After a full 4 days of rest following the big West Virginia win, Villanova looked lackluster and played sloppy at times yesterday in a 92-81 victory over the feisty Providence Friars at the Wachovia Center.  Turnovers, especially against the press, seemed to be a big problem for the Wildcats.  Give credit to Providence though, as they are very active and quick on defense.  Nonetheless, the good guys took care of business late, which is what you are supposed to do as a decided favorite and the #4 team in the nation.  Below are some articles recapping the win and how the Cats can get better. 

-AP Recap

-#4 Villanova Too Much for Providence in 92-81 Win

-The Closer: Reynolds’ 2nd-Half Numbers Turn Heads

-Villanova’s Winning Formula Works Again in Win over Providence

-Reynolds Rescues Villanova Again

-Video Clip from CSN Philly (this link will take you to the video page for Comcast SportsNet…click on the SPORTSNITE tab and the clip is from entitled, “Jay Wright talks about Nova’s sloppy start-2/12″)

Hopefully, Villanova can rectify their mistakes in a hurry, because the desperate and hated UConn Huskies come to town tomorrow night.  Two things I can’t wait for: 1) Bill Raftery announcing, obviously and 2) Jim Calhoun calling his standard timeout 30 seconds into the game and ripping his players. 

I need to start off this post with some horrific news, as this is certainly much more important than anything I have ever blogged about.  Early Saturday morning, my friend and fellow May ‘09 graduate, Eddie Didonato, was shot six times after an altercation outside of a bar in Philadelphia.  Without getting into too many specifics, Eddie is at Jefferson University Hospital in Philly in the intensive care unit trying to recover from this unimaginable act.  Doctors remain optimistic that he will survive this battle, and in an amazing show of will, Eddie has been able to squeeze some of his closest friends’ hands.  Please keep Eddie and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Obviously, the rest of this post means basically nothing compared to the news above, but please feel free to read on.  I knew yesterday was going to be an intense day for myself, with Villanova-Georgetown at noon, Jets-Chargers at 4:30, and the season premiere of 24 at 9:00.  In terms of these 3 things, it couldn’t have gone much better.  A lot of alums were back for the Cats game at the Wachovia Center, even though the weather was less than stellar.  Below are a few of my thoughts on the hoops game yesterday.

-I thought Villanova looked real good in the first half, especially with the intensity of their press and trapping the Hoyas in certain situations.  Leading by double digits at halftime doesn’t hurt, but I received a text from one of my buddies at half.  It read, “what is your ibbw halftime analysis?”  To which I responded, “looking good, but gtown will make a run.”

-The Hoyas came out of the intermission pissed off and determined to make it a game.  Greg Monroe really took over, and the Cats did not shoot the ball particularly well.  The double digit lead dissipated to about 5, and there was still roughly 13 minutes left.

-When Georgetown tied it up with 4+ minutes left, I really thought the Cats were in trouble, because nobody could stop Monroe and Nova was ice cold.  In the end, though, did you really expect Scottie Reynolds to let the Cats lose?  It’s becoming like clock-work that when Villanova needs a big play, Scottie will be there to produce. 

-Four quick additional observations: 1. Wachovia Center was packed but not all that loud in my opinion…2. Our depth is unreal, as every player on the roster logged some minutes except Russell Wooten…3. Greg Monroe = lottery pick…4. What has happened to Corey Stokes this season?

Some links below to wrap up this Big East showdown:

-Villanova-Georgetown Box Score

-AP Recap 

-Postgame Quotes

-Scottie Named Big East and Big Five Player of the Week

-Nova Notebook: The Foye-Reynolds Relationship

-Jan. 18th Updated College Basketball Rankings

-ESPN Contributor Dana O’Neil on Scottie’s Maturation On and Off the Court

Again, please take a moment to pray for Eddie Didonato, a member of the Villanova community.  Thank you.

Whenever a team loses upperclassmen to graduation, someone else has to step up.  For Villanova, that someone is Scottie Reynolds.  This may seem obvious, but with the suspension of Reggie Redding, Reynolds has everyone looking up to him for guidance, which Terry Toohey of the Delco Times points out.

Jay Wright on Scottie’s leadership thus far:

He’s a tremendous leader.  He’s like an NBA veteran.  That’s how much respect he has.  Everyone on the team looks up to him and Scottie takes that responsibility serious.  I was away one day in September and I called him up to see what was going on.  He was in the video room with our freshmen going over our defensive concepts.

Reynolds, discussing that specific day:

That was just something I felt I had to do.  We were doing all these things on the court that they had never seen before so I decided to take them up and show they what we were trying to do.  I showed them the Duke game (from the NCAA Tournament).  We weren’t perfect in that game.  We made mistakes, but we worked hard and we did it together.  That’s what made that group so special.  We knew we were going to work hard and work together.

Reynolds will certainly be a focal point for both teams tomorrow night, as the young Wildcats will be looking to feed off Scottie’s experience, while the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights will definitely try to prevent a big scoring outburst from the senior guard.  Scottie will be a key in just about every game this season, and ESPN’s Andy Katz can’t wait to see Reynolds against Maryland, as this is one of his “25 games you’ll want to see” this year.  Katz also looks forward to the big showdown with the Mountaineers in early March at the Wachovia Center. 

Dec. 6: Villanova vs. Maryland, BB&T Classic (FSN): Villanova is probably overrated, while Maryland isn’t getting enough publicity.  This game in Washington D.C., matches Scottie Reynolds against Greivis Vasquez in one of the better playmaker games.

March 6: West Virginia at Villanova (CBS): The top two teams meet for, perhaps, the Big East title in the last game of the season.  The Big East schedule makers got this one right, just like Pitt and Connecticut last season. 

Overrated according to Katz?  To each their own.  We’ll just have to wait and see. 

Thursday night, Villanova plays Kutztown in an exhibition at the Wachovia Center.  For me, this is when the season starts, as the Wildcats will face a team other than themselves in front of a live audience for the first time since the loss to North Carolina.  Sure, official practice started a few weeks ago, but in reality, they are basically practicing year round, so the upcoming exhibition represents the keynote address for the 2009-2010 Villanova Wildcats.  Anyway, here are some “things you already know” articles as we draw closer to the Kutztown contest. 

• Jeff Borzello, a NBE basketball blogger, talks about the season of great expectations for Villanova basketball
• Rivals breaks down the #4 team in their Preseason 347: the Villanova Wildcats
• Rivals breaks down the supposed weaker Big East

Just got an email that the “5+1″ Wachovia Center package is now on sale. Well, a pre-sale. But still on sale. You get the point.

Follow this link and type “WILDCATS” into the promotion box and get your tickets now!

In case you are wondering, these are the dates of the games:

• Thursday November 5th, 7 p.m. – Kutztown (Exhibition)
• Sunday January 17th, 12:00 p.m. – Georgetown
• Wednesday January 27th, 7:00 p.m. – Notre Dame
• Saturday February 13th, 2:00 p.m. – Providence
• Saturday March 6th, 12:00 p.m. – West Virginia

The Philadelphia 76ers unveiled their new court design at The Wachovia Center, it what is a throwback look to the classic 76ers colors.

CLICK HERE to see some more photos of the new court design.

…Minor news…but I love the change in color scheme for the court, especially since we’ll be playing on it…I never liked the black they incorporated and even though that’s not Villanova blue, it will look much better on gamedays, especially with a ‘V’ at midcourt and ‘Villanova’ on the endlines…