Nova Survives Rumble in South Florida

Final Score: #21 Villanova 70, South Florida 61

Player of the Game: Dwayne Anderson - 7 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk

Recap: Keeping with the theme from last year...

The Good

- Dwayne Anderson's game high 11 rebounds, his 3-pointer, and his driving layup and subsequent offensive rebound off of his missed free throw to help seal the victory... That earns player of the game honors in my eyes.

- Dante Cunningham while on the court (14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks).

- Scottie Reynolds tied a season-high 7 assists.

- The two Corey's were both great off the bench: 10 points each in 18/19 minutes. I still think they could be seeing a little more playing time because either one is Nova's best third scoring option.

- Reggie Redding had a decent night offensively (11 points) to compliment his gritty defense.

- Shane Clark had a season-high 8 rebounds, and he hit a 3-pointer despite having a soft cast on his wrist.

- Nova picks up a valuable Big East road win and moves back to .500 in conference.

The Bad


- Dante Cunningham while off the court. He missed 21 minutes because of foul trouble.

- Antonio Pena (6 points, 1 rebound) couldn't continue his hot streak from the past 3 games, where he was averaging 13 points and 8 rebounds.

- Scottie Reynolds had a season-low 7 points.

- The fact that this game was as close as it was. Villanova appears to be playing to the level of their competition this season.

The Ugly


- I called it a rumble because this game was physical. There were 48 foul calls total. Two players fouled out (Reggie Redding and Dominique Jones) and both Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena saw limited playing time due to foul trouble.

- The roughest foul of the game was called on Corey Stokes... and there was actually contact on this one as opposed to the questionable call versus UConn.

- Dante's "dunk/layup" that somehow went in... it wasn't pretty but 2 points are 2 points.