I Bleed Blue and White

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. 

I was initially a little disappointed when I realized I had a soccer game a 8 p.m. tonight. I love my weekly league, but I haven’t been able to watch Villanova play on a television yet. Just on my laptop, and I was about ready to give that up for the year. So I DVR’ed the game and left to play. 2 hours later (a 9-year old girl’s tournament ran into our time slot) I was on my way home to catch up on the game.

IBBW's early-season MVP

I told myself I wasn’t going to check my phone, so naturally the first thing I did was do that. I had 2 text messages, without a proper timestamp for some reason. The first was from Jamie: “This game isn’t even in HD.” Great, just what I wanted to hear. The second was from Mark: “Ridiculous 3 by Scottie.” As I said, I have no idea WHEN they sent these, and by this time the game is probably over, so as I raced home I had visions of Reynolds knocking down some insane jumper for the win.

(Let the record show that the aforementioned 3 was his step-back trey that capped an 8-0 run to start the game. It was very good.)

I always hate missing the live action because I enjoy living in that moment, where you really don’t know what is going to happen next. Whenever I watch something recorded, I feel like it isn’t as meaningful. I think I can attribute that to two things – making sure I had no idea what the score was, and the fact that it was the finals against a quality team. I was excited.

Anyways, I severely underestimated the quality of watching a game that’s been recorded. For one thing, there is the no commercial factor. That’s pure brilliance, as you all know. I was even getting so good with the different speeds of ‘fast-forward’ that I was skimming through the point guards bringing it up the court and free throws. I could still see what was happening, but it was going just a little faster.

And of course the best part, not having to listen to 3 idiots try to talk about the game. In the 1st half there were a few points where I watched extended action and got into the conversation the commentators were having. Both teams were scoring, there were some great plays, and none of them were even approaching anything relevant to the game at hand. It was brutal. For the record, I only like 4 college basketball announcers:

1. Gus Johnson (just makes everything much more exciting)
2. Sean McDonough (the only play-by-play guy that actually knows his hoops)
3. Jay Bilas (a Dookie, but very intelligent and articulate)
4. Bill Raftery (so much passion, it oozes out of him)

(In fact, I’m pretty certain that the reason you never see Gus and Bill do a game together during March Madness is because knowing those two, the building might implode on the first dunk of the game)

As for the game itself though – a great win. Against solid competition, we really looked like a Top 10 team. And still, we didn’t fire on all cylinders (22 turnovers). The best is still yet to come. But for now, I’d say that was a good team-building experience in Puerto Rico, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to walk away with hardware. As for my notes…

• Vintage Scottie Reynolds. There was a point in the 2nd half (to the announcers credit, they pointed it out) where Reynolds just decided he was going to take over the game – and he did. Hopefully he’s out of the early-season funk.
• 17 points and 16 rebounds for Antonio Peña. Are you freaking kidding me? ‘Tone’s best game in a ‘Nova uniform by far. Great for him, and great for the team if this becomes common. He was the epitome of a glass-cleaner tonight. And for the first time in a long time, he was demanding the ball in the post. He’s got confidence right now.
• Corey Stokes finally woke up. He looked like the player we saw in the first couple of games. He’s got a versatile offensive game now, and the defense continues to improve.
• 9 points and 11 boards for Taylor King, who like Peña, was a force on the inside. He didn’t do much at all outside today actually. The dunk he threw down was with authority. I caught myself yelling when that happened.
• Corey Fisher and Mo Sutton both did some nice things. Fisher was hurt by fouls, Sutton seemed to be a little over-matched at times in terms of strength but he’s a great help-defender and he’s so active on the boards.
• He may not be there yet, but I’ll continue to say it – Dominic Cheek is going to be scary-good. He’s still figuring out the college game but I get excited everytime he’s out there. I think he needs to play a little looser, but the defense has been great. The offense will come.
• Jay Wright went 3-0 without a suit. I don’t know how.
• Maalik Wayns has an absurd handle on the ball. He keeps playing with a lot of confidence. I love that.

After 3 games in 4 days, Villanova now gets a nice extended break before they host LaSalle at home next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Shout out to all the ‘Nova fans in Puerto Rico, you guys were great down there!

So, just to recap — last game the spread was 6, and Villanova won by 6. So that means it is a push for everyone. No wins, no losses. Just nothing. I know there were some questions. Here’s a quick recap of the rules followed by the spread.

• 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 official spread for today’s game is Villanova -4. Fire away with your picks!

The Game: #5 Villanova (4-0) vs. Ole Miss (4-0)

Location: The Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: ESPN2

Brief Rundown: After a sloppy start to their run in Puerto Rico against George Mason, the Cats woke up against nationally ranked Dayton on Friday afternoon. Villanova took advantage of the Flyers’ sloppy play and built themselves an 18-point 2nd half lead before they let Dayton climb back to within 2 behind a barrage of 3-pointers. ‘Nova was clutch at the charity stripe down the stretch though as they held on for the 6 point win.

Ole Miss has had a nice run in the tournament after a couple cupcakes to start their season. They knocked off Indiana by 16 in the opening round before defeating Kansas State in the semi-finals. The Rebels boast one of the best backcourts in the country in Chris Warren and Terrico White.  Ole Miss can fill it up quickly, as they haven’t scored less than 86 points in any game this season. This is going to be a very good test for the ‘Nova backcourt.

What I Want To See: The matchup between Corey Fisher and Chris Warren. Both are exceptional talents. Whoever can stop the other may hold the key to victory. Beyond that, ‘Nova’s perimeter defense needs to improve. They let Dayton jack up (and make) a ton of 3’s in the 2nd half yesterday. Ole Miss loves to shoot, and Villanova needs be ready.

…Lets Go Nova!…give us an early-season title boys!…

A couple of interesting items to point out from the last week or so. First, the Nova Notebook, written by Villanova’s director of media relations Mike Sheridan, has returned with a piece on Dante Cunningham. The entry discusses Cunningham’s excitement in working out for NBA scouts, but also his continuing role in helping out the younger Villanova basketball players.

Next, the field for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Tipoff, a tournament to be held in Puerto Rico next season, has been announced.  The tipoff takes place Novemeber 19th-November 22nd, and the 8 teams in this mini-tournament include Boston University, Dayton, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas State, Ole Miss and Villanova.

Lastly, with the departure of Patrick Chambers to Boston University, there is a coaching vacancy on the Villanova staff.  It looks like University of New Mexico assistant coach Chris Walker, a former basketball player at Nova, is a leading candidate. He interviewed for the position this past Monday, but declined to comment if he is actually considering the opening.

These mini-tournaments early in the year have become a staple on Villanova’s schedule.  While the teams in the field may not seem all that impressive, these games are very important, as you never know which team will end up having a great year.  Nonconference wins, such as these, provide big opportunities early in the season to build the foundation for your NCAA tournament resume.

Also, if you notice, Boston U. is in this field.  Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Chambers vs. Villanova?  In terms of the coaching vacancy, I don’t know much about Chris Walker, but from what I read in the posted article, it sounds like he is a great recruiter, which can never hurt.  I know Jay will pick a solid guy to fill the Chambers vacancy.