The Game: #9 Villanova (23-5, 12-4) at Cincinnati (`6-12, 7-9)

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: ESPN2

Brief Rundown: Villanova looks to be falling apart fast after getting embarassed in the Syracuse on Saturday Night. The seniors looked disinterested and the young guys looked overwhelmed and there is a sense of uneasiness surrounding the entire program. They are going into a tough place to play against a team that can do some damage despite their poor record on the season. If there was ever a time for a team to step up and reassert itself, it is now. Scottie and Reggie, this is your team. Lead by example.

Cincinnati was touted as a possible breakout team this year in the BIG EAST but they have fizzled to a degree. Deonta Vaughn is the senior leader on this team and he’s flanked by a solid big man in Yancy Gates and phenom freshman Lance Stephenson, who is also the team’s leading scorer. They’ll be looking for some saving grace in a disappointing year and a win over a Top-1o team would make them feel a lot better about themselves.

What I Want To See: I just want to see some heart out of this team. I thought they had broken out of the slump in a dominating win over South Florida, but they turned around and got run off the court against a very, very good team, but it was still wildly disappointing to see. The seniors need to realize this is the stretch run for them and play with pride and lead this young but talented team. I want to see the hustle and determination that made me fall in love with this program.

…Lets Go Nova…I’ll be tweeting during the 2nd half for anyone on Twitter…we need this game if we’re even thinking about a 2-seed in The Dance…not to mention getting us back on the right track…this is a good test for this team coming off a bad loss…

The Game: #3 Villanova(22-2, 11-1) vs. UConn (14-11, 4-8)

Location: The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: Big Monday on ESPN

Brief Rundown: Villanova played one of its sloppier games of the year during Saturday’s matinee with Providence, but they turned it on late to pull away by double digits. Corey Fisher had one of the best games of his career with 22 points and 5 assists to lead the charge. No time for rest though as a desperate Huskies team comes to town looking to possibly salvage a very disappointing year.

UConn is a team with great talent, but outside of Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson, there are not many scoring options on this team, and they do not have great depth in the backcourt. They are dangerous though for a couple reasons. First, they do have great talent. Alongside Dyson and Robinson is Kemba Walker, who while having a sophomore slump, is capable of turning it on. The Huskies have a deep but inexperienced frontcourt, so the Wildcat bigs will need to step up.

What I Want To See: I want to see us come out and destroy this team. Give them no hope early, and they’ll fold. The longer we let them hang around the more they’ll start to believe. Also, they are a  BIG team, and rebounding will not be easy. It’ll be a team effort to have success against the Husky bigs, led by Gavin Edwards.

…Lets Go Nova!…I of course do not have President’s Day off from work, or I’d be at the game…but I will be on Twitter for the 2nd half if anyone wants to chat!…

The Game: #2 Villanova (20-2, 9-1) at #6 West Virginia (19-3, 8-2)

Location: The WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: Big Monday on ESPN

Brief Rundown: Villanova had the brakes beat off them by Georgetown in a blizzard just two days ago in Washington D.C. Villanova gave up 100 points for the first time in who knows how long, and acted as if the ball was covered in a rare disease, turning it over again and again. And despite all that, they continued to battle and made that game closer than it should have been. No time to think about that though, as they play their second Top-10 opponent on the road, in a place where they’ve struggled.

West Virginia has been winning a lot since losing to Notre Dame and Syracuse earlier this year. Both were by a combined 3 points though, so even when they went down they were there until the end. Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks are the stars for the Mountaineers, and will test Villanova’s front line. While they may be lacking in quality guards (an area we can exploit) they are certainly not lacking in frontcourt talent, so this will be an interesting battle.

What I Want To See: I want to see the young guys rebound from an embarrassing outing on Saturday. We’ll see what they’re made of tonight in what should be as hostile an environment that they’ll see until Syracuse. I also want to see us go on the attack with lots of guards instead of trying to conform to WV’s size. Isaiah Armwood vs. Ebanks could be a fun matchup to watch though.

…Lets Go Nova!…time to put Saturday behind us and rebound with a BIG win tonight…I’ll be tweeting during the 2nd half for the first time in a long time…

The Game: #3 Villanova (18-1, 7-0) vs. Notre Dame (15-5, 4-3)

Location: The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: ESPN

Brief Rundown: IBBW was in the building to see Villanova overcome a poor 1st half and put away a pesky St. John’s bunch in Madison Square Garden on Saturday. It was weird, but even when we were down by double-digits, I never really felt we were in danger. I guess that’s the mark of a good team. The fantastic trio of Wayns, Fisher and Reynolds combining for 53 points doesn’t hurt either.

