Battling Orange and Blue Demons

Villanova is 2-3 in their past five games, and the two wins easily could have been losses. It may not seem like a time to celebrate, but let’s try to lift the spirits of Nova Nation with an NBA All-Star Weekend edition of Nova Awards.

The Bill Simmons Award for Humbling Victory for a Coach
Bill Simmons, the inventor of the awards shtick, was the coach of the East team in the Celebrity All-Star game. They won, but how proud can you be about defeating a West team led by Justin Bieber? Jay Wright’s Villanova team had a thrilling two-point victory over DePaul, but the fact that they needed overtime to beat the worst team in the Big East (1-13) is a bit humbling.

The Black Mamba Award for MVP


Corey Fisher had a Kobe Bryant-like performance in the win over DePaul: a career-high 34 points, a clutch 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, and perhaps the biggest similarity to Kobe, his one assist. Kobe has proven that Black Mambas have their good sides (37 points for All-Star MVP, 81 points in a game) and their bad sides (6-24 FG, 0-6 3PT in game 7 of the Finals last year). The same goes for Fisher, who has had his share of good games (105 points over the summer) and bad, the worst of which happened to come against Syracuse (3-16 FG, 0-8 3PT). The main difference is the Lakers won that game 7, while Nova lost to Syracuse.

The MVP of the Syracuse game was Scoop Jardine, who also has aspects of both the good and bad “Black Mamba”. Scoop had 20 points (7-11 FG) and 6 assists in the win over Nova, after having just 2 points (1-8 FG) and 3 assists in their first meeting back at the Carrier Dome.

The LeBron James Triple-Double Award for Best Performance in a Loss
LeBron joined Michael Jordan as the only player in NBA All-Star Game history to record a triple-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, but his East team lost the game 148-143. Corey Stokes reminded us what he does best in his return after missing three games with a turf toe injury. Stokes scored a game-high 24 points and was the only Nova player to make a 3-pointer. He hit 5 of 10, while the rest of the team was 0 for 16.

The James Jones Award for Best 3-Point Shooter
The way Jeremiah Kelly shot the ball against Nova, it seemed like he was shooting uncontested threes from a rack. He was the big reason DePaul nearly upset Villanova, making 7 of 13 three-pointers to score 25 points in the overtime loss.

The JaVale McGee Award for Big Man That Can Dunk

He didn’t dunk three balls or on two baskets at the same time, but Rick Jackson finished a handful of alley-oop dunks against Nova. He was nearly perfect from the field (8-9), which is easy when all your shots are dunks, scoring 18 points for the Orange.

The Rookie Challenge Award for Disappointing Sophomores
The Rookies upended the Sophomores 148-140 this year, but it’s a game that doesn’t really matter. However, these past few games for Villanova do matter, and their talented sophomore class has been underperforming. Dominic Cheek has been in a funk ever since his knee injury back in mid-January. Maalik Wayns has fallen into an every other game pattern for good/bad performances over the past six games. His point totals over that span: 17, 4, 13, 5, 17, 4. Likewise, Mouphtaou Yarou had a big game against DePaul (12 points and 15 rebounds), but he was shut down by Syracuse (5 points and 3 rebounds). The most impressive sophomore in the Rookie Challenge was DeJuan Blair (28 points and 15 rebounds), who was an lowly 2nd-round draft pick. The least heralded Nova sophomore also came up big in the loss to Syracuse. Isaiah Armwood had a double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and he added 3 blocks. He may not be very skilled offensively, but I like his intensity on the boards and on defense.

The Blake Griffin Dunk Over a Kia Award for Blatant Advertising
Just when you thought sneakers, jerseys, shorts, socks, warm-up suits, and headbands were enough, Nike found another place to put their swoosh logo… on Jim Boeheim’s glasses!? What’s next, Nike starts tailoring designer suits for Jay Wright?

