I Bleed Blue and White

As I sit here watching College GameDay, it occurred to me that is a pretty big weekend in the Big East. We’ve been discussing the clog in the middle of the conference, and depending on what happens, it could help clear up the murky waters of the conference. Or it could make it even more jumbled.

West Virginia @ #7 Louisville (Saturday, 12:00 ET on ESPN360) — The Cardinals are undefeated and West Virginia is in a dead-heat with Villanova. Especially having already lost to the Cardinal (at home nonetheless), I think we’re pulling for Louisville here. They’re still undefeated and at this point a mortal lock for the tournament, so we won’t be fighting with them for a spot later on.

#22 Notre Dame @ #3 Pittsburgh (Saturday, 12:00 ET on ESPN) — Same thing applies here. Although ‘Nova are currently ahead of the Irish, Notre Dame is finishing off a brutal stretch and their schedule gets easier. Pitt is going to be a great looking win for ‘Nova and if they continue to win that helps Villanova, as does ND losing.

#23 Georgetown @ #8 Marquette (Saturday, 2:00 ET on ESPN360) — Call me selfish, but I want Marquette undefeated when they have to enter the confines of The Pavilion. Well, that and the fact that the Hoyas are slumping big time, and it’d be nice if that could continue. At 3-5 in conference play, they are dangerously close to putting themselves in a hole that they can’t climb out of. Let’s Go Golden Eagles.

Providence @ #2 Connecticut (Saturday, 4:00 ET on ESPN360) — Providence has a history of knocking off UConn at home, but I hope that ends today. At 6-2 Providence is the shocker of the year so far, even if it has come at the hands of the bad teams in the Big East. Villanova has a home and home with the Friars, but they’ll need some help too. Go UConn.

DePaul @ Rutgers (Saturday, 8:00 ET on ESPNU) — Somebody’s getting their first conference win!!

USF @ St. John’s (Sunday, 2:00 ET on ESPNU) — I’m sorry about these last two being so depressing. That’s all I’ve got.

I try not to be a “scoreboard watcher” but on a weekend with some very good games, it’s hard not to. I’ll be quietly rooting for Louisville, Pitt, Marquette and UConn, but this all really doesn’t matter one bit if Villanova doesn’t take care of business on Sunday.

A few days late, but here are some highlights from Villanova’s win over USF courtesy of ESPN.

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Over the next few days leading up to the Pitt game I’m going to be taking a look at the Big East season so far. I’m going to leave Villanova out for the pure purpose that we talk about them enough on here. For now, we’ll start off with the bottom feeders and how they relate to the rest of the conference and Villanova in particular.

Right now DePaul (0-7), Rutgers (0-7), Seton Hall (0-6) and USF (2-5) are bringing up the rear in the Big East. Really, the season is mathematically over for all of them. They are guaranteed a spot in the Big East Tourney, but when you look at them, they are going to play the role of bubble buster instead of Cinderella. Let’s take a team by team look:

DePaul Blue Demons (8-12, 0-7) : Losses to ND, Providence, Syracuse, USF (twice), Cincinnati and Marquette. Games at Rutgers and home against both St. John’s and Seton Hall present their best opportunity for a win. But when you’ve already been beaten twice by a fellow cellar dweller, your future isn’t too bright. The saving grace of their season is going to be the Big East Tourney. They’ll get a 1st round matchup with a team who needs a few wins to secure their spot in the dance. DePaul can play the spoiler. Villanova faces them in Chicago on February 25th.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-11, 0-7): Rutgers is rebuilding right now. They’ve got some freshman who could be stars and are just young. Which also means they are dangerous. Case in point — a 6 point home loss to Pitt. Then again, UConn beat them by 31, so who really knows. They took Villanova to the woodshed last year in Piscataway, so they are definitely dangerous. This has got to be a game circled on Villanova’s calendar. Rutgers is dangerous enough to win, but they should have no business doing it, especially after last year. Villanova host them on February 19th.

Seton Hall Pirates (9-9, 0-6): The epitome of inconsistency, and also bad luck. They got destroyed by both Syracuse and West Virginia, then nearly upset Villanova in OT. Also suffered another close OT loss to Providence. So what does that say? Well, they aren’t lacking in offense as they are averaging almost 80 points per game, but they are also giving up 75 a game. Hard to win like that. Seton Hall is my pick to upset somebody in the Big East Tournament. I wouldn’t want ‘Nova to face them again. As stated, Villanova has already taken care of Seton Hall this year (phew!).

South Florida Bulls (7-11, 2-5): Yet another dangerous team, but really only at home. They haven’t fared as well on the road so far. Villanova barely escaped Tampa on Saturday with the win, in large part to shutting down Dominque Jones, who entered that game scoring 22 points a game in Big East play. Both of USF’s wins have come at the expense of lowly DePaul, so tough to judge them so far. I’d bank on one of Marquette, Providence, Georgetown, Cinncinatti or West Virginia falling in the Sun Dome this season.

When it really comes down to it, these are the teams that you should NEED to beat. Not just for Villanova, but for everyone. These are the types of losses that burst a bubble come Selection Sunday. Villanova had a few of these last year and was very fortunate to make the tournament. They’d like to avoid them this year. They’ve had a couple close calls with games at Seton Hall and USF, but they’ve come out winners, which is really all that matters.

We’ll be back tomorrow with Part 2 of our look at the Big East when we look at St. John’s, Cinncinatti, Notre Dame and Georgetown.

The Game: #20 Villanova (14-4, 2-3) at South Florida (7-11, 2-4)

Location: The Sun Dome in Tampa Bay, FL

Time: 12:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: WPHL

Brief Rundown: Villanova is coming off a tough loss at UConn while the Bulls are coming off a home victory over DePaul. In the last meeting between these two teams, Villanova won 72-59 with Shane Clark leading the team with 15 points. In that game, Dominque Jones had 29 points. This year, he’s averaging 22.2 ppg in Big East play.

Both the Bulls conference victories have come over DePaul, but they’ve competed well in their losses.

3 Keys to Victory:

1. Start Fast — Against St. John’s, Villanova jumped out to an enormous lead and was able to cruise home for the victory. A similar recipe would apply here. ‘Nova built a 14 point halftime advantage last year vs. the Bulls en route to victory. Quieting the home crowd early will make this easier, because the longer they hang around the more difficult this game will become.
2. Contain Jones – As a freshman last year Dominque Jones torched ‘Nova for 29 points (9-21 FG). The next highest scorer had 9. Jones will get his, but keeping him from scoring in bunches is key.
3. Cunningham Bounces Back — Dante Cunningham had the worst game of his career against UConn. Don’t count on that happening again. He’ll dominate the overmatch USF frontcourt with both his inside and outside game.

Links:

• VUHoops
• Nova News
• Associated Press

…As always…Let’s Go Nova…