Nova Marches on to FINAL FOUR!!!

Final Score: #3 Villanova 78, #1 Pitt 76

Player of the Game: Scottie Reynolds - 15 points, game winner

Recap: Villanova pretty much had the game in the bag, then committed one of the most boneheaded passes ever, and it seemed like we were heading for overtime. Then with 5 seconds left, Scottie Reynolds made one of the greatest plays in school (and NCAA Tournament) history. He just said, "Pack your bags fellas, we're going to Detroit now!" and drove the ball straight to the rim, took contact, and still made the shot. Just an unbelievable play to cap off an epic game. I was one of the most most optimistic Villanova fans at the start of the season, but even I did not anticipate this team making the Final Four. But here we are... and we're not done yet!

Jay Wright: Great Coach, or Greatest Coach?Myself and others were critical of Jay Wright throughout the season for him favoring his upperclassmen over the more talented sophomores. Jay stuck to his guns however, opting for the more experienced group. And it was experience that enabled the players to keep their composure after the bad pass and run the same play that they've ran hundreds of times in practice to win the game. There isn't another coach in the entire country I'd rather have leading this team and representing the university than Jerold Taylor Wright Jr.

One word to describe Jay Wright's defense: pesky. All of Nova's defenders are in their man's face, constantly slapping at the ball, trying to force turnovers. It is visibly irritating to their opponents. Also to make up for their lack of size, Jay has them playing excellent help defense, always switching, double-teaming, and recovering. Jay may not be the best coach in America at drawing up in bounds plays, but the man can sure run a defense. And as the saying goes: "Defense wins Championships".

God I Love Dwayne AndersonDwayne is not the best shooter or ball handler, and at a skinny 6'6, he often times winds up playing against much bigger power forwards, but no one I know plays with more heart. He has that Kyle Lowry gene (or is it a sickness?). He might be that guy who took dodgeball in gym class way too seriously, or was a little too competitive when playing Scrabble with his family, but dag nabbit, there's not another guy in the world I'd rather have diving for loose balls on my basketball team. He saved the best scoring performances of his career for the NCAA Tournament (15 ppg), and he continues to make big play after big play. He knocked down a big 3-pointer, then came up with a crucial steal leading to the and-1. I don't know how we're going to replace him next year.

Big Shot ReynoldsScottie instantly altered his Villanova legacy in a mere five seconds with one spectacular shot. Sure he's had two 40-point games, but he has been underwhelming in his NCAA Tournament career. Now, no matter what happens from here on out, Scottie Reynolds will go down as one of the all-time Villanova greats.


Shane Clark!?!?!?!Where did this kid get the guts start jacking up threes all of a sudden, in the biggest game of his career? He hit three big 3-pointers early in the game to help Nova get off to a strong start. Also for once in his career he didn't lead the game in pump fakes; that feat belonged to Pitt's Sam Young.

Reggie's RedemptionI like how Jay Wright defended Reggie Redding in the postgame interview by saying it took guts to try that full-court pass, but yeah, it wasn't the smartest play. You have to give Reggie credit for keeping his cool and making a good inbounds pass to Cunningham on the next play. He stuffed the stat sheet as usual: 5 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals.

Fisher PriceCorey Fisher was at it again. The jumpers weren't falling for him in the first half, so he did what he does best and took it to the rack in the second half to score 9 points. He's made dramatic strides in his free throw shooting: he's 24/27 in the NCAA Tournament so far. Fisher was a perfect 7/7 shooting clutch free throws down the stretch against Pitt.

Corey "Strokes"Stokes brought that scoring punch off the bench, hitting some big shots. He sank a big 3-pointer, and also showed some versatility by driving to the basket to score.

Humble PenaAntonio Pena played some solid minutes in relief of Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark to eat some fouls in the post. Most young players would be sour about not just losing their spot in the starting five, but almost falling out of the rotation completely. However, when Jay Wright calls Pena's name he is ready to play. This is a testament to his class and the attitude Jay Wright instills in his players.

