Nova falls to G-town

Final Score: Georgetown 82, Villanova 63

Players of the Game: Jonathan Wallace 20 pts (5-6 3pt) and Jessie Sapp 23 pts (6-9 3pt)

Villanova Player of the Game: Scottie Reynolds 13 pts, 4 ast


Recap: Villanova made a valiant effort in an early second half comeback. They were able to take a four point lead in the second half after Georgetown dominated the first half. Georgetown was up by as many as fifteen in the first half and led by eleven at halftime. In the end Nova ran out of gas, and Georgetown pulled away late.
Reasons for the loss:
1. Georgetown shot the ball ridiculously from downtown. They tied a Big East Tournament record with 17 made 3-pointers. The Hoyas were 60.7% (17-28), with five different players knocking down a three.

2. Scottie Reynolds suffered a serious cut above his eye after going down hard to the floor on a driving lay-up. A foul wasn't even called on the play. Blood was dripping down his face, and although he returned to the game, it clearly bothered him. I have to give Scottie a lot of credit for going back out there and playing his best through the injury. It was reminiscent of Steve Nash's performance with the bloody nose versus San Antonio in the playoffs last year.


3. Corey Stokes struggled shooting the long ball. He was 2-12 from the field and 2-8 or three to score 8 points. Villanova's 3-point shooting was a key to yesterday's victory over Syracuse, but the team was only 6-18 (33.3%) today.

4. Villanova was unable to take advantage with Roy Hibbert off the floor. Hibbert was held scoreless and fouled out in only 14 minutes of action. This helped Nova's comeback early in the second half, but they weren't able to sustain it.

5. Patrick Ewing Jr. filled up the stat sheet in his daddy's old stomping grounds. He had 7 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

6. Despite recent success, Shane Clark regressed today. He only had one point and was 0-4 from the field in 22 minutes.

7. Villanova only had six points off the bench. Part of the reason was Corey Stokes getting the start. Another reason was Jay Wright not bringing in any scorers off the bench. Corey Fisher only played eight minutes, and Malcolm Grant did not play at all.

8. Casiem Drummond only played two minutes. Villanova could have used the big fellow today, but that ankle must still be bothering him.


Now it's time for the waiting game. Villanova is on the bubble. Some experts say they are in the NCAA Tournament, others say they are heading to the NIT. Jay Wright had this to say following the game, "We're an NCAA tournament team, but that's not our decision. We'll let the committee make that decision. We still think we're one of the best teams in the country, we just weren't better than Georgetown today." I also think they should be in, but there's nothing more they can do now except sit back and hope the other bubble teams lose.

Next Game: ???