I Bleed Blue and White

My apologies for the lack of posts.  Being in New York City really took a lot out of me, and the Jets lost, so I’m not in the greatest mood.  Anyways, here are some links to get the week started.

-Villanova vs. St. John’s Postgame Quotes

-Maalik Wayns Receives Big East Rookie of the Week Honors

-ESPN’s Weekly Watch

-Joe Lunardi’s Updated Bracketology

-Wildcats Climb in the New Polls

-Villanova Feels Right at Home in NYC

I will be at the game on Wednesday at the Wachovia Center, so let me know if you plan on attending.

Highlights from Villanova’s win over St. John’s yesterday at Madison Square Garden. As always, thanks to RFC. Enjoy!

Villanova DID beat St. John’s yesterday, by the score of 81-71 at Madison Square Garden. We had a rare breakdown in coverage, mainly due to the fact that Brian, Jamie and I all attended the game. I had hoped Mark may fill in, but when you get a text mid-game that says “F*ck, I missed pick’em again. How we doin?”, you realize that nobody is manning the fort. Anyways, it was a great day that I’ll briefly recap now, before my attempts to forget it are successful.

The day started off at The Ainsworth in Manhattan, where the VUAA had organized a pre-game reception. Jamie, 2 of our non-’Nova friends, my father and I were some of the first people there, causing my friends proceed with jokes for the next 10 minutes about ‘Nova Nation. Real wise guys, those two. Eventually, the place did fill up nicely, and it was a good few hours of seeing old friends and meeting some new ones.

From there, we went to the game and watched the Wildcats overcome some tremendous shooting and their own poor play in the 1st half to make it 7-straight to start the conference season as they dispatched the Red Storm behind the tremendous trio of Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Maalik Wayns.

Following the game, their was the mandatory McSorley’s trek and then an “incident” which nearly saw Jamie have the cops called on him by the Metro-North conductor. We’ll leave that be. Some other random thoughts from what I saw yesterday:

• Was it just me or did our team do a great job of blocking shots yesterday? It’s hard to rely on box scores, but they’re listing 10. That sounds about right, and is a rarity for our team. Let’s enjoy that.
• As I mentioned up top, Reynolds, Fisher and Wayns were outstanding. Not just their ability to get to the hoop, but their ability to finish while drawing the foul was incredible. They were instrumental in turning that game around.
• Isaiah Armwood had just 2 baskets, but they were the 2 loudest of the game. The first dunk especially was something out of a video game. He’s an athletic specimen, and I love his ability to finish on the break.
• I thought Jay Wright mismanaged the game early on, rotating guys too quickly and not allowing the team to hit a rhythm. I love the 11-man rotation, but for a good portion of the 1st half it was happening too fast.
• Dominic Cheek had a rough first few minutes of burn, and then was relegated to the bench. A shame coming off the best game of his career. Oh well, he’ll bounce back.
• Loved how Jay Wright was still going offense/defense up 15 late in the game. As my Dad said, it’s about discipline, and it will pay off later this year when we really need it.
• Hopefully that’s the worst shooting performance we’ll ever see out of Taylor King. Yikes.
• I continue to think Mouph Yarou is looking stronger and stronger every game. Seems like the game is finally coming to him. That breakout game is coming…
• Thought Antonio Peña had a solid game down low, and thought Reggie Redding, like Cheek, was just off. Can’t be great every night, unless you’re Scottie Reynolds. At least that’s the way it feels.

Villanova is off until Wednesday when they host Notre Dame at The Wachovia Center. Wednesday night Wac game? Thanks schedulers. I’ve now missed the first two of the year. Feels like a sin.

When the BIG EAST schedule was first released, we broke it down into different portions, outlining the difficulties of each. Back then, we looked at the upcoming 4-game stretch as by far the “easiest” of this rugged conference schedule. The 4 games are as follows:

• Tomorrow at Rutgers (0-5 in conference)
• Saturday at St. John’s (2-3)
• Next Wednesday vs. Notre Dame (3-3)
• Next Saturday vs. Seton Hall (1-4)

In my opinion, losing to either Rutgers or St. John’s is worthy of the students burning down The Pavilion. Both aren’t very good (although St. John’s does have some talent), but with where we are at both as a program and a team this year, those should both be easy victories. I don’t care if they aren’t pretty. Just win them. Please.

As for the Irish and the Pirates, those will be a little tougher. Notre Dame has one of the best offensive players in the country in Luke Harangody (although I’m pretty sure he’s never heard of the word ‘defense’) and if they have a hot shooting night, are very capable of pulling an upset. That game being home makes me feel a lot better.

And the same goes for Seton Hall. Everybody’s pick for breakout team of the year has fizzled at the start, but they still have plenty of talent led by Jeremy Hazell (who will score 40 points on 35 shots – guaranteed). Plus, with how our game went with them last year, they will be gunning for us. Nothing to turn a season around like beating a Top 10 team on the road – at our place.