Valiant EffortI have to give credit to Pitt; after all it, takes two to play one of the best college basketball games ever. I have a ton of respect for DeJuan Blair; he plays tough and always has a smile on his face. We had no answer for Sam Young and his pump fakes as he dropped 28 points. Finally, Levance Fields is a fierce competitor; hitting two clutch free throws, then almost nailing the full-court heave.

Well I guess that's about it... What's that, I forgot somebody? Oh yeah, that guy.

Dante Cunningham has been so consistently great all season that it's almost boring. What can I say that hasn't already been said about DC. Four years, 4 NCAA Tournaments, 100+ victories, 1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, and he's been a valuable player on every one of those teams. The dude is simply a winner. He had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and a block in this one to set his 2009 Tournament averages at 17.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. It's almost impossible to lead your team to the Final Four with numbers like those and not be drafted to the NBA.

Nova Knocks Out Fighting Irish

Final Score: Villanova 77, Notre Dame 60

Player of the Game: Scottie Reynolds - 23 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl

Recap: In my game preview I said Villanova should focus on Kyle McAlarney because Luke Harangody would get his no matter what. Villanova followed that gameplan to perfection, holding McAlarney to 5 points on 2-7 shooting. That left Ryan Ayers open a little too often, as he dropped 25 points on 7-10 from three. Predictably, Harangody got his 18 points and 7 rebounds, but by shutting down McAlarney and knocking down some shots on the other end, Nova was able to run away with the victory.


Scottie Reynolds had a vintage performance. He got hot from behind the arc early and kept it going throughout the game (6-7 3pt) to finish with 23 points. He also did a good job running the show, dishing out 5 assists and committing only 1 turnover. The team as a whole only had 5 turnovers, compared to the 20 they had versus Georgetown.


Luke Harangody got his points and rebounds, but Jay Wright did an excellent job at exploiting his defensive deficiencies. Jay had his forwards attack Gody in the post, and it usually resulted in easy buckets because Notre Dame's big man was afraid of picking up fouls. The beneficiaries of this strategy were Dante Cunningham (18 points, 8 rebounds), Shane Clark (13 points), and Antonio Pena (6 points).


Reggie Redding and Dwayne Anderson spent much of the night guarding McAlarney, so credit is due for their defensive prowess. Redding had a nice line with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Anderson took some questionable shots (2-9 fg, 0-4 3pt) to finish with just 5 points, but those points came on two emphatic dunks that sucked the life out of the crowd.


If you told me before the game that the two Coreys would combine for only 5 points, I would have thought Villanova had no chance. Both only saw limited time; Fisher because of foul trouble and Stokes because of the coach's decision. Fisher went 0-5 from the field because of some very poor shot selection. He seemed to be forcing the action too much.

This win puts Villanova in good position for a top 4 seed in the Big East Tournament. Marquette (12-4) has two tough games left (at Pitt, vs. Syracuse), while Nova (12-5) should be able to take care of Providence at the Pavilion in their regular season finale. If both teams finish 13-5, there is an elaborate tiebreaking system in place. Since Villanova and Marquette tied the head-to-head season series, they move on to their records against the top seeded team in the conference. Both are winless against UConn and Louisville, so Marquette's next game versus current #3 seed Pittsburgh carries a lot of seeding implications. If Marquette loses to Pitt and Nova beats Providence, Nova will get the 4-seed. If Marquette beats Pitt, but loses to Syracuse, things get more complicated. It will be based on Nova and Marquette's records against whoever finishes highest among Providence, Syracuse, and West Virginia.

Nova Sweeps Syracuse

Final Score: #14 Villanova 89, #25 Syracuse 86

Player of the Game: Dwayne Anderson - 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Recap: Nova survived a late collapse to complete the season series sweep of Syracuse. (Whoa, that was a lot of S's.)

