A Look Into the Crystal Ball: 2010-11

The 2010-2010 season is only a couple weeks away, so I thought I'd take a look into my crystal ball to see how the team will do. Not to toot my own horn, but I came pretty close last year. Okay, maybe I did want to toot my own horn.

11/02/10 vs. District of Columbia (Exhibition) - Win, because Nova doesn’t want to become a laughing stock by losing an exhibition game like Syracuse last year.

11/12/10 vs. Bucknell - Win, because Jay Wright won’t let his alma mater beat him in the official season opener. (1-0)

11/16/10 vs. Marist (NIT) - Win, because it’s Marist. (2-0)

11/17-11/26 NIT Season Tip-Off vs. TBA - Nova wins the next two games (vs. George Washington and UCLA), then they lose in the finals of the NIT to Tennessee, because Bruce Pearl will cheat. (4-1)

11/20/10 vs. Lafayette - Win, because losing to Lafayette in a real game might be more embarrassing than losing to DC in an exhibition. (5-1)

12/03/10 vs. St. Joseph’s - Win, because playing St. Joe’s this early in the season won’t give Hawks fans enough time to disillusion themselves into thinking they have a chance. (6-1)

12/08/10 at Penn - Win, because Penn seems to be under the crazy impression that academics are more important than basketball. (7-1)

12/12/10 at LaSalle - Win, because Mouph Yarou is going to own Aaric Murray. (8-1)

12/18/10 vs. Delaware - Win, because the Blue Hens just don’t sound very intimidating. (9-1)

12/22/10 at Monmouth NJ - Win, because the creator of MTV’s Jersey Shore is a Monmouth Alum. (10-1)

12/30/10 vs. Temple - Win, because someone will actually guard Juan Fernandez this year. (11-1)

01/02/11 vs. Rutgers - Win, because two of their best players transferred and their coach was fired. (12-1)

01/06/11 at USF - Win, because Dominique Jones isn’t around to score 46 points anymore. (13-1)

01/09/11 vs. Cincinnati - Win, because by January, Lance Stephenson will be playing in the D-League. (14-1)

01/12/11 vs. Louisville - Win, because Samardo Samuels is gone. (15-1)

01/15/11 vs. Maryland - Win, because Greivis Vasquez is gone. (16-1)

01/17/11 at UConn - Loss, because Kemba Walker will be the Big East Player of the Year. (16-2)

01/22/12 at Syracuse - Loss, because of the Dome. (16-3)

01/26/11 at Providence - Win, because the Friars have nine freshmen. (17-3)

01/29/11 vs. Georgetown - Win, because Fisher and Stokes will outplay Wright and Freeman. (18-3)

02/02/11 vs. Marquette - Loss, because the Golden Eagles are always underrated. (18-4)

02/05/11 vs. West Virginia - Win, because it’s not at the Coliseum. (19-4)

02/09/11 at Rutgers - Win, because home-court advantage doesn’t make up for the reasons listed for the first game. (20-4)

02/12/11 vs. Pitt - Win, because the Pavilion will be rocking all day with the ESPN College GameDay crew there. (21-4)

02/15/11 at Seton Hall - Loss, because Jeremy Hazell will get hot and score 40 points. (21-5)

02/19/11 at DePaul - Win, because the Blue Demons ended last season on a 13-game losing streak. (22-5)

02/21/11 vs. Syracuse - Win, because they won’t have the Dome advantage in the rematch. (23-5)

02/26/11 vs. St. John’s - Win, because Steve Lavin needs a year or two to rebuild. (24-5)

02/28/11 at Notre Dame - Win, because no Irish fans will show up when they realize Harangody and Reynolds aren’t playing. (25-5)

03/05/11 at Pitt - Loss, because the Panthers will take the rematch at home. (25-6)

03/08-03/12 Big East Tournament - After splitting the regular season series, the consensus top two teams in the Big East, Pitt and Nova, will meet in the Championship. Pitt will win, just because they always seem to take the Big East Tournament more seriously.

03/14-04/04 NCAA Tournament - However, Nova will advance further in the NCAA Tournament. My final prediction: a #2-seed and lose in the Elite Eight.

A Look Into the Crystal Ball

With the season officially tipping off this Friday I thought I'd take a look into my crystal ball to set some odds and predictions for the 2009-10 Villanova basketball season.