NNBEPP2: 2011 Movies

While watching last Sunday’s Super Bowl, I could hardly even focus on the game because of all the great new movie trailers that premiered. The Patriots won, right? Anyway, let’s take a look at the upcoming 2011 movies in the latest edition of the Nova News Big East Power Poll.

1. Pitt (22-2, 10-1) :: Captain America
The leader of the Avengers seems like a good representative for the leader of the conference, but can Pitt remain one of the top teams in America without their captain, Ashton Gibbs. The Wildcats will get their first look at the Panthers this Saturday, when Nova will put it’s 46-game Pavilion winning streak on the line.

2. Notre Dame (20-4, 9-3) :: The Green Lantern
Hopefully it will change this weekend, but the fact remains, the Fighting Irish are the only Big East team to beat Pitt this season. Ben Hansbrough is playing like he has a mystical green ring that gives him the college basketball superpowers of his brother Tyler.

3. Georgetown (19-5, 8-4) :: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Like his father, John Thompson III has Georgetown competing at an elite level every year, even after losing players to the NBA. The Hoyas are on a seven-game winning streak, but they’d be even better if Austin Freeman could dress up and play all five positions like Martin Lawrence.

4. UConn (18-4, 6-4) :: Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon
Michael Bay’s movies are known for their big explosions and action sequences, but they tend to lack in story and character. The 2010-11 Huskies are known for Kemba Walker’s big scoring and impressive stat lines, but the team is lacking in other areas. Not to mention Walker’s shooting percentage has plummeted over the past two months. However, the Transformers movies still rake in hundreds of millions of dollars, and UConn still wins games, and those are the only stats that really matter.

5. Villanova (19-5, 7-4) :: Just Go With It
Villanova was cruising along, up double-digits on Rutgers, and I kind of half-tuned out. The next thing I know, it’s a two-point game. I think Jay Wright and his team did they same as I, and started looking forward to this weekend’s big match-up against Pitt. The way Nova lost that game was rough, but like Adam Sandler, I’m going to say “just go with it”, forget it and move on. Games like this happen, where you think you’ve won and you mentally check out, and it’s better to happen now than in the NCAA Tournament. It sounds cliche, but that loss will be a learning experience, and I don’t think this team will ever let up in a game for the rest of the season. If they needed to lose a mid-season game to Rutgers to learn that lesson, so be it. Furthermore, this loss will only add fuel to the fire for Saturday’s game versus Pitt. Let’s just hope the critics’ reviews of Villanova come March are better than those of Just Go With It.

6. Syracuse (20-5, 7-5) :: Super 8
J.J. Abrams’ projects are always shrouded in mystery, almost as much mystery as this Syracuse team. I can’t figure them out. They start the season 18-0, but are 2-5 since. Why does Fab Melo continue to start every game when he only plays 3 minutes? Where is Carmelo going? What's on that train in the Super 8 trailer? What is the island on Lost? I need answers!

7. Louisville (18-6, 7-4) :: Hall Pass
"A married man is granted the opportunity to have an affair by his wife." Is that the plot to Hall Pass or Rick Pitino’s life?

8. Cincinnati (19-5, 6-5) :: Cowboys & Aliens
Okay, I give up. I can’t figure out any way that cowboys and aliens relate to the Cincinnati Bearcats… But, hey, doesn’t that movie look cool?

9. Marquette (15-9, 6-5) :: Thor
Thor was a warrior, and the Golden Eagles used to be Warriors. Despite wins over Notre Dame and Syracuse, Marquette might not even make the NCAA Tournament this year, which has more to say about the depth and quality of the Big East than Marquette’s shortcomings.

10. West Virginia (15-8, 6-5) :: The Hangover Part II
This season has been the hangover to last year’s Final Four for West Virginia. The second hangover is the one Bob Huggins has while he’s coaching.

11. St. John’s (13-9, 5-5) :: X-Men: First Class
Talk about first classes, Steve Lavin has the #2 recruiting class in the country, with 6 players in the ESPNU Top 100. As for their 15 point win over Duke? They must have turned into mutants for that game.

