Nova Falls in OT to WVU

Villanova lost a heart-breaker in their regular season finale 68-66 in overtime to #10 West Virginia at the Wachovia Center. This was Nova's fourth loss in their last six games, which is not exactly how you want to finish up the season. However, Villanova still had a wonderful regular season, finishing in a tie for second in the Big East (13-5) and 24-6 overall. The outcome of the West Virginia game may not have been worthy, but it is award season, so let's close out the regular season by handing out some awards, as always with respect to Bill Simmons.

The Hurt Locker Award for Wild Man Who Sacrifices His Safety

The Hurt Locker is about a US soldier in Iraq who sacrifices his life for his country by disarming IED bombs. Scottie Reynolds is a Villanova Basketball player who sacrifices his body for his team. Scottie nearly took the game off the air when he went diving to the sidelines for a loose ball and knocked over the television equipment. It really sets a great precedent for the rest of the team when your star player does something like that.

The Carl Fredricksen Award for Grouchy Old Man

In case you don't know, Carl Fredricksen was the grouchy old man in the animated film Up. His oldness and grouchiness was outdone by Bob Huggins, who got called for a technical after screaming at the referees.

The New York Knicks Award for 3-Point Accuracy

Later that night the Knicks would go on to set an NBA record by shooting 0-18 from behind the arc against the historically bad New Jersey Nets. Unlike the Knicks, Scottie Reynolds is normally good, but he made just 1 of 9 shots from downtown. Scottie did have a team-high 17 points, but he had a rare poor shooting performance going 5-16 from the floor. None were bigger misses than the final 3-pointer at the buzzer of overtime, which would have been the game winner. Scottie has been so clutch for Villanova, that everyone was expecting the shot to go in, but he just barely missed it. But hey, do you know who leads the NBA in missed game-winning shots? The same guy who leads in game-winners made: Kobe Bryant. So it happens... even to the great ones.

The Avatar Consolation Award
Avatar took home three Oscars (Cinematography, Art Direction, and Visual Effects), but none in any of the major categories James Cameron was hoping for (Best Picture, Best Director). Corey Fisher hit a clutch 3-pointer towards the end of regulation to tie the game up, but ultimately it became consolatory when Nova lost in overtime. Cameron shouldn't care about the Oscars because his movie has made over two and a half billion dollars worldwide. Hopefully Fisher will be able to forget about this loss when Nova goes on a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

The Razzie Award for Worst Play
Devin Ebanks made a clueless play at the end of regulation when he pulled back to dribble out the clock with the game tied, then chucked up a desperation heave at the buzzer when he realized his team wasn't winning. Ebanks is able to laugh about it now because the Mountaineers went on to win the game. This is similar to how Sandra Bullock won a Razzie for worst actress in All About Steve, then later won the Oscar for best actress for The Blind Side.

Best Original Score

Da'Sean Butler made the game-winning basket on an impressive running bank shot in the lane. Nova held the All-Big East First Team member to another poor shooting day from the field (3-10), but Butler was a beast inside going 13-14 from the free throw line, scoring a game-high 21 points, and grabbing 10 rebounds.

The Best Actor in a Leading Role Award
... Jay Wright got robbed by Jeff Bridges. He was amazing in his portrayal as Ryan Bingham in the film Up in the Air. Let's hope Villanova coach George Clooney doesn't get robbed in the Big East Coach of the Year voting.
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