Oscars Edition

Best Picture:This picture of Dwayne Anderson best captures the emotions of Nova's win. Just a few days after I praised him for being the unheralded guy who does all the dirty work, Dwayne comes out and scores a career-high 22 points. He was hot early, hitting 4 of 6 from downtown. When Anderson gives you that kind of offense, Villanova is tough to beat.

Best Actor: Shane Clark
Shane Clark's career is similar to Mickey Rourke's in The Wrestler. Rourke played a struggling washed up wrestler who tries to make a comeback in the ring. Clark has struggled with injuries most of his career at Villanova, and it seemed like he wouldn't be a factor this season. Shane proved the doubters wrong with another great game: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists. With his extra-long arms, he is proving to be the team's best offensive rebounder. He had 5 in this game, and 42 of his 93 rebounds this season have come on the offensive end.

Best Supporting Actor: Corey Fisher
Just like Heath Ledger stole the show with his portrayal as the Joker in The Dark Knight, Corey Fisher stole the show when he came off the bench in this game. Fisher had a very efficient 16 points (5-6 fg, 1-1 3pt, 5-7 ft) and added 2 assists, a steal, and only 1 turnover. He went head to head with Johnny Flynn, who was caught dropping f-bombs on TV, and Fisher Price came out on top.


Other Notes
Dante Cunningham flirted with a triple-double (12 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists), and he might have gotten it if he didn't have to sit out for a few minutes after picking up his fourth foul. This was his eighth double-double of the season.

Reggie Redding did just about everything you can expect from him. He had 11 points, a career-high 7 assists, and the defensive specialist had 6 steals, also a career-high.

Scottie Reynolds had 10 points and 2 assists, but he almost cost Villanova the game. He had 5 turnovers, several of which came in the final minutes when he carelessly dribbled into trouble and traveled trying to break Syracuse's press. Syracuse had a couple good looks to tie the game, but luckily Scottie's mistakes didn't come back to haunt Nova.

The Name's Wright... Jay Wright

In honor of the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, opening this weekend I thought I'd write a 007-themed recap of Villanova's first victory of the season.

"Dr. No" starring Reggie Redding

Redding, Villanova's lockdown defender, said "no" to the Great Danes as they tried to score. He grabbed 4 rebounds and picked up a steal. He also had a nice offensive performance scoring 11 points, even knocking down a 3-pointer. He will see a lot of playing time early this season because of the injuries to Shane Clark and Dwayne Anderson, and last night he seemed up to the task.

"Moonraker" starring Antonio Pena

Pena nearly jumped to the moon on one put-back dunk off a missed shot. This is exactly the kind of performance I was expecting from 'Tone this season. 12 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 block... he looks poised for a breakout year.

"From Cameroon With Love" starring Frank Tchuisi

I love him, but Frank is simply not there yet. Again, because of injuries he played 11 minutes, grabbing 3 rebounds and hitting a signature Will Sheridan baseline jumper for 2 points. However, he was a liability on the floor, missing a couple of dunks and committing 2 turnovers.

"The Man With the Golden Shot" starring Corey Stokes

Corey was stroking it from deep once again. He hit three of four 3-pointers to finish with 13 points.

"License to Foul" starring Casiem Drummond

Casiem had as many points as fouls (4) in 17 minutes off the bench. He has been foul-prone his entire career at Villanova. On the bright side he was 2-2 from the free throw line and had 5 rebounds and a blocked shot.

"On His Coach's Secret Service" starring Dante Cunningham

As usual, Dante did everything Jay asked of him. He scored (13 points), defended (1 steal), rebounded (6 boards), and was unselfish (3 assists).

"The Point Guard Who Dished Me" starring Scottie Reynolds

Scottie went scoreless in the first half, electing to set up his teammates. He had 6 assists and only 1 turnover. He looked for his shot more in the second half, scoring 13 points to tie Cunningham and Stokes for team-high.

