I Bleed Blue and White

Lots at stake on the line tomorrow for both Villanova and West Virginia: #8 vs. #9, NCAA Tournament seeding, Big East Tournament seeding, possible revenge for the Mountaineers.  We have been waiting for this game for awhile now.  Below are some articles in anticipation of the big showdown.

-Villanova’s rematch with West Virginia has large implications

-Villanova story awaits final chapter

-Rested WVU to battle Villanova

-Jay Bilas analyzes the matchup as a part of ESPN’s Weekend Watch

I am excited to be going to the game tomorrow, but I read that Gus Johnson is calling the game on CBS, which pisses me off that I won’t be able to hear him on TV.  Johnson and Bill Raftery have the best college hoops voices by far.  If you have never heard Gus’ “Rise and Fire” youtube video, please do so ASAP; it’s flat out awesome. 

My apologies for the lack of posts.  Being in New York City really took a lot out of me, and the Jets lost, so I’m not in the greatest mood.  Anyways, here are some links to get the week started.

-Villanova vs. St. John’s Postgame Quotes

-Maalik Wayns Receives Big East Rookie of the Week Honors

-ESPN’s Weekly Watch

-Joe Lunardi’s Updated Bracketology

-Wildcats Climb in the New Polls

-Villanova Feels Right at Home in NYC

I will be at the game on Wednesday at the Wachovia Center, so let me know if you plan on attending.

I need to start off this post with some horrific news, as this is certainly much more important than anything I have ever blogged about.  Early Saturday morning, my friend and fellow May ‘09 graduate, Eddie Didonato, was shot six times after an altercation outside of a bar in Philadelphia.  Without getting into too many specifics, Eddie is at Jefferson University Hospital in Philly in the intensive care unit trying to recover from this unimaginable act.  Doctors remain optimistic that he will survive this battle, and in an amazing show of will, Eddie has been able to squeeze some of his closest friends’ hands.  Please keep Eddie and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Obviously, the rest of this post means basically nothing compared to the news above, but please feel free to read on.  I knew yesterday was going to be an intense day for myself, with Villanova-Georgetown at noon, Jets-Chargers at 4:30, and the season premiere of 24 at 9:00.  In terms of these 3 things, it couldn’t have gone much better.  A lot of alums were back for the Cats game at the Wachovia Center, even though the weather was less than stellar.  Below are a few of my thoughts on the hoops game yesterday.

-I thought Villanova looked real good in the first half, especially with the intensity of their press and trapping the Hoyas in certain situations.  Leading by double digits at halftime doesn’t hurt, but I received a text from one of my buddies at half.  It read, “what is your ibbw halftime analysis?”  To which I responded, “looking good, but gtown will make a run.”

-The Hoyas came out of the intermission pissed off and determined to make it a game.  Greg Monroe really took over, and the Cats did not shoot the ball particularly well.  The double digit lead dissipated to about 5, and there was still roughly 13 minutes left.

-When Georgetown tied it up with 4+ minutes left, I really thought the Cats were in trouble, because nobody could stop Monroe and Nova was ice cold.  In the end, though, did you really expect Scottie Reynolds to let the Cats lose?  It’s becoming like clock-work that when Villanova needs a big play, Scottie will be there to produce. 

-Four quick additional observations: 1. Wachovia Center was packed but not all that loud in my opinion…2. Our depth is unreal, as every player on the roster logged some minutes except Russell Wooten…3. Greg Monroe = lottery pick…4. What has happened to Corey Stokes this season?

Some links below to wrap up this Big East showdown:

-Villanova-Georgetown Box Score

-AP Recap 

-Postgame Quotes

-Scottie Named Big East and Big Five Player of the Week

-Nova Notebook: The Foye-Reynolds Relationship

-Jan. 18th Updated College Basketball Rankings

-ESPN Contributor Dana O’Neil on Scottie’s Maturation On and Off the Court

Again, please take a moment to pray for Eddie Didonato, a member of the Villanova community.  Thank you.

You may have already seen this on ESPN, but the network did a great job of putting together a bevy of things to remember from college basketball in the last 10 years.  Brings back some great memories.

-Top Games

-Fondest Memories

-Witnessing the Classics

-Headlines

-Best Teams/Programs

-Best Players/Coaches

So hard to choose my #1 favorite memory of the decade.  For college basketball as a whole, it would either be George Mason’s run in 2006 or Stephen Curry’s heroics in 2008.  In terms of best Villanova basketball memory, the experience of a Final Four last year and seeing it in person is something I will never forget.  A close second is storming the court after beating UConn at the Wachovia Center. 