12. Providence (14-10, 3-8) :: Priest in 3D
What’s crazier, a vampire-killing priest or a donut-eating friar?

13. Rutgers (13-11, 4-8) :: Sucker Punch
Rutgers’ stunning comeback win over Villanova felt like a sucker punch. It was just one of those freaky Reggie Miller/Larry Johnson late-game performances. Sure, Villanova made their share of mistakes, but Rutgers hit some lucky shots that make you just shrug your shoulders and tip your cap.

14. Seton Hall (10-14, 4-8) :: Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides
Bullets are no match for pirates… Captain Jack Sparrow nor Jeremy Hazell.

15. South Florida (8-17, 2-10) :: Fast Five
It’s not good when the highlight of your season is “holding” Jimmer Fredette to 32 points in a double-overtime loss and “holding” Kemba Walker to 24 points in an overtime loss. Neither is it good when the highlight of your movie is the trio of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson. I don’t know what’s more surprising, that they’ve made five Fast and the Furious movies or that South Florida has been in the Big East for five years already. Either way, it sure was a “fast five”.

16. DePaul (6-17, 0-11) :: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
Never say never, unless the question is “When will DePaul win a Big East game?”

Nova and DePaul in Avatar

With James Cameron's 3-D epic grossing over a billion dollars worldwide, I decided to do an Avatar-themed recap of the DePaul game. Plus, let's be honest, there's only so much you can say about a 99-72 shellacking, I have to spice it up somehow. If you are not one of the millions to have seen the movie yet, don't worry, there are no spoilers.

Jay Wright's Avatar...

... starring Mouphtaou Yarou as Jake Sully

Jake Sully is a paralyzed marine who is given a chance to walk again through the Avatar program. Yarou was given a second chance at Villanova after being sidelined with Hepatitis B for almost two months. Moupth had 4 points, 2 rebounds, and a block in 14 minutes, as Jay Wright will ease him back into the rotation gradually.

... and Jerry Wainwright as Colonel Quaritch

Potentially facing another winless Big East season, Wainwright's days as DePaul's head coach may be numbered, and that's a shame because the guy is a quote machine. Here's what he had to say about Taylor King after the game, "he has range that might start back in Piscataway. He is insane."

... and the DePaul Blue Demons as the Na'vi blue aliens


Memorable Quotes:

"They've sent us a message... that they can take whatever they want. Well we will send them a message. That this... this is our land!" - Jake Sully
A message was sent to DePaul... that this is our house! Villanova extended its Pavilion win streak to 34 games. The Wildcats had a little extra motivation because their last loss in the Pavilion came against DePaul three years ago.

"You should see your faces!" - Trudy Chacon
You should have seen DePaul's faces on defense as they watched shot after shot go in for Villanova. Nova shot a staggering 61% in the first half, taking a 25 point lead into the locker room.

"You have a strong heart; no fear. But stupid, like a child." - Neytiri

Maalik Wayns is fearless on the court, but he is young and still susceptible to freshmen mistakes. Wayns had a season-high 18 points in just 20 minutes off the bench. I've never seen someone go coast-to-coast and score so easily. However, he also led the team with 4 turnovers.

"One life ends; another begins." - Jake Sully

Corey Stokes sat out with a sore hamstring, and Isaiah Armwood took his spot in the starting five. Aside from his game-winning shot against George Mason, this was Armwood's best game as a Wildcat. He had just 6 points, but led the team in rebounds (7) and steals (5). Jay Wright really likes Armwood because of his length and athleticism, and he will likely continue to log major minutes, even when Stokes comes back.

"You haven't got lost in the woods, have you? You still remember what team you're playing for?" - Col. Quaritch

Although he had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Mac Koshwal may have forgotten which team he was on because he turned it over to Villanova seven times.