The Fighting Irish are an interesting group, as always. Luke Harangody is one of the best offensive players the conference has had in recent memory, but he plays virtually no defense, so in the grand scheme of things his impact is neutralized every night in my eyes. They scored an impressive home win against West Virginia, but also lost to Loyola-Marymount and Northwestern this season. If they’re shooting it well, they’re dangerous. If not, they probably won’t put up too much of a fight as they are an awful defensive group.

What I Want To See: A complete game and suffocating defense. They don’t have the athletes to run with us, but I don’t want us to win this game in the 80s because they are shooting well. Shut them down from the start and don’t let them and Harangody get going. This is only a dangerous game if we allow it to become one.

…Lets Go Nova!…any thoughts on how many times Luke bitches to the stripes tomorrow night about somebody touching him?…

The Game: #4 Villanova (16-1, 5-0) at Rutgers (9-8, 0-5)

Location: The Louis Brown Athletic Center (The RAC) in Piscataway, NJ

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: WPHL in Philadelphia, MSG in New York, ESPN-950 AM Radio

Brief Rundown: Villanova has come away from a fairly tough start to the conference season with an undefeated record. Now, they get a bit of a reprieve as they head up to Jersey to face the hapless Scarlet Knights. Last season, the Cats defeated them on my Senior Night, which was very relaxing for me.

Rutgers on the other hand, is quite frankly in the shitter. I almost feel bad for them.

What I Want To See: This is looking like one of those games where Jay Wright does some experimenting. I like those. I’d ideally like to see Mouphtaou Yarou, Dominic Cheek and Isaiah Armwood all get over 15 minutes, although that probably won’t happen. But these guys need to get as much time as possible, and nothing like a game against Rutgers to boost your confidence.

…Lets Go Nova!…I know some of you (and a lot of the students) are planning on invading The RAC…make us proud!…

The Game: #4 Villanova (14-1, 4-0) vs. #11 Georgetown (13-2, 4-1)

Location: The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA

Time: 12:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: WPHL in Philadelphia, SNY in New York, ESPN-950 AM

Brief Rundown: Villanova rode the spectacular performance of Scottie Reynolds as they rallied from 17 down to defeat Louisville in hostile Freedom Hall on Monday. Reynolds was nearly perfect from the field, missing just 1 shot in his 36-point outburst. ‘Nova comes home now after a much needed break to face Georgetown, who they’ve lost 5 straight too.

Georgetown accomplished a similar feat last Saturday when they went into halftime down by double-digits against UConn, but Austin Freeman paved the way for the Hoyas to clip the Huskies by 3 as they roared back in the 2nd half. Last time out, they defeated Seton Hall at home.

What I Want To See: I think our guards will be able to stay on top of Freeman and Chris Wright, but I’m interested to see how our frontline deals with the uber-talented, but sometimes shy Greg Monroe. If Antonio Peña and Mouphtaou Yarou can control the glass on the inside, Georgetown could be in for a long day. As always though, just win.

Links:

• VUHoops
• Casual Hoya

…Lets Go Nova!…let’s finally beat these bastards…and just a quick note…I will NOT be attending the game tomorrow as my partner in crime Jamie has backed out at the last minute…we’ll meet up at the next Wac game!…

The Game: #6 Villanova (14-1, 3-0) at Louisville (12-4, 3-0)

Location: Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: “Big Monday” on ESPNHD

Brief Rundown: Villanova had another nail-biter with Marquette, but for the 2nd time in a week they managed to pull out the W and in the process move to 3-0 in the young conference season. Corey Stokes’ offense, which had been M.I.A. for weeks, was a key factor in getting the Wildcats going early. They’ll need him again as Louisville sometimes gives some zone looks.

Louisville has been an enigma this year. They have loads of talent, but they look like they really miss Terrence Williams and Earl Clark, as nobody has stepped up into a leadership role. The way they played Kentucky was nice, but losses to Western Carolina, Charlotte, and UNLV raise more than a few concerns. Their 3 conference wins were against Providence, South Florida, and St. John’s. Again, nothing to be impressed by. But this is still Louisville. Villanova needs to be on their A-Game.