In my eyes, we really should go 4-0 here and be 9-0 in the conference when we head back to Georgetown. We’ll see if the team plays down to the competition, or if they take advantage of this stretch and blow everyone away. This could be the stretch where we can put some space between us and everybody else.

Pico from The East Coast Bias reached out to a bunch of the Big East bloggers and asked us to answer a bunch of questions for a roundtable he’s hosting. This is the first series of questions he has with another set coming in October.

When Pico posts all the responses on his blog I’ll make sure to link to it, but for how here are my answers.

Q: What’s new with your team since the end of last season?

IBBW: Villanova lost the most successful senior class in it’s history, but replaced it with a consensus Top-5 recruiting class (you’ll hear the names Dominic Cheek and Mouphtaou Yarou a lot early on). Oh yeah, and our senior leader Reggie Redding was suspended for the fall semester for possession of marijuana. He’ll be back for the Big East though, so I think we can hold the fort until then.

Q: Cash or Clunker: Name the teams that you think will be the top 3 squads next season in the Big East (the Cash)… and the bottom 3 (Clunkers). Bonus: which team’s finish in the league is most difficult to predict?

IBBW: The Cash – Villanova, West Virginia and UConn will be the Top-3 this season. I don’t think anybody will really gripe with that. The league is deeper this year, but it lost a little at the top.

The Clunkers – Rutgers, St. John’s and DePaul. In my opinion you could give a couple others a look here, but I like their coaching situation a lot better than these three.

Bonus – I’ll admit I have no idea what South Florida is going to do. Their home court advantage was stellar last year, and they have some guys who can really play, and I like their coach too. They are either ready to make some noise or you will forget they are in the league.

Q: The Big East enters the season without a lot of players who have carryover buzz from last season – Luke Harangody and perhaps Scottie Reynolds are the names a casual fan might be most familiar with. Which players will step up and be the “face of the league”?

IBBW: As much as it pains me to admit it, Greg Monroe is probably going to have a monster year and be considered the best big man in the conference. He was in the spotlight last year and it looked to be too much for him. Now that he’s off the radar a bit, he’s going to make people realize he’s here again. And as a homer pick, Corey Fisher. We’re already talking about him possibly leaving for the draft after this season. He’s going to be up there with the best guards in the country.

Q: Before practice starts, who would you say is the most pivotal player on your team? Who is your candidate for breakout player in the Big East (and please state how the player will be better than last year)?

IBBW: The most pivotal player for Villanova is Antonio Peña. We lost 3 very good frontcourt players, and it is now Peña’s time to step up. I think he’s ready to do it, and so does Jay Wright. That inspires a lot of confidence. Villanova has the guards to beat most teams but if they are thinking Final 4 again they are going to need some consistent play inside.

I have a feeling you’re going to hear Gus Gilchrist’s name a lot this season. As he goes, South Florida will go. The sophomore year is when you see the lights go on for a lot of players, and Gilchrist was already good. He’s going to stamp his name on the 1st or 2nd team this year after he takes the rest of the team under his wing and becomes a true leader.

IBBW: I was the most anti-Twitter blogger you could find at it’s outset. But then after watching it on SportsCenter every morning, I realized it was here to stay. It’s a great way to get updates from people and news outlets you are interested in without having to click refresh every 10 minutes. I’m welcomed Twitter on IBBW and I’ve found that I’ve been able to reach a bigger group of people.

IBBW: Looking forward to football and avoiding watching the Mets. College and the pros. Villanova is an FCS program but we’re a Top-5 team this year, so it’s very exciting. And I’m going to have to give a shout out to the New York Football Giants. We’re winning it all again this year.

Q: The summer is slow; so when Pitino’s “mistake” is made public, or when Calipari’s former team is penalized, or when someone poses a way for the Big East Conference to pick up new football members, the story tends to stick around a little longer than it would during the season. What college basketball story are you tired of this offseason?

IBBW: All of them, although I thoroughly enjoyed Rick Pitino’s out-of-the-blue press conference where he talked about anything and everything but himself. But it is the world we live in. Everyone has an opinion and a forum to voice it. I’m just ready to get back to some good ‘ol fashioned hoops.

Special thanks to Pico for setting this up. Be on the lookout for his full report on the roundtable in the coming weeks.

According to ZagsBlog, the relatively new Big East/SEC Invitational games have been set for next season.  Here are the matchups:

• UConn vs. Kentucky – Dec. 9th at Madison Square Garden
• St. John’s vs. Georgia - Dec. 9th at Madison Square Garden
• Syracuse vs. Florida – TBA in Tampa Bay, FL
  
• DePaul vs. Mississippi State – TBA in Tampa Bay, FL
  

These games are always fun to watch, and we can all remember former Villanova player Malcom Grant’s heroics against LSU two seasons ago in the Big East/SEC Invitational.  I can’t wait to see UConn vs. Kentucky too, as two great coaches in Calhoun and Calipari square off under the bright lights of MSG.

