I Bleed Blue and White

Rutgers made an early run in the 2nd half, but couldn’t sustain any success, losing to Notre Dame in the 1st round 61-50.

Although Luke Harangody had his worst game of the season (7 points on 3-17 shooting), Notre Dame was able to score just enough to get it done against the lowly Scarlet Knights. Tory Jackson paced the Irish with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Hamady N’Diaye led Rutgers with 14 and 5.

This was by far the most painful game of the day. Not only did I not really care, but it was really, really ugly. I mean, at least the earlier games were somewhat exciting, even if the teams stink as well. The Fighting Irish now move on to face West Virginia.

Does this do it for Fred Hill? I’m not sure. I bet Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique are wondering what they got themselves into though. The people over at VUSports have named the new first round of the BET the “Fred Hill Charity Round.”

Come on, you laughed too.

Pat Forde was busy today. First, he hosted a chat and answered some questions. Villanova got some play.

Bennett (Reading PA): Is the big east better than the big ten even though Lunardi has more from the big ten?

Pat Forde: Bennett: I would say the Big East is approximately 7,000 times better than the Big Ten. Maybe 8,000. Not to say the Big Ten is terrible, but there’s no way it’s as good as the Big East. I see one Final Four caliber team in the Ten (Michigan State) and four in the East (Pitt, UL, UConn and Nova).

So Forde likes ‘Nova as a potential Final Four team, eh? I’m on board with that. I’ll wait to get too excited. I want to see a draw first. Let’s just say the last Bracketology I saw had us with North Carolina and Oklahoma, and that kind of freaked me out.

Forde later released his weekly Forde Minutes column. In the column, he picked Jay Wright for his BIG EAST Coach of the Year.

“COY: Jay Wright, Villanova (17). The Minutes loved what Buzz Williams did in his first year in charge at Marquette, but Wright gets the nod for bringing his team on strong at the end and earning a top-four seed for the tournament.”

Forde also picks Terrence Williams as the POY (seriously Pat?), and Devin Ebanks as the FOY (underrated, but Mike Rosario deserved it). He thinks Pittsburgh will win the BET.

I actually enjoy Forde’s opinions on basketball. His football columns are another story.

Rutgers is down 28-19 at the half vs. Notre Dame. Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique have failed to get anything going so far, going 2-9 and 2-7 from the field, respectively.

Fighting Irish star Luke Harangody isn’t faring much better however. He’s just 3-11 from the field at the break. Kyle McAlarney has been able to get free for a couple long range shots, and is the leading scorer with 8 points.

This is by far the ugliest game of the day so far, though. Neither team is shooting well (Rutgers is shooting under 25%). Could the run of upsets end with this game? It’s looking like it. I definitely like Notre Dame to slowly pull away in the 2nd half. Hopefully I’m not jinxing myself though, I’d like to at least pick one game right today.

If you missed the game, check out the recap and the box score.

"Walter at the Altar: High Mass!"

The score isn’t the prettiest thing that we’ve ever seen, but honestly, who cares? On ‘Senior Night’, Villanova delivered as a team with  a win. Yeah, some things could have been better, but all I really cared about was sending the seniors out on a high note with a win over lowly Rutgers.

Scottie Reynolds led the way tonight with what I thought was a quiet 21 points. He was effective and efficient from the field, although he did most of his damage from the charity stripe (10-11). Seniors Dante Cunningham (12 and 6), Dwayne Anderson (8 and 6), Shane Clark (6 and 2) and Frank Tchuisi (2 fouls in the opening 45 seconds), all got the start and all gave us some last memories in The Pavilion. It’s tough to think about Villanova without those 4, but luckily there are (hopefully) many games left to be played.

The bigger story tonight was the play of the super-sophs, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes. Fisher played with such confidence, running a great offense when he was in the game. He finished with 14 points, 3 assists, and most importantly, no turnovers. His classmate Stokes was really feeling it tonight, finishing with 17 points on 5-7 shooting from downtown. When Stokes shoots it like that(and believe me, he shot a few very contested 3’s), the offense becomes so much more dynamic. He’s that good of a shooter where he should be taking 6-8 shots from long range a game.

