Wildcats Slay Tigers, Prepare for Rams

Final Score: #22 Villanova 64, Towson 47

Player of the Game: Scottie Reynolds: 14 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast

Recap: Villanova beat Towson, advancing in the Philly Hoop Group Classic to play Rhode Island Saturday night. It was a tale of two halves. The first half was ugly. Nova struggled beating Towson's press and scoring against their zone. The second half was all Nova, however. The Wildcats locked down on defense and scored more efficiently on offense. Nova led by only 5 at the half after a buzzer-beating three by Corey Fisher, but they pulled away early in the second half to beat Towson by 17.

Scottie "Scoot" Reynolds looked to be back in form. He had a great all-around game with 14 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, a steal, and a block.

Corey Stokes came back to earth shooting-wise after his ridiculous start to the season (.59 3PT% through first 4 games). He was 3-12 from the field and 2-10 from 3-point range. Even the best of shooters have off nights. Look for him to bounce back versus Rhode Island.

The big guys down low both played great. Dante and Pena had 12 points and 7 rebounds each. They both ran the floor well to finish in transition. Dante had a monster block on Junior Hairston as he went up for a dunk. Most importantly they played good defense while staying out of foul trouble.

Corey Fisher was the fourth Wildcat in double figures with 11 points. Villanova only got 7 bench points, with Reggie Redding having more turnovers (5) than points (2). Shane "Shizzy" Clark added a deuce and Frank Tchuisi had 3 points and 5 boards. Casiem Drummond was apparently available but did not play.

"We're Off on the Road to Rhode Island"
Nova now advances to play Rhode Island in the championship game of the Philly Classic. They will be Nova's first real test of the season. Rhode Island nearly upset #5 Duke at Duke, and although the Blue Devils are probably overrated at #5 in the nation, it was still an impressive performance by the Rams. This could be a dangerous game for the Wildcats because the schedule has been so easy thus far and they might be caught off guard. With that said, Villanova is a better team and should win, especially since they are playing close to home.

The Towson Tigers

Tonight Villanova will take on the Towson Tigers at the Palestra in Philadelphia as a part of the Philly Hoop Group Classic. This is their first game of bracket play, meaning that if they win, Nova will play the winner of Penn St./Rhode Island tomorrow.

I'll be honest, I don't know anything about Towson's team or the university in general. Head over to Villanova by the Numbers for an in-depth preview. However, through my extensive online research I discovered that Towson's dance team has won nine consecutive national championships. So they got that going for them, which is nice.
Basically this should be another easy win for Villanova. The game is scheduled for 8:30 pm, but may start a little late because of the earlier games in the Palestra. There is no television coverage, but Nova Nation All-Access will have the radio broadcast.

Preview links: VBTN, IBBW, VUhoops, Let's Go Nova, ESPN, Villanova, Towson