"You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentleman." - Col. Quaritch
You are not playing out of conference cupcakes anymore. You are in the Big East. With DePaul out of the way, the schedule gets a whole lot tougher from here on out. Expect to see more down-to-the-wire games like last weeks against Marquette, especially with a rematch against the Golden Eagles coming up next. Their three Big East games have been decided by a total of
six points.

Some more thoughts on the game that I couldn't finagle into Avatar comparisons:

• Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points, his tenth straight game in double figures and seventh game of the season scoring 20+, boosting his season average to 17.9 ppg. Jay gave Scottie some extra playing time in the final minutes to pad his stats and help him catch Kerry Kittles on the Villanova all-time scoring list.
  
• Corey Fisher had a great bounce-back game, running the point flawlessly: 15 points, 6 assists, 0 turnovers. He also made a DePaul defender look silly with a Fisher Price crossover.
  
• Jay Wright used the blowout to rest his big men Antonio Pena and Taylor King, 19 minutes each, though they did play well while on the floor.
  
• Reggie Redding had 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists. For my 2010 predictions, I should have said Redding will record a triple-double. He has the best chance of anyone on the team because of his rebounding and passing versatility.

Around the Big East

1. Syracuse (10-0)
The Orange have made everyone forget about the preseason loss to LeMoyne with wins over Cal, North Carolina, and Florida. The junior transfer from Iowa State, Wesley Johnson, has been fantastic, averaging 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and shooting 54% from three. They also got a commitment from the #2 center prospect for 2010, Febricio Melo. With a last name like that, I doubt Boeheim had to do much recruiting.

2. West Virginia (7-0)
They haven't played anybody yet, but their defense looks scary-good. They held Duquesne to 39 points. Devin Ebanks has missed four games due to unknown personal reasons. Nova-killer Da'Sean Butler is off to a nice start, averaging nearly 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.

3. Villanova (9-1)
All aboard the Redding Railroad! Reggie will return from suspension on Saturday at Fordham. His senior leadership and defense might be exactly what this team is lacking.

4. Georgetown (8-0)
Speaking of scary-good defenses, opponents are only averaging 56.2 points against the Hoyas. G'Town fans should be thankful Greg Monroe (15.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3 assists) didn't bolt for the NBA last year.

5. UConn (6-2)
Their only losses are to Duke and Kentucky. They have one of the best backcourt duos in the nation with Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker, both of whom are averaging over 5 assists per game.

6. Cincinnati (6-2)
Both of their losses came in overtime to good teams (Gonzaga and Xavier). Lance Stephenson has skillzzz...


7. Pitt (8-2)
Their only two losses are to Texas and Indiana. There's a lot of new faces on this Panthers team, but they look better than I expected.

8. Seton Hall (8-0)
Seton Hall is undefeated? And second in the country in scoring at 90.8 per game? What the what? A game against Virginia Military (134-107) will skew the numbers, but still. By the way, Jamel Jackson dropped 40 in that game... the game before? One point! Shiver me timbers, what is up with the Pirates this year?

9. Louisville (5-3)
The Cardinals have lost two in a row, but at least the latest was against Carolina. Wait, that was Western Carolina?! Well then, things aren't looking too good for Pitino's squad. He can't seem to settle on a rotation; 11 players are averaging over 11 minutes per game.

10. St. John's (8-1)
The Johnnies are off to a nice start; their lone loss came at Duke. Plus, they accomplished what Villanova could not: win at Temple and hold Juan Fernandez to 5 points.

11. Notre Dame (9-2)
I wish I could say something about the Fighting Irish basketball team, but every time I Google search Notre Dame all I get back are updates on the football coach carousel.

12. Marquette (7-3)
I enjoyed this: http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2009/12/marquette-takes-on-greatest-team-ever.html

13. South Florida (7-2)
They're giving Ole Miss a run for their money for most exotic names: Augustus "Caesar" Gilchrist, Jarrid "Almost" Famous, Toarlyn "Reggie Cleveland All-Star" Fitzpatrick, Shaun "Manuel" Noriega.

