. Come on Jay, you’re better than that.

Villanova gets a much-needed full week of practice (and hopefully a humbling, verbal berating from the coaching staff) before they travel to Pitt, where the Panthers will most certainly be out for blood. Right now, I don’t know if we can win that game. We need to refocus.

4 years ago I never thought I’d see the day when we were double-digit favorites over the Connecitcut Huskies. Times sure have changed (although this is more of an aberration than anything else, they’re still a great program in a down year).

• On Game Day, I will post the official line we will be using for the game.
• In that thread, post your pick against-the-spread for the game that night.
• Make sure you use the same username for every pick (I know some of you are registered, if you aren’t this is a good reason to do so to make it easier). Also, make sure you provide your email so that I can contact the winner at the end of the year.
• Anonymous entries will not count.
• Entries posted after the game starts will not count.
• If you do not provide a pick for the game, it will be marked as a loss in the standings.
• If you are away and can’t make a pick in the thread, you can email me your pick. Email me at clane2787@gmail.com and I will try to email you back ASAP with the line (again, it must be emailed before the start of the game).
• The winner at the end of the year will win a prize (TBD) and I promise it will be something good. I’m not going to be lame like that. I’m searching eBay for cool Villanova stuff as we speak.
• In the event of a tie, the poster with the best BIG EAST record (regular season) wins. If still tied, the best Big 5 record wins. If still tied, the best OOC record wins. If still tied, we may have to do multiple prizes.

The line for tonight is Villanova -10. Go ahead and guess.

The Game: #3 Villanova(22-2, 11-1) vs. UConn (14-11, 4-8)

Location: The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: Big Monday on ESPN

Brief Rundown: Villanova played one of its sloppier games of the year during Saturday’s matinee with Providence, but they turned it on late to pull away by double digits. Corey Fisher had one of the best games of his career with 22 points and 5 assists to lead the charge. No time for rest though as a desperate Huskies team comes to town looking to possibly salvage a very disappointing year.

UConn is a team with great talent, but outside of Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson, there are not many scoring options on this team, and they do not have great depth in the backcourt. They are dangerous though for a couple reasons. First, they do have great talent. Alongside Dyson and Robinson is Kemba Walker, who while having a sophomore slump, is capable of turning it on. The Huskies have a deep but inexperienced frontcourt, so the Wildcat bigs will need to step up.

What I Want To See: I want to see us come out and destroy this team. Give them no hope early, and they’ll fold. The longer we let them hang around the more they’ll start to believe. Also, they are a  BIG team, and rebounding will not be easy. It’ll be a team effort to have success against the Husky bigs, led by Gavin Edwards.

…Lets Go Nova!…I of course do not have President’s Day off from work, or I’d be at the game…but I will be on Twitter for the 2nd half if anyone wants to chat!…