St. John’s actually made 15 shots in the 2nd half, so good for them. But they never had a chance after being down by 28 at the half. They eventually lost 74-45. They avoided the 30 point beatdown, so I guess that’s another positive.

Tough to really judge Marquette based on the game. I mean, was their defense really that good or are the Johnnies that bad? I’m leaning towards the latter. They pretty much coasted through this entire game, and should be well rested tomorrow.

Jerel McNeal barely broke a sweat, finishing with 11 points. Wesley Matthews led everyone with 20 and 9.

With the win, the Golden Eagles move on to face Villanova tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Villanova won the last matchup, while Marquette took the first meeting, which was also the Big East opener for both schools. I’ll hopefully be heading up for the game tomorrow, but I’ll make sure to have some commentary on the game before I leave.

Well, put this one in the books. This has gotten out of control. Marquette is up 38-10 on St. John’s at the half. The Johnnies managed to make just 3 shots over the first 20 minutes, while shooting 13.6% from the field.

The Red Storm have no ability to finish when they drive and they are turning the ball over a ton. Wesley Matthews has 11 for Marquette while Lazar Hayward has 10. Jerel McNeal has been pretty quiet thus far with just 3 points.

This is the worst possible situation for Villanova. I didn’t think St. John’s would win, but I was hoping that they would wear down Marquette a little bit for us. The way this game is going, McNeal, Matthews and Hayward are going to play the 1st 10 minutes of the 2nd half and then hit the showers.

Pathetic showing by St. John’s.

****Updated for the night session****

The 2nd day of the Big East Tournament is under 2 hours away! Rejoice! I shouldn’t be complaining about yesterday though. Besides that atrocious Notre Dame-Rutgers affair, the games were pretty competitive and entertaining despite being played by the dregs of the conference.

Today should be better though as we’ll see some NCAA Tournament-quality squads hit the hardwood. Oddly enough, no spreads available for the night session games yet, so we’re going to wait to pick those games until we see a spread.

12:00 p.m. ET – PROVIDENCE -8.5 DePaul

• DePaul’s magical 1-game run will officially end today. It’s not that I don’t like the Blue Demons, because I was thrilled that they won yesterday. I just don’t think they can keep this close. They definitely cannot score with Providence. And even though they rediscovered defense yesterday, I don’t think they can slow down the Friars either. I think Keno’s boys will win this one going away and win by 10+. Plus, I’d rather see Providence take on Louisville. That would actually be a contest.

2:00 p.m. ET – MARQUETTE – 7 St. John’s

• This one I am a little less sure about. I really envision the Johnnies being able to keep this one close. It’s no secret that Marquette is struggling mightily. They haven’t won in a couple of weeks and maybe some doubt is creeping in. But Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews (and Lazar Hayward for that matter) will be the best players on the court. St. John’s is going to need to shoot the ball extremely well because they won’t get a lot of easy buckets. I feel like I’m going to regret this pick, but the Golden Eagles will cover.

7:00 p.m. ET – WEST VIRGINIA – 4.5 Notre Dame

• The Mountaineers are just stifling on defense, so it’s hard to envision the ND shooters getting many open looks. That means that the offense is most likely going to fall on Luke Harangody, who was awful last night, and Tory Jackson, who was very good. I don’t see anyone on the Irish who can account for Da’Sean Butler, and Alex Ruoff killed them in the first matchup. I’m banking on Devin Ebanks bothering Harangody with his length. West Virginia wins, and covers.

9:00 p.m. ET – SYRACUSE -6.5 Seton Hall

• After the underdogs hurt me yesterday, I can’t pick all favorites again. Plus, I love Seton Hall. I think their ability to shoot is going to kill Syracuse’s zone. Syracuse is tricky though. Are they primed for a run after beating Marquette in Wisconsin? The Pirates’ depth worries me, but I’m taking Seton Hall with the points.

St. John’s just provided the 2nd upset of the day by knocking off Georgetown 64-59. That makes me 0-2 on my picks for the day. I hope nobody was paying attention to me.

Paris Horne had 23 for the Johnnies and D.J. Kennedy finished with 14 after a blazing start. But it was Justin Burrell and Sean Evans who came up big down the stretch for the Red Storm. Burrell had a monster and-1 dunk over Greg Monroe and nailed all his free throws and Evans finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

I don’t know what to think about the NIT-bound Hoyas. They’re awful. They haven’t reached 60 points in their last 5 games. I think the honeymoon is officially over for John Thompson III.

St. John’s moves on to face Marquette tomorrow at 2:30. We’ll play the winner of that on Thursday.