On Rutgers side, I don’t know. Greg Echenique is either severely overweight or his jersey is 3 sizes too large. I don’t see the hype. Mike Rosario is another story. He reminds me of former Rutgers star Quincy Douby. He can pull up from anywhere and let it fly, and make it look smooth. He’s still young and finding his way, but he’ll be good.

Other than Rosario, however, Rutgers is pretty empty. Anthony Farmer had a pretty good game, but he’s a senior and on his way out. Hamady N’Diaye is big and athletic but goofy and looks lost. They hung around and hit some jumpers, but they don’t strike me as a program on the way up, which is odd considering the area they are in and the talent that is available.

I’ll always have love for Fred Hill for what he did for ‘Nova, but he’s in over his head at Rutgers. He could be fired at season’s end, which is a shame. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, especially a former Villanova coach. Stay strong Freddie.

It a little weird tonight. I’m not sure if it was because I was likely watching my last game in The Pavilion from the student section or what, but the game seemed to pass me by. It wasn’t the strongest performance of the year, but the game just never seemed in doubt, even when ‘Nova was losing briefly in the 2nd half. I don’t know. Maybe it was just the ‘Senior Night’ aspect, maybe not, but I’ll have more on that tomorrow. Enjoy tonight. It’s good to get back to winning ways.

As you all know I’ve been making an attempt to do some Q&A’s with the bloggers of our opponents over the course of this season. I’ve spent the last few days trying to find somebody from Rutgers to talk to, but I’ve come up short. Now, I don’t know what they’re up to exactly, whether it’s putting on a fresh layer of hair gel or hitting the tanning salons, but they’re officially M.I.A. It’s not summer yet, so they aren’t down the shore fist-pumping. My best guess is that they are pretending like they’re in The Sopranos at the moment.

The closest I came to a Rutgers blog was Protect R Turf, but at the moment they seem much more focused on football. After all, it’s like their 5th season of actually being competitive, so I understand the excitement. After that, who gets the most attention? Why, the women’s team of course. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I figured with up and coming stars Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique they would get at least some press. I mean, there is nothing on our game with them. Just this.

Now, I know I probably shouldn’t be talking so much junk because Rutgers embarrassed us last year, but I can’t help it. I don’t like them very much. And it’s not a “I hate you, but respect you” relationship like I have with Syracuse, Pittsburgh or UConn. I don’t like their fans on the message boards I frequent. I don’t like the inferiority complex. And I especially didn’t like how some fans thought they were actually going to do well just because they brought in Rosario and Echenique. At least the lacrosse team got some revenge already.

I ventured up to The RAC for that game, and what I witnessed was horrifying. Rutgers couldn’t even fill the place up. The student section was half full (there were more Villanova students there I swear) and Villanova played one of the worst games that I can ever remember. I mean, the reputable place where top teams go to die was a ghosttown. And still ‘Nova couldn’t even compete. It was awful.

So now the Scarlet Knights take a road trip down to the Main Line for our ‘Senior Night.’ And it’s going to be an emotional night. It’s not the last home game at The Pavilion for these guys (Providence is, but that’s over spring break for the students). But it is the last time that the majority of the seniors will get to watch their classmates on the home floor. Combine this with the embarrassing loss to West Virginia, and the long layoff that I’m certain was used to whip the team into shape, and it doesn’t look like Rutgers has much of a prayer.

In the 12 point loss last year (it was only 12 because of Malcolm Grant), guards Mike Coburn and Anthony Farmer both had 23 for Rutgers, and both players return this season. The aforementioned freshman Echennique, and especially Rosario, can be very dangerous. Another lax defensive effort like the Wildcats have been displaying lately is not going to get it done.

Being realistic, this game shouldn’t be anything to be nervous about. Rutgers has just one Big East win (over DePaul) and sports a 10-15 record overall. They are very bad, and coach Fred Hill is on a very short leash. They’re desperate, and that is exactly what makes them dangerous.

As I said before though, I’m supremely confident that Villanova will win this game. I’ll be interested to see how they look though. Will they struggle again, or will they dominate like they should. On Senior Night, I have to imagine that Dante Cunningham, Shane Clark, and a hopefully-healthier Dwayne Anderson are going to bring this one home with authority.

We’ll be in The Pavilion tomorrow night for the pregame festivities as well as the game itself. Look for a rep0rt from hopefully all three of us (if you guys remember Mark and Jamie) late tomorrow night or early Friday.