"Goldfinger" starring Corey Fisher

Fisher had the magic touch on both ends of the floor last night. He dished out 5 assists and grabbed 4 steals. His jump shot wasn't falling, but he looked strong attacking the basket and getting to the foul line. He was the sixth Wildcat to score in double figures with 10 points. He was inserted into the starting lineup for Anderson, and more Fish is always a good thing.

"Die Another Day" starring Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark

Dwayne and Shane may be out now, but they will both come back strong when the team needs them most.

Weekly Player Evaluation: Shane Clark

Player: Shane Clark

2007-2008 Key Stats: 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 84.1 FT%

2007-2008 Review: Shane Clark probably had the most disappointing season of any Wildcat last year. He had a great start to the season scoring twenty-five points in the first game and scoring in double figures in five of the next eight contests. However, he had a drastic drop-off in production and playing time after that, failing to score in double figures for eighteen straight games. It was thought he might have been suffering from mono or some other kind of sickness, and he even sat out two games during that span. Shane rebounded somewhat towards the end of the season, finishing in double figures in four of the last seven games.

2008-2009 Preview: I have always been a Shane Clark fan, and I thought he could have been the next Curtis Sumpter because of his size, rebounding, and outside shooting. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I still think he can be a key contributor to the team. I really don’t know what to expect from Shane this season. If fully healthy and playing like he was at the beginning of last season, he may earn his starting job back. If not though, he can still be a valuable option off the bench.

Nova vs. USF: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Final Score: Villanova 72, South Florida 59

Player of the Game: Shane Clark 15 pts, 7 reb

Recap:
The Good

• SHANE CLARK IS BACK! Shane had his best game in a long time, scoring in double figures for the first time since December. He had 15 points on 7-11 shooting, 7 rebounds, an assist, and he even knocked down a three. He also had one of the sickest dunks of the season; a one-handed put-back slam off of a Malcolm Grant missed three. It's great to see Shane back in form.

• An extremely rare Scottie Reynolds dunk. He set the tone early with a one-handed slam on a break-away. He had 9 points for the game.

• Dwayne Anderson's effort. The play where he went diving into the stands to save a loose ball says it all. He gives 100% all game long and will dive after any loose ball. He had 7 points and 10 rebounds. He also made a nice play where he faked the pass then went up for a one-handed slam.

• Villanova's team defense. They held USF to 31.5% from the field and 17.4% from 3-point range.

• Reggie Redding's defense. He had 2 blocks and 2 steals in only 16 minutes of play. He only had 3 points, but had 3 assists and no turnovers.

• A Frank Tchuisi sighting. The Cameroonian made his first free throw of the season for his only point of the night.

The Bad

• Corey Stokes' 3-point shooting. He was 0-5 from long-range. The team as a whole wasn't much better at 18.8% (3-16). I'm sure Stokes will shake this night off and shoot better next game.

• Corey Fisher's continued shooting woes. He was 1-5 from three and 2-6 from the field for 6 points total. He has never really recovered from his 1-16 FG night against Georgetown. Fish is 2 for his last 20 from behind the arc.

• Casiem Drummond's foul trouble. Cas fouled out with 6:37 left in the second half, despite only playing 12 minutes. It's a shame because he was effective while on the court. He had 6 points, 7 boards, and a block in his short time on the floor. If Drummond can stay out of foul trouble it will significantly help Nova make a run in the Big East Tournament.

• Dante Cunningham got two quick fouls that kept him on the bench for most of the first half. He was a perfect 4-4 from the field to score 8 points.

• Villanova gave up 29 points to USF freshman Dominique Jones, although he did take 21 shots to do it.

The Ugly

• Villanova's play in the the final 3 minutes. Sloppy passes, turnovers, fouls, and quick shots when they should have been running the clock down. Malcolm Grant in particular was playing out of control in the final minutes and looked like he was trying to do too much. Luckily Villanova had a big enough cushion of a lead that it didn't matter.