14. Rutgers (7-2)
Could the Scarlet Knights' days in the Big East be numbered?
http://blog.nj.com/rutgersbasketball/2009/12/big_ten_seeks_12th.html

15. Providence (7-4)
The Friars lead all of college basketball with an average of 45.8 rebounds per game. Take that stat with a grain of salt because it also means they're missing a ton of shots.

16. DePaul (6-3)
I guess the Blue Demon faithful is not thrilled with Jerry Wainwright's .436 winning percentage over his five seasons at DePaul... http://www.firejerrywainwright.com/ When you look at Isiah Thomas as a coaching upgrade, you know your program's in bad shape. My favorite "Wainwright'ism": "He plays with great enthusiasm, and what a physical specimen! If I looked like that, I'd spend all day walking around in a Speedo."

Nova Escapes DePaul With Win

Final Score: #12 Villanova 74, DePaul 72

Player of the Game: Scottie Reynolds - 18 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl

Recap: Villanova escaped Chicago with a win over DePaul in a game that was a lot closer than anyone predicted. The scoring was a bit erratic, with DePaul jumping out to 7 point lead, then Nova coming back to take a 5 point advantage, and DePaul closing out the first half up by 8 points, 33-25. Nova appeared to have their act together in the second half, coming back to take a 12 point lead, but a late DePaul charge pulled the Demons to within 2, until Scottie Reynolds took over and helped seal the deal.


A win's a win, and I'll take it, especially on the road in the Big East. However, almost losing to a winless Big East team is alarming. Nova had trouble with DePaul's 6'10, 255 lb. center, Mac Koshwal. He had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and he caused Cunningham and Clark to get into some foul trouble. He exposed one of Villanova's greatest weaknesses, their undersized and undermanned frontcourt. Their other weakness is perimeter defense, which Will Walker exploited in this game, hitting 6 of 11 threes to score 23 points. Although, Nova did a better job containing DePaul's other perimeter threats, Dar Tucker and Jeremiah Kelly, holding both to poor shooting percentages (3-18 3PT combined). Nova needs to sharpen up in those areas quickly because talented big men (Greg Monroe, Luke Harangody) and sharpshooters (DaJuan Summers, Kyle McAlarney) are lurking on the horizon.

Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham co-led the team with 18 points. The two Coreys had good games off the bench (Fisher-12 points, Stokes-10), but both could have seen more time on the court. (More on that later...) Reggie Redding had another solid all-around game: 9 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists. Reggie's not a big scorer, but his good rebounding and assist rates probably make him Nova's player with the best chance to record a triple-double. Starters Shane Clark and Dwayne Anderson both struggled, scoring 2 points each. Anderson may have been riding too high off of his 22 point outburst; he was 0-6 from downtown in this one. Clark, the offensive rebounding specialist, had zero o. boards. Villanova's starting 3-man frontcourt was actually out-rebounded by the starting 2-man backcourt, 15-13. Antonio Pena rounded out the rotation with a decent 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists in 14 minutes off the bench.

Nova off to Chi-Town to face DePaul

Foe: DePaul Blue Demons (8-19) (0-14)

Recent History: Last season Villanova lost its Big East opener at DePaul 84-76, but they avenged that with a 76-69 win at the Pavilion to split the 2007-2008 season series. Corey Fisher led Nova with 23 points in the loss, while Scottie Reynolds had 21 in the win. Draelon Burns killed Nova in both games, but DePaul lost him to graduation. Sophomore Dar Tucker is the clear leader of this year's squad, averaging 18.4 points per game. Center Mac Koshwal averages around a double-double at 13.3 and 9.8, and Will Walker chips in about 13 points a game.