What I Want To See: Word came down today that Jay Wright wants to play Mouphtaou Yarou for 20-25 minutes. If that really is happening, I want to see him hold his own against Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings. Nobody is expecting him to dominate, but we can’t afford for him to get abused all night either. Welcome to the BIG EAST Mouph.

Links:

• Louisville attempting a ‘White-Out”
• Card Chronicle
• VUHoops
  

The Game: #6 Villanova (12-1, 1-0) vs. DePaul (7-7, 0-2)

Location: The Pavilion 

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Broadcast: WPHL (Scott Graham and John Celestand calling the action)

Brief Rundown: Villanova is coming off a thrilling road win at Marquette, which may point to a letdown game tomorrow night against an extremely weak DePaul squad.  In addition, with the students still on Christmas break, the Pavilion won’t be as electric as usual.  Nonetheless, the Cats should be fired up for their first home game in two weeks and keeping the Pavilion winning streak alive.  Ironically, who was the last loss to at the on-campus arena?  The DePaul Blue Demons.

As previously stated, DePaul is not a good ballclub.  Picked to finish dead last in the Big East, the Blue Demons are .500 this year, including losses to Pitt and Georgetown in conference thus far.  Frankly, keeping this game close would be a win for the visiting team.  The only two names I even recognize on the roster are junior big guy Mac Koshwal and senior guard Will Walker.  Koshwal has 19 career double-doubles, while Walker can hit the three ball. 

Last Time Out: The Cats let the pitiful Blue Demons hang around last year at AllState Arena, with the aforementioned Walker lighting it up from deep late in the game.  Eventually, the heavy-favored Villanova team squeaked out the win 74-72.   

What I Want To See: Obviously, I want to see the home team jump over all the Blue Demons early on, putting them out of their misery.  This really should be a given considering the opponent, but what I’m more interested in is the play of Corey Stokes.  Regardless of who they are playing, Stokes needs one of those breakout games, where he shoots lights out from downtown.  We haven’t seen that this year, and sharpshooters like Stokes sometimes only need one real good game to break out of a slump.  I’m also a huge fan of DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright and his facial expressions, as he always has the same stoic, helpless look regardless of the situation.  He’s a good basketball man, but his days at DePaul are numbered, especially after a winless conference campaign last season.

The Game: #8 Villanova (11-1) at Marquette (9-4, 0-1)

Location: The Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Broadcast: ESPN2

Brief Rundown: Villanova got some excellent news on New Year’s Eve when it was announced that freshman Mouphtaou Yarou had been cleared to resume basketball activities, just in time for the BIG EAST. Because of the creampuff schedule they faced after getting Reggie Redding back, we haven’t been able to tell what this team is going to look like heading into BIG EAST play. The return of both, however, will definitely aid the super-thin frontcourt.

After losing three spectacular senior guards last year, nobody really expected them to be that formidable of a foe, despite the return of Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler. Both have performed admirably thus far, with Hayward averaging just under 20 points per game. Greg Norman spoiled the fun in their conference opener against West Virginia, but they definitely proved they aren’t going to be a push-over this year.

Last Time Out: After Scottie Reynolds led a great first-half assault in the BIG EAST Tournament, ‘Nova allowed Marquette to make it a nail-biter before Dwayne Anderson provided the heroics with a layup as time expired.

What I Want To See: This could go two ways. Marquette could fold early because of the heartbreaking loss they suffered, or they could come out looking to actually get that upset-win. I’d bank on the latter. I want to see how our young players handle what should be a very hostile environment, because it certainly isn’t going to be the last one they face this season.

Links:

• Cracked Sidewalks
• Buzz Williams talks ‘Nova
• Marquette players talk ‘Nova
• ‘Nova talks BIG EAST,Marquette, and Yarou’s return (click on ‘Sportsnite’ tab, and clips are from 12/31)

I’m not kidding, I thought Deleware was a D-II school in basketball. Hell, we treat them like a D-III school in football these days. After witnessing the demolition of Fordham last Saturday first-hand, I don’t even have the heart to research this atrocity of a game. Talk about an RPI-killer come March.

Therefore, I respectfully defer to my man Brian at VUHoops for preGame coverage. He seems just as confused as I am by the way.

…Thank God the BIG EAST starts soon…I’m cupcaked out…