I Bleed Blue and White

One of my favorite things to do is read the quotes from the postgame press conferences following each game.  The script was not available for last night’s postgame press conference at the Palestra, but the following articles provide some reactions from both teams. 

• “Villanova outlasts Saint Joseph’s in Big 5 rivalry” by Mike Kern
• “Against Villanova, Saint Joseph’s hangs around, for 40 minutes” by Dick Jerardi
• “Reynolds, Villanova turn back Saint Joe’s” by Terry Toohey

By the way, there are 16 undefeated teams in Division I basketball currently.  Not surprisingly, 5 of these teams are from the Big East, including Villanova (9-0), Syracuse (8-0)-who is playing Florida right now, Seton Hall (7-0), Georgetown (7-0), and West Virginia (6-0).   

Throughout the summer, NBE, a site dedicated to the coverage of Big East basketball, has been providing in depth reports on each team.  Today, they released their Villanova summer report written by Zach Smart, which covers key losses, key returnees, key newcomers, as well as predictions and expectations for the new look Wildcats.  Here’s a brief idea of what NBE thinks about the 2009-2010 ’Cats:

Villanova is the hands down conference favorite heading into the 2009-2010 season. With one of the nation’s top recruiting classes as well as several top contributors from last season’s Final Four team, Jay Wright could very well have the horses to make another March charge through the field.

A big part of Villanova’s success over the years has been the atmosphere of the games in which they play in.  They play against high-profile schools, in notorious arenas, with an excellent fan base.  But if you were only allowed to attend one more college basketball game, where would the game be and what would be the matchup? The Rivals College Basketball Roundtable, comprised of a group of Rivals college hoops experts, were proposed this question.  Mike Huguenin, one of the experts, responded as follows:

Give me a “Big Five” game at the Palestra in Philadelphia. The “Big Five” series isn’t what it used to be, but the tradition, history and atmosphere at a key matchup between, say, La Salle and Villanova or Villanova and Temple would be fantastic. The key words are “key matchup.” If two “Big Five” teams happen to be good in the same season – say, both in the top 20 – it would be electric and the Palestra would be rocking.

So we want to know your answer to the question, if you were only allowed to attend one more college basketball game, where would the game be and what would be the matchup?

ESPN writer Dana O’Neil and Scouts Inc. John Stovall analyzed the A-10 conference today.  Of the 10 non-conference games that O’Neil “can’t wait to see,” 4 are A-10-Big East matchups.  Coming in at #2 on the list is the St. Joseph’s Hawks vs. the Villanova Wildcats on December 9th at the infamous Palestra.  O’Neil, regarding this contest:

Even though this is a transition year for the Hawks and the Wildcats ought to be a top-10 team, nothing is guaranteed when the Holy War is played at the Palestra.  This is the sort of game that ‘Nova coach Jay Wright dreads.

Touche.  In Big 5 games, especially at the Palestra, especially St. Joe’s vs. Villanova, records and rankings can be thrown out the window.  While Villanova will be the heavy heavy favorite, you just never know, because this rivalry is one of the best in the nation.  Other A-10-Big East games that O’Neil discusses are Xavier vs. Marquette (November 26th), Pittsburgh at Duquesne (December 2nd), and Temple at Georgetown (November 17th).