• Villanova's sloppy play in the middle of the second half. USF cut the lead to 6, before Nova was able to pull away and go up by as many as 23.

• Shane Clark missed three dunks. The first was forgivable because it was a difficult one-handed tomahawk that would've been one of the best dunks of the season. The last was unacceptable: a two-handed dunk right under the basket.

• USF's intentional foul on Antonio Pena. A USF player pushed Pena in the back right under the basket, but Tone still made the the lay-up. Pena finished with 10 points.

• The Wavecam. It's more like the "Blair Witch cam". It's not a bad idea, but the camera moved around too much, and the ball got cut off the screen a few times.

Next Game: Sat. Mar. 8, 7:30 pm, at Providence

#23 Villanova vs Bucknell

Score: Villanova 70, Bucknell 64

Player of the Game: Shane Clark 17 pts, 12 reb

Recap: Nova beat Bucknell tonight in the Pavilion, 70-64. Bucknell led most of the game, but Villanova came back in the second half. Dante Cunningham's dunk with just under a minute left sealed the game, putting the Wildcats up by 7. Bucknell's John Griffin had a great game, scoring 22 points (6-10 for 3 pt), but scored only 5 of those in the second half thanks to Reggie Redding's defense. Bucknell's entire team, Griffin especially, shot great from 3 point range (15-31). Every time Nova tried to make a comeback, they'd come right back and hit a 3 pointer. But Nova was able to hold and and make some stops at the end of the game. The key to the game was Nova's rebounding. Casiem Drummond dominated the glass with 6 offensive rebounds and 12 overall to go along with his 8 points. Shane Clark had another great game and had a double-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Scottie Reynolds added 15 points including a clutch 3 pointer down the stretch. Dante Cunningham had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Redding had 12 points and played great defense, but struggled from 3 point range missing all five attempts. Malcolm Grant saw the most time off the bench and had 4 points, but couldn't continue his great 3 point shooting from last game, and went 0-3. Corey Fisher had a disappointing debut, only playing 5 minutes and shooting 0-3 from the field. The other All-American freshman Corey Stokes also played limited minutes and failed to score. I'm sure both of them will progress as the season continues and will eventually play larger roles on the team.

#25 Villanova vs Stony Brook

Score: Villanova 86, Stony Brook 64
Player of the Game: Shane Clark 25 pts, 7 reb


Recap: Last night was Nova's season opener against Stony Brook at the Pavilion. They won 86-64. Shane Clark was the player of the night with a career high 25 points (4-5 for 3 pt) to go along with 7 rebounds. He was really feeling his jump shot last night, and if a forward like Clark can consistently make threes it will really improve the team. Freshman Malcolm Grant had 16 points, also shooting 4-5 for three. He also played good defensively and showed a lot of hustle. Dante Cunningham had a solid night with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Sophomore star Scottie Reynolds had a bit of an off night shooting, but still scored 13 points and had 6 assists. He had a couple of acrobatic plays driving to the basket and finishing. Casiem Drummond had 8 points and 5 rebounds. He looked good at some moments, especially on the defensive end, but struggled offensively, missing a few easy shots. In particular he missed a wide open lay up under the basket, that he should have dunked hard but instead went up for a soft lay up and missed. Corey Stokes surprising had a very quiet night. He only had 2 points and was 0-2 for three. He looked nervous out there, but hopefully those were just first game jitters and he'll be ready to go next game. Antonio Pena had an embarrassing moment in his first game when he went up for a rebound and accidentally tip the ball into the basket for the other team. Pena had 4 points and 4 rebounds. Dwayne Anderson played limited minutes but had 4 points, 2 of them coming from a spectacular alley-oop dunk. Andrew Ott and walk-on Jason Colenda also made appearance late in the game. Corey Fisher sat out again with tendentious in his knee; hopefully he'll be back soon.