Famous Alumni:
Basketball: George Mikan, Mark Aguirre, Rod Strickland, Dave Corzine, Terry Cummings, Tyrone Corbin, Kevin Edwards, Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Steven Hunter, Andre Brown, Wilson Chandler


Other: Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy), Ray Manzarek (The Doors), John C. Reilly

Fun Facts:

• The University is named after St. Vincent de Paul, a 17th century French priest.

• With 24,300 students, DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the U.S.

• Won NIT in 1945

• Went to Final Four in 1979

• From Wikipedia: "In 1900, when the first athletic team to represent DePaul University was organized, the monogram "D" was selected for the uniforms. From this originated the nickname "D-men" which evolved into "Demons.""

Complimentary Youtube Video: I hate that it happened against Nova, but this is probably the sickest dunk I've seen live in the Pavilion...

Final Verdict: DePaul is having a rough season. They're still looking for their first Big East victory. They're not just losing games, they're losing by 20 points at home to teams like Seton Hall. I doubt many fans will show up to see an 0-14 team, so the crowd shouldn't affect Nova too much, especially since they were able to overcome the Dome crowd. The only thing I'm remotely worried about is if Dar Tucker goes off, similar to what Da'Sean Butler did for West Virginia. But WVU's team is miles ahead of DePaul, so I really don't see any way Villanova loses this game.

TV: WPHL 8:00 PM

Links: AP, VUH, VBTN, IBBW, LGN, VV

NNBEPP1

Nova News Big East Power Poll 1st Edition

1. UConn - 8-0
Hasheem Thabeet has been a monster, even without the cornrows. The 7'3 center is averaging 14.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks. With wins over Miami and Wisconsin, this team is loaded and will get even better when Stanley Robinson returns from injury. I'll ignore the close call to Buffalo for now.


2. Pitt - 9-0
Pitt's teams are always boring and this one is no exception. Yet they're in the top 25 every year despite not having any top NBA talent.


3. Louisville - 4-1
Like Nova they've had an easy early season schedule, but unlike Nova they LOSE at HOME by DOUBLE DIGITS to WESTERN KENTUCKY without COURTNEY LEE. I CAN'T STOP USING CAPITALS!!! I don't know if they deserve this ranking, but they're just too deep and talented to drop any further.


4. Notre Dame - 6-2
Harangody has pneumonia, but the Irish might not need him with the way Kyle McAlarney and Ryan Ayers are shooting the ball. McAlarney hit 26 threes in three consecutive games, including 10 against the ridiculously good Tar Heels, who might actually go undefeated this season.


5. Your Villanova Wildcats - 8-0
I can't wait for the showdown with Texas on Tuesday. Let's see what this team is made of.


7. Georgetown - 5-1
Greg Monroe seems poised to grab the torch from Roy Hibbert and continue in the tradition of great Hoya centers.


6. Syracuse - 8-0
The Orange had impressive wins over Florida and Kansas. Devendorf and Rautins are back, Johnny Flynn has been awesome, but it still feels like they're missing something...




8. Marquette - 7-1
Obviously Indiana is one of the premier coaching opportunities in the country, but don't you think Tom Crean wishes he had one more year with this team of James, Matthews, McNeal, and Hayward.


9. West Virginia - 6-1
Joe Alexander should have stayed in school another year, but I guess you can't blame him for leaving early... he's making $2.4 million more than me this year.




10. Seton Hall - 6-1
The Pirates had a nice win over the "post-Mayo" USC, and their only loss is to the "current-Tyreke Evans" Memphis.


11. Cincinnati - 6-1
The Bearcats on the right path back to national prominence with a great freshmen class, but Cashmere Wright's injury may have killed their season. This team could be very dangerous in the future though.

12. DePaul - 4-2
Dar Tucker is a stud (20+ ppg), but the Blue Demons were held to 36 points at Northwestern in an embarrassing loss.

13. St. John's - 6-1
They're only loss is to BC, but Anthony Mason Jr. is out for the season. At least they're still in the running for Lance Stevenson.




