The Path to Indy

The field of 65 has been announced, and despite their losses down the stretch, Villanova was rewarded with a 2-seed in the South Region. The path to Indianopolis is long and treacherous, but here is what Villanova will have to do to return to the Final Four...

Round 1: vs. #15 Robert Morris Colonials (23-11)
First of all, who is Robert Morris? The school, located in Pittsburgh, PA, was founded in 1921, and is named after... wait for it... Robert Morris, who signed the Declaration of Independence and helped finance the Revolutionary War. According to Wikipedia their notable alumni include Hank Fraley, Tim Hall, Tim Levcik, Robb Butler, Kevin Colbert, and Jerry Bowyer... a real who's who of F-list celebrities. Since when do Arena Football League players count as notable alumni? Robert Morris is in the Northeast Conference, along with Farleigh Dickinson, who Villanova beat 84-61 in their first game of the season. Robert Morris swept FDU in the season series, 80-73 and 65-50. This is Robert Morris' seventh trip to the Big Dance, but the Colonials are better known for their world-class bowling team, (2007 National runners-up) which has produced several professional bowlers, such as Roy Munson and Ernie McCracken. Robert Morris played two Big East teams this season: 11/11 they lost 100-60 at Syracuse and 2/8 they lost 77-53 at Pitt.

Villanova has recently struggled as a high seed in these opening round games of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, as a 3-seed, they trailed 14-seed American for much of the game, then finally pulled away late in the second half for a 80-67 victory. In 2006 as a 1-seed, Villanova had trouble early with 16-seed Monmouth, who they eventually beat 58-45. I wouldn't be surprised if history repeats itself and Robert Morris gets out to an early lead on Villanova, and the score may be close at halftime. Nova fans and office pool participants across the country will sweat as whispers of "Cinderella" are heard. However, just as in years past, Villanova's depth and athleticism will over power the mid-major Colonials in the second half, and the Wildcats will cruise to a double-digit victory.

Round 2: vs. #7 Richmond (26-8) or #10 St. Mary's (26-5)
St. Mary's beat Gonzaga 81-62 to win the WCC Tournament, and Richmond has a 71-54 victory over Temple, a team Villanova lost to earlier in the season, although Nova-killer Juan Fernandez did not play in that game. Both are solid teams that pose a legitimate challenge to Nova. Nevertheless, you have got to like Villanova's chances of getting to the Sweet Sixteen for the third year in a row.

Round 3: vs. #3 Baylor or #6 Notre Dame or #11 Old Dominion or #14 Sam Houston
The Baylor Bears are the favorite to make it to Houston from the New Orleans pod. I think they will, and frankly I can't wait because Baylor's players have some epic names that make Ole Miss and South Florida pale in comparison: LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter, Ekpe Udoh, Quincy Acy, Dragan Sekelja, and Givon Crump. Luckily, games aren't decided by name originality, so I think Villanova moves on the Elite Eight.

Round 4: vs. #1 Duke or #4 Purdue or #5 Texas A&M or #8 California or #9 Louisville or #12 Utah St. or #13 Siena
Obviously a lot of different scenarios are in play here. I think Louisville has a great shot at upsetting Duke in the second round. Purdue and A&M have a chance, but Villanova will most likely be looking at a rematch of last year's Sweet Sixteen against the #1 Blue Devils. This is almost the same exact Duke team that Villanova manhandled 77-54 last year, minus the now NBA player Gerald Henderson, but the Blue Devils may have been better off without his 1-14 shooting performance that night anyway. Nova lost Dante Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson, and Shane Clark three of that team's toughest and most physical defenders, and it was that physical play that gave Duke fits. This year's Villanova team isn't as good defensively, but Duke doesn't scare me at all. I think Villanova has an excellent shot to return to the Final Four this year, but they have to take care of Robert Morris first.

Villanova is Elite

Final Score: #3 Villanova 77, #2 Duke 54

Player of the Game: Dante Cunningham - 14 pts, 11 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk

Recap: I was watching the start of the Missouri/Memphis game, getting ready for CBS to switch over to Duke/Nova at 10:08, and at about 10:07 PM eastern -- black. The power went out at my house. It was like a scene from a bad movie, or a Sopranos episode. I spent the next half hour frantically trying to find a place with power to watch the game. I thought it was a bad omen of things to come. However, when I finally found myself in front of a working television, Villanova was up by five midway through the first half. Unless you were even more unfortunate than me, you know what happened next. Nova took a three point lead into the locker room and never looked back. Nova was dominant on defense, holding Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer to 4-32 shooting and outscoring the Blue Devils by 20 points in the second half.

Photo Captions:
Unknown Blue Devil: "Thanks Greg, you have the magic touch."
Greg Paulus: "Forget basketball and football, my future is as a professional masseuse."
In his final collegiate game Greg Paulus had 3 points, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, and 4 personal fouls in 10 minutes.

Jon Scheyer: "I can't stop you with my defense, so maybe I can distract you with my jazz hands."
Reggie Redding: Scores, then shakes head in disgust.
Scheyer's offense wasn't much better than his Swiss cheese defense: 3-18 FG, 2-10 3PT.
Redding had a great game on both ends of the floor: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks. He's really turning into a complete player, and he couldn't pick a better time to do it.

Dwayne Anderson: "No layups."
Elliot Williams: "Oh well, at least I'll be on Sportscenter."
I have to give Williams credit for that one dunk, it was sick. But that was Duke's only highlight of the game.
Dwayne had a great first half with 8 points and 5 rebounds, but he failed to score in the second. However, you can never fully measure Anderson's impact in the box score. There just isn't a stat for heart and toughness.

Shane Clark: "The road to the NBA goes through me, buddy."
Shane played some tough defense down low and didn't allow any easy baskets. As a result he fouled out in 22 minutes, but he contributed a solid 7 points and 5