Odds Villanova finishes first in Big East: 1.5/1
Odds Villanova wins Big East Tournament: 2/1
Odds Villanova returns to the Final Four: 5/1
Odds Villanova wins the National Championship: 12/1
Over/under clips of Scottie's game winning shot vs. Pitt shown during telecasts: 20.5

Over/under mentions of Redding's marijuana suspension during telecasts: 10.5
Over/under amount of times Mouphtaou Yarou's name is mispronounced during telecasts: 250.5
Over/under games until Jay Wright gets called for a technical foul: 5.5
Over/under number of different starting lineups used this season: 6.5
Odds leading average rebounder: Yarou 1.5/1, Pena 1.5/1, Redding 4/1, Sutton 7/1, Stokes 8/1, King 10/1
Over/under Scottie's season high points scored in a game: 39.5
Odds most 3-pointers made on team: Stokes 1/1, Reynolds 1.5/1, King 2/1, Sutton 10,000/1
Over/under Jason Colenda total points scored this season: 6.5
Odds leading freshmen scorer: Yarou 1/1, Wayns 1.5/1, Cheek 3/1, Armwood 10/1
Odds a UConn player gets arrested this year: 1/1
Over/under IQ of average St. Joe's fans: 65
Odds next Big East coach to be involved in a scandal: Rick Pitino 2/1, Bob Huggins 3/1, Jim Calhoun 5/1, Jay Wright 200/1
Over/under number of seasons Isiah Thomas lasts at FIU: 0.5
Over/under amount of money Jay Wright will spend on suits this season: $25,000



Now onto the schedule...
11/13 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson: Win (1-0)
11/16 vs. Penn: Win (2-0)
11/19 vs. George Mason (Puerto Rico Classic): Win (3-0)
11/20 vs. Dayton/Georgia Tech (PRC): Win (4-0) The first real test of the season. Both teams are in the preseason Top 25.
11/22 vs. Indiana/Mississippi/Kansas St./BU (PRC): Win (5-0) Indiana is still recovering from the Sampson debacle. Ole Miss and KSU should be solid, but I think Nova takes home the early season hardware.
11/28 vs. La Salle: Win (5-0)
12/2 vs. Drexel: Win (6-0)
12/6 vs. Maryland: Loss (6-1) The game is in DC. Greivis Vasquez is a stud. I think it's a close game, but the Terps hand Nova their first L.
12/9 @ St. Joe's: Win (7-1) The Hawk remains dead.
12/13 @ Temple: Win (8-1) Nova sweeps the Big 5 for another city title.
12/19 @ Fordham: Win (9-1)
12/23 vs. Delaware: Win (10-1)
1/2 @ Marquette: Win (11-1, 1-0) Marquette lost Dominic James, Wesley Matthews, and Jerel McNeal... long season ahead for the Golden Eagles.
1/6 vs. DePaul: Win (12-1, 2-0)
1/9 vs. Marquette: Win (13-1, 3-0)
1/11 @ Louisville: Loss (13-2, 3-1) Nova beats them at home, but at Freedom Hall I'll give Pitino's crew the edge.
1/17 vs. Georgetown: Win (14-2, 4-1) I think Georgetown will be a lot better than people expect, which is why they will split the season series later in February.
1/20 @ Rutgers: Win (15-2, 5-1)
1/23 @ St. John's: Win (16-2, 6-1)
1/27 vs. Notre Dame: Win (17-2, 7-1) Harangody will continue to put up monster stats (and look like a monster), but the team will continue to lose.
2/2 vs. Seton Hall: Win (18-2, 8-1)
2/6 @ Georgetown: Loss (18-3, 8-2)
2/8 @ West Virginia: Loss (18-4, 8-3) The showdown between the preseason consensus top two teams in the Big East. Nova always struggles in Morgantown...
2/13 vs. Providence: Win (19-4, 9-3)
2/15 vs. UConn: Win (20-4, 10-3) I'm not sure what to expect from this team. I think Kemba Walker will be great, Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson are back, but they lost Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien up front.
2/21 @ Pitt: Win (21-4, 11-3) Rebuilding year for the Panthers. BTW, San Antonio had the steal of the draft when DeJuan Blair fell to them in the second round.
2/24 vs. USF: Win (22-4, 12-3)
2/27 @ Syracuse: Win (23-4, 13-3) LE MOYNE! HA! The Orange will struggle to replace Johnny Flynn, Paul Harris, and... wait, did Eric Devendorf actually think he was going to make the NBA?
3/2 @ Cincinnati: Loss (23-5, 13-4) Deonta Vaughn, Yancy Gates, Cashmere Wright, and Lance Stephenson... The Bearcats are loaded with talent this year.
3/6 vs. West Virginia: Win (24-5, 14-4)