15. Providence - 6-3
Looks like it will be a long season at the Dunkin Donuts Center for new head coach Keno Davis.
14. Rutgers - 5-3
Former Nova assistant Fred Hill is nabbing some big time recruits (Mike Rosario, Greg Echenique), but the Scarlet Knights already have home losses to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, and Binghamton.
16. South Florida - 3-3
Hey, at least they get to live in South Florida.

#21 Villanova vs. DePaul

Score: Villanova 76, DePaul 69

Player of the Game: Antonio Pena, 17 points, 9 rebounds


Recap: Jay Wright switched up the starting lineup in tonight's game opting for Malcolm Grant and Antonio Pena instead of Reggie Redding and Corey Fisher. It didn't seem to work at first, as the Wildcats struggled immensely in the first half, trailing by 16 at one point. DePaul was hitting 3 pointer after 3 pointer and the calls weren't going Nova's way either. The Wildcats were able to cut the deficit to 9 at halftime. The second half was a completely different story. Nova came out energized and used a late 15-0 run to pull away and secure the victory. The comeback was fueled in a large part to Antonio Pena who had 14 second half points and 17 total. He may be Villanova's best offensive post player in years. He proved that he deserves that spot in the starting lineup and Jay Wright might leave him there after this performance. Scottie Reynolds had another great performance scoring 21 points, including a game clinching 3-pointer. He also dished out 3 assists. Dante Cunningham had his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Wildcats out-rebounded DePaul 43-20. Malcolm Grant had a decent game in his first start with 7 points and 4 assists, but picked up quick fouls, limiting his playing time. Shane Clark had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, but he had a rough night shooting the ball going 1-7 from the field and 0-3 from behind the arc. Corey Fisher and Reggie Redding only played 4 and 5 minutes each, and had virtually no impact on the game. Freshman Corey Stokes had one of his best games of the season with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist. He played 25 minutes, and you could see that he was a lot more confident out there. He may start to play a larger factor the rest of the season. Dwayne Anderson had 1 point in 12 minutes. In his short time he pick up 3 personal fouls. Casiem Drummond made a brief appearance for 3 minutes in the first half, but he is not 100% healthy yet.

Next Game: Sat. Jan. 19, Noon at Syracuse on ESPN

#16 Villanova at DePaul

Score: DePaul 84, Villanova 76
Player of the Game: Corey Fisher, 23 pts, 2 ast


Recap: The DePaul Blue Demons upset The Villanova Wildcats in both team's Big East openers. DePaul took an early lead and Nova had a difficult time catching up. Villanova had a horrible night shooting the ball and went 1-11 from behind the arc in the first half. They had too many careless turnovers. Fisher led a Villanova comeback that cut the lead to 4, but after he was taken out of the game with 4 fouls with about 3 minutes left in the game, DePaul quickly went on a run to extend the lead back to double digits. I think Jay Wright should have left Fisher in the game. He was the only Wildcat that could score that night, and there was really no point in saving him with so little time left in the game. Villanova committed 2 crucial turnovers, that likely wouldn't have happened if Fisher was still in the game running the point. Casiem Drummond's absence was felt as Nova had no one to contain DePaul's big man Wesley Green. Scottie Reynolds struggled throughout the game and finished with 11 points and 5 assists. It seemed like Villanova was passing up too many open three's, and later settled for more difficult shots. A team with great shooters like Villanova shouldn't hesitate to shoot threes when their open. They may have lost some confidence after going 1-11 in the first half, but many of those threes were difficult shots, as opposed to the open shots they should be taking. This was Villanova's first Big East game of the season and only the third against a major conference school, and they have struggled in all three games. They lost by one point to NC State, were dominated for most of the game by LSU before the miraculous comeback, and now lost to a DePaul team who came in with a 4-7 record. The Wildcats will need to toughen up and play better defense to compete in the Big East this year.

Next Game: Sunday January 6, Noon vs. Pitt