I Bleed Blue and White

As part of Yahoo! Sports, Rivals.com writer Mark Huguenin has projected the NCAA field. As he notes, his analysis is not how it would look if the season ended today. In his article, Huguenin says Villanova will land a 2 seed (which would most likely put them in Philadelphia).

“The buzz: Louisville has lost two of its past four, but the Cardinals are in good position to win the Big East. Michigan State is 8-1 vs. teams in the RPI top 50, and a strong finish keeps the Spartans in the hunt for a No. 1 seed. Villanova has the third-best RPI in the Big East (ninth) and could win out in the regular season. Duke’s lack of an inside presence has manifested itself: The Blue Devils have lost four of their past six. Still, Duke is hoping to be able to play in Greensboro, N.C., in the first and second rounds.”

It’s important to note that he has UConn and Pittsburgh receiving #1 seeds, Louisville getting a 2 seed and Marquette receiving a 3 seed. Clemson and Wake Forest are also marked for 3 seeds.

…I don’t love ‘Nova’s schedule as much as Huguenin does, because there are some very dangerous games…but the possibility to win out is certainly there…At this stage, it’s almost not about what seed we get, because I think we’re pretty solid for a Top 4 seed, or at worst a 5…as much as it is finishing ahead of 2 of Duke, Clemson and Wake…

…I’d sign up for a 2 seed right now though…sheesh…

Man, I really hate these long layoffs. I love watching college hoops, don’t get me wrong. I can sit down and watch just about any game, but having not watched ‘Nova since last Friday is starting to get old. Thursday night, please come quickly. As for last night, things didn’t go as we hoped, but you can’t win them all.

Tuesday night recap:

#13 Clemson 93, Maryland 64 – I watched this game and Maryland scrapped with Clemson for most of the 1st half, but Clemson just demolished them after the break. Trevor Booker had 14 and 11, but it felt more like 25 and 22. He was all over the place. Clemson is a dangerous team. They shoot it well and they are fast and athletic. The 2nd half showed just how good Clemson can be, but their performances still vary too much from night to night.

#11 Marquette 79, Seton Hall 67 - This game was close and Seton Hall was actually winning at the half, but they couldn’t stop Marquette in the 2nd half. They did a nice job containing Jerel McNeal, but Wesley Matthews and Lazar Hayward burned them at opportune times. This would have been a nice upset that would have really helped Villanova.

Games to watch for Wednesday:

Providence at #7 Louisville (7:30, ESPN2) – Louisville rebounded nicely from the whooping that Notre Dame handed them last week by blowing out lowly DePaul by 45, but now comes another threat. Providence has now won two in a row and is searching for a quality win. A win at Freedom Hall would almost certainly get the Friars into the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday. The Friars will struggle against Louisville’s frontcourt, however, so their best chance is to win a shootout.

Georgia Tech at #8 Wake Forest (7:30) – Georgia Tech is in last place in the ACC with a 1-10 record. It’s an embarrassing season for them, but their lone victory was over the Demon Deacons. Wake is struggling to find consistency and will look to avenge their awful loss to Tech earlier this year. They are in a battle for the 2nd place spot in the ACC, and cannot afford another bad loss.

…Between me and everyone who reads this, I really don’t think that Providence or Georgia Tech have a prayer to win tomorrow…of the two, I think Providence is more likely, and I’ll spend some time watching that game…Louisville’s guards aren’t terribly special and the Friar guards have an advantage there but I don’t see anyone on PC that can match up with Samuels, Clark or Williams…

…As for Tech, they already did the unthinkable once this year…don’t count on it happening twice…

Since we’re getting down to the wire and every game seems to be gaining in importance I’m going to start posting some games to watch for the day, along with how the previous games went. I figure this will be an easy way to keep track of what’s going on in The Big East as well as the rest of the country. I’ll only be doing Big East games, and games that I figure directly relate to Villanova in terms of NCAA seeding. Here’s my first crack at it.

Monday night recap:

Pitt 76, UConn 68 – The Panthers rolled into Hartford, built a lead and kept it for most of the game before UConn began to surge in front late. Levance Fields, who hadn’t made a shot yet, hit 2 enormous 3’s down the stretch to propel Pittsburgh to the big win. The bigger story was DeJuan Blair’s dominance over Hasheem Thabeet. His 22 points and 23 rebounds (compared to Thabeets 5 and 4 effort) probably propelled him into the lead for Big East Player of the Year.

Games to watch for Tuesday:

Maryland at #13 Clemson (7:30, ESPN2) -  The Tigers are coming off a bad road loss to Virginia on Sunday, but remain a threat in the ACC as they are in a dead heat for 2nd place with 4 other teams at 6-4. With a 20-4 record overall, they are one of Villanova’s main competitors for a seed into Philly for the NCAA Tournament. Maryland has struggled to a 5-5 record in the ACC thus far, but they still have strong NCAA Tourney hopes. Greivis Vasquez will lead the Terrapins into Death Valley hoping to secure a quality win.

Seton Hall at Marquette (8:00, ESPN360) – Marquette rebounded from losses to South Florida and ‘Nova with a win over St. John’s, but now face a dangerous Seton Hall team that has given the Big East fits all year. They took UConn to the wire earlier last week and guard Jeremy Hazell and big man John Garcia will look to send Marquette reeling as they head into the final stretch of the season. This is the 2nd of 3 games against teams with losing records before the Golden Eagles close with UConn, Pitt, Louisville and Syracuse.

…As far as Villanova is concerned, it’s safe to say that ‘Nova Nation will be collectively rooting for Maryland and Seton Hall tonight…the game last night was kind of a push, but it’s safe to say that the Pitt victory makes our win over them look better…

Joe Lunardi updated his Bracketology yesterday, and now has Villanova slotted as a 4 seed playing in Miami. Lunardi has 8 Big East teams, as well as 8 ACC teams, making the Tourney at this present time. Providence is part of the “Last Four In” group while Cincinnati and Georgetown are both in the “First Four Out” category.

In the Philly pod, where Villanova hopes to play, Lunardi has UConn as the #1 seed, along with Duke as the #3 seed. Needless to say, Villanova still has work to do if they want to get that coveted 3 seed in Philadelphia. Right now, Syracuse is the #6 seed in Philly, so if Villanova fades down the stretch there is the chance they could get to The Wachovia Center as a 6 seed.

…With Villanova’s remaining schedule, it is very possible that they can move up enough to get a 3 seed for the tournament, and if they do they will likely get sent to Philly…a lot of that has to do with Clemson, Duke and Wake Forest, and how their season’s end…right now I don’t see Duke finishing strong (unless they make a run in the ACC Tourney) but Clemson and Wake could prove to be bigger problems…