A 14-4 record should be good for a first or second place finish in the Big East and a 2 or 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. I hesitate to be so confident in a Wildcat team that will have to rely on several freshmen, but the rest of the Big East is relatively weak this year, plus Nova's backcourt may be one of the deepest and most talented in the country. This should be a fun team to watch... can't wait for the season to begin.

A closer look at the schedule

Villanova opens the 2008-2009 season versus Albany at the Pavilion. Bilal Benn will make his return to the Pavilion in Villanova's opening game of the Philly Classic against Niagara. Villanova won't face a real threat until the final round of the Philly Classic when they will play either Penn State or Rhode Island. As usual the Wildcats will playfour Big 5 games, with the biggest tests coming from Temple and St. Joseph's, teams that both made the NCAA Tournament last season. The highlight of the non-conference schedule is Texas, at Madison Square Garden as a part of the Jimmy V Classic. Villanova will play a total of eighteen Big East games, with home-and-homes against Marquette, Syracuse, and Providence.

My early season prediction is that Villanova goes undefeated in non-conference play and 12-6 in the Big East to finish 25-6 on season, making their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

2008-2009 Schedule Released

2008-09 VILLANOVA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Nov. 6 (Thursday) NORTHWOOD (exh. at WS)

Nov. 14 (Friday) ALBANY

Nov. 17 (Monday) FORDHAM

Nov. 19 (Wednesday) NIAGARA (Philly Classic)

Nov. 25 (Tuesday) MONMOUTH (Philly Classic)

Nov. 28 (Friday) vs.Towson (Philly Classic at Palestra)

Nov. 29 (Saturday) vs. Penn State or Rhode Island (Philly Classic at Palestra)

Dec. 2 (Tuesday) at Penn+

Dec. 4 (Thursday) HOUSTON BAPTIST

Dec. 9 (Tuesday) vs. Texas (Madison Square Garden-ESPN)

Dec. 11 (Thursday) SAINT JOSEPH'S+ (ESPN2)

Dec. 14 (Sunday) at La Salle+

Dec. 22 (Monday) NAVY

Dec. 29 (Monday) TEMPLE+

Jan. 1 (Thursday) at Marquette* (ESPN)

Jan. 6 (Tuesday) at Seton Hall*

Jan. 10 (Saturday) LOUISVILLE*(WC - ESPN)

Jan. 18 (Sunday) ST. JOHN'S*

Jan. 21 (Wednesday) at Connecticut*(ESPN)

Jan. 24 (Saturday) at USF*

Jan. 28 (Wednesday) PITTSBURGH* (WS)

Feb. 1 (Sunday) CINCINNATI*

Feb. 4 (Wednesday) at Providence*

Feb. 7 (Saturday) SYRACUSE* (WC - ESPN)

Feb. 10(Tuesday) MARQUETTE*(ESPN2)

Feb. 13(Friday) at West Virginia*(ESPN)

Feb. 19 (Thursday) RUTGERS* (ESPN or ESPN2)

Feb. 22(Sunday) at Syracuse* (CBS)

Feb. 25 (Wednesday) at DePaul*

Feb. 28 (Saturday) GEORGETOWN*(WC-ESPN)

Mar. 2 (Monday) at Notre Dame* (ESPN)

Mar. 5 (Thursday) PROVIDENCE*(ESPN or ESPN2)

Mar. 10-14 (Tues.-Sat.) Big East Tournament (ESPN/ESPN2)

HOME GAMES IN CAPS played at The Pavilion unless otherwise noted

* Denotes BIG EAST Conference game

+ Denotes Philadelphia Big Five game

WC - Game played at Wachovia Center WS - Game played at Wachovia Spectrum

1 - Philly Classic. Early round games at the Pavilion. Nov. 28-29 at Palestra, Philadelphia, Pa.

2 - Jimmy V Classic, Madison Square Garden, New York City.