It’s a lot different when you’re in school, and you go to your first game of the year. I learned that in a big way yesterday. I had visions of Saturday exhibiting similar qualities to a big-time conference clash at The Wachovia Center. Hell, we were at The Meadowlands (more of a home game for me personally), my friends threw a great tailgate (quick shout out to the Torney family), and it was freezing cold and snowing. I was loving every second of it.

And then we walked into The IZOD Center, home of the Fordham Rams, and New Jersey Nets, who are quite possibly 2 of the worst basketball teams of the last 10 years. And the atmosphere inside reflected that. There couldn’t have been more than 8,000 fans at the game (about 3/4 of which were from Villanova), ‘Mom ‘n Pop’ were running the beer stand (slowly, I might add), and let’s just say that the Fordham student section left a lot of be desired. I will give them some credit though. Their mascot provided two of the best moments of the game when he face-planted not once, but twice. So they had that going for them.

(Okay, I’m sorry for the last paragraph. I was just blindsided by the whole thing. After all, I see at least 15 Fordham Basketball ads on my way to work everyday. I guess the marketing surge just isn’t working.)

So as I sat there with my friends in the cheapest, best seats I’ve ever sat in (about 10 feet from center-court), I couldn’t help but just laugh at the small-time operation I was experiencing. But hey, all in all we had a great time and Villanova cruised to a nice, easy Saturday win in the return of Reggie Redding.

Speaking of Reg, he’s just phenomenal. I forgot how good he really is. Every ‘Nova fan I chatted with told me how apparent it was how much more comfortable the team looked with him on the floor. A kid who couldn’t have been more than 6 astutely noted that he should play for the entire game. Even though it was Fordham, you can tell how much better he makes the team. He’s the definition of a stat-stuffer (15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers in his return) and he’s such a calming influence over everyone. I’ve thought we’ve looked a little frantic in the half-court set this year. Not anymore.

As for everyone else…

• Corey Stokes finished 2-11 as he came off the bench for the first time this year in an apparent disciplinary move for missing a meeting or something. I’m starting to get a little worried about him. Redding’s return should ease the pressure on him, but we need more efficient shooting.
• Save Stokes, Dominic Cheek was the only player to record a basket and not shoot over 50% from the field. He was 2-5, which isn’t even bad. That’s the kind of offensive efficiency we need.
• Corey Fisher was awesome. So was Scottie Reynolds. So was Antonio Peña. It was Fordham, but it’s good to see them dominate a team they should.
• The rotation that was used in this game was very revealing. Maurice Sutton only played 5 minutes in this blowout. And he didn’t even have a foul. Could this be the end of his run? Isaiah Armwood was in this game while it was still a game, and played 17 minutes overall. Nobody went over 30 minutes.
• Taylor King had a quiet night. There was really nothing special or bad about his performance. Which is probably the first time all year that has happened. And he started.
• One more time, it’s great to have #15 back.

…One more yawner against Deleware on Wednesday before the Holiday Break and then we move into BIG EAST play…

Finally, Reggie Redding returns as the Villanova Wildcats take on the Fordham Rams at 2pm at the Izod Center.  The Cats need to rebound after last week’s loss and most IBBW pick’em participants (including myself) need a bounceback effort from the Temple game picks.  See rules below and spread just beneath them.

• 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.

Two sites I frequently use have Villanova as 29 point favorites, so that’s what we will go with.  Villanova -29.

Just got an email from Ticketmaster that Villanova tickets are on sale for their game vs. Fordham on Saturday December 19th. Click here to purchase tickets!

…Just snatched up some sweet lower level seats for around $42 a pop with the convenience charges…I’m stoked…