In college football, you got Texas-Nebraska, Cincinnati-Pittsburgh, Florida-Alabama, and for the Nova Nation, Villanova-New Hampshire.  In pro football, there’s Titans-Colts, Cowboys-Giants, and Vikings-Cardinals.  Finally, in college hoops, Kentucky plays UNC and undefeated St. John’s travels to Cameroon Indoor to face Duke.  To say the least, there are big games galore this weekend.  Hopefully, people don’t forget about another important game with Villanova men’s basketball traveling to the Verizon Center to take on Maryland in the BB & T Classic.  ESPN’s Andy Katz and Jay Williams, and Rivals’ Mike Huguenin, definitely are not overlooking this Sunday night contest.  As one of Katz’s “must-see games,” he writes:

The Terrapins didn’t show all that well in the Maui Invitational and had to gut out a road win at Indiana earlier this week.  Villanova is clicking without many issues.  The Wildcats got inspired play out of Antonio Pena in their drubbing of Drexel on Wednesday night.  This is virtually a home game for Maryland in the BB&T Classic.  The Terps desperately need this more than Nova — Maryland could use something to wave its flag about prior to the ACC season.  And a win here would do just the trick.

Furthermore, ex-Blue Devil, Jay Williams adds:

We’ve all seen Maryland pull off the big upset before.  This past February, eventual champion North Carolina rolled into the Comcast Center on a 10-game winning streak.  But what the Heels didn’t know was that before the game, Greivis Vasquez changed into his Superman suit. He put on a spectacular show.  He led his Terrapins team to an upset with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. But we’ve yet to see the real Vasquez this season.  He’s shooting just 32 percent (28.6 percent from 3).  Will this game be his return to glory?  No. 3 Villanova is far from invincible.  George Mason took the Cats to the wire, and so did Dayton.  The crowd will be behind the Terps at the Verizon Center in D.C., and it should make for a great, tournament-like atmosphere.

Lastly, Mike Huguenin lists Cats-Terps as one of his “weekend 5 to watch,” stating:

Villanova is 7-0 and has as talented a backcourt as any team in the country.  The Terps are 5-2, with losses to Cincinnati and Wisconsin.  This is the Terps’ last chance to get a marquee non-conference win.  It will be fun watching Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez against what likely will be a revolving door of defenders that Villanova throws at him.

Although Maryland has been subpar up to this point in the year, I’m still nervous about this game.  When I made my predictions, I picked this game as the lone nonconference game Villanova would lose.  Maryland is reeling a little, which means there is some desperation, and they have been known to put up some great performances against elite teams in the past.  You’ll have to wait until Pick ‘Em on Sunday to see if my mind has changed on this one.  Nonetheless, a great sports viewing weekend culminates with a crucial showdown down in the nation’s capital. 

Each week throughout the college basketball season, ESPN provides an in-depth analysis of the most recent top players and teams, key games to look forward to in the respective week, and much more.  In the latest edition, Andy Katz mentions Villanova in a couple of different spots.  Katz gives “shout-outs” to Miami (Malcolm Grant is noted), Seattle, and the Wildcats of Villanova.  Katz says about Nova:

The Wildcats won the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic.  They were tested quite a bit in three days and came through to show they can be an elite team.  Those wins against Dayton and Ole Miss — maybe even the tight one versus George Mason — will look just fine in March.

Although Villanova did gut it out to post an impressive championship in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic, it was another Big East team that stood as the “team of the week.”  As you may have guessed, it was Syracuse, who demolished California and North Carolina at Madison Square Garden in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.  Indeed, the Orange did look good in NYC, but it is too early to start crowing them Big East champions, which I have heard from some people. 

The Cats get a nice break this week, with 5 full days of no games.  Their next game is against an improved LaSalle team on Saturday at the Pavilion.  Katz points this game out as one of his “headline destinations.”  LaSalle would love nothing more than to give Villanova a blip on their current Big 5 dominance.  Katz says about the matchup:   

La Salle is supposed to be a sleeper team in the A-10.  Villanova is off to a solid start after escaping against George Mason.  If La Salle wants to be taken seriously in the Big Five this season, knocking off Nova would suffice.  If the Explorers get smacked, it will be hard to take them too seriously.

I agree with Katz’s assessment that the Villanova victories in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic will be resume builders come tournament time.  George Mason shoud contend for the CAA title, just like Dayton will be a threat in the A-10, and Ole Miss will be solid if they can improve their rebounding.  This will probably be my last post until after Thanksgiving, so I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday. 

Whenever a team loses upperclassmen to graduation, someone else has to step up.  For Villanova, that someone is Scottie Reynolds.  This may seem obvious, but with the suspension of Reggie Redding, Reynolds has everyone looking up to him for guidance, which Terry Toohey of the Delco Times points out.

Jay Wright on Scottie’s leadership thus far:

He’s a tremendous leader.  He’s like an NBA veteran.  That’s how much respect he has.  Everyone on the team looks up to him and Scottie takes that responsibility serious.  I was away one day in September and I called him up to see what was going on.  He was in the video room with our freshmen going over our defensive concepts.

Reynolds, discussing that specific day:

That was just something I felt I had to do.  We were doing all these things on the court that they had never seen before so I decided to take them up and show they what we were trying to do.  I showed them the Duke game (from the NCAA Tournament).  We weren’t perfect in that game.  We made mistakes, but we worked hard and we did it together.  That’s what made that group so special.  We knew we were going to work hard and work together.

Reynolds will certainly be a focal point for both teams tomorrow night, as the young Wildcats will be looking to feed off Scottie’s experience, while the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights will definitely try to prevent a big scoring outburst from the senior guard.  Scottie will be a key in just about every game this season, and ESPN’s Andy Katz can’t wait to see Reynolds against Maryland, as this is one of his “25 games you’ll want to see” this year.  Katz also looks forward to the big showdown with the Mountaineers in early March at the Wachovia Center. 

Dec. 6: Villanova vs. Maryland, BB&T Classic (FSN): Villanova is probably overrated, while Maryland isn’t getting enough publicity.  This game in Washington D.C., matches Scottie Reynolds against Greivis Vasquez in one of the better playmaker games.

March 6: West Virginia at Villanova (CBS): The top two teams meet for, perhaps, the Big East title in the last game of the season.  The Big East schedule makers got this one right, just like Pitt and Connecticut last season. 

Overrated according to Katz?  To each their own.  We’ll just have to wait and see. 

I’ve got to be honest, I had no idea that existed until today. But hey, I’m not going to complain. And for those of you who had never heard of it either, it means that we are a Nike-sponsored school who has been to the Final Four lately (like the last 10 years?). So what does this all mean? We get a uniform upgrade, of course.

ESPN’s Page 2 came out with their uni-watch today, which may be the best part of the opening day of college basketball.

Villanova is featured because of their upgrade in status in the eyes of Phil Knight. Our main change includes a medallion-style ‘V’ below the collar, as well as the Nike swoosh being outlined in gold.You can see the differences (they aren’t drastic) in the pictures below, courtesy of Uni-Watch.

For what it’s worth, I do like the uniforms better this year. I wasn’t in love with the shoulder-accentuation last year. They look a lot cleaner now. Personally though, I would be happy if we went with the retros full time. Those are awesome.

It's Fisher's time.

Corey Fisher has seen his role steadily increase over the past two seasons, and it looks like he is finally ready to assume a starting spot in the backcourt. We’ve got big ideas when it comes to Fisher this season, but it appears we aren’t the only ones.

‘Nova is likely to be pretty guard-oriented (similar to 2005-06) and if that vaunted 4 guard offense is to return, Mr. Fisher-Price is going to be one of the key ingredients. Here’s some morning links.

• The Sporting News listed Corey Fisher as one of eight pivotal players in college hoops for the coming season. They believe that it he shines, so will ‘Nova.
• Villanova By The Numbers also took part in the East Coast Bias Roundtable, and has posted their answers. Like us, they also see Fisher becoming one of the faces of the Big East.
• VUHoops has a new blogger on the staff. Derp’s first article helps you get to know ‘10 target Cory Joseph. Speaking of Joseph, Jay Wright and Chris Walker will both be going to see the recruit for in-home visits in the coming weeks. Two separate visits, that is. I like the sound of that.
• Brian Westbrook’s days as a Philadelphia Eagle could be numbered. Reportedly, he other 31 teams are foaming at the mouth.
• ESPN is going to show college hoops around the clock on November 17th. So if you are in the area, make sure to check out that St. Peter’s-Monmouth clash at 6 a.m.!
• After a win over FBS Temple and a blowout win in their home opener, head coach Andy Talley thinks the ‘Nova football team is overrated. Ouch.

Today, ESPN announced their Big Monday schedule for the upcoming college basketball season.  Every Monday between January 4th and March 1st, there will be a doubleheader on ESPN, with a 7 p.m. Big East game and a 9 p.m. Big 12 game.  Villanova will be featured in this time-slot 3 times, including January 11th at Louisville, February 8th at West Virginia, and February 15th vs. Connecticut.  The rest of Big Monday slate, along with my initial reactions to each game, is as follows:

January 4
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati *Pitt at Cincy to kick off the Big Monday season-couldn’t find a better Big East matchup?

January 11
Villanova at Louisville *Need some revenge from last year’s 2 losses to the Cardinals

January 18
Syracuse at Notre Dame *Fighting Irish need to put up a solid showing on national TV to show they are back

January 25
Georgetown at Syracuse *Great rivalry

February 1
Connecticut at Louisville *No more Thabeet to match up with Samuels

February 8
Villanova at West Virginia *1-2 in the conference (better be a lot closer this year)

February 15
Connecticut at Villanova *Remember storming the court in 2006 at the Wachovia Center (place should be rocking)

February 22
West Virginia at Connecticut *Dislike both of these teams a lot

March 1
Georgetown at West Virginia *Georgetown competing for a Big East crown this year?

There you have my thoughts.  What does everyone else think about this schedule?

Added by Chris:

…2006 Wachovia game was the best home game I’ve ever been to…my first “it’s so cold it hurts to drink beer” experience at Villanova…so worth it though…I’m marking Feb. 15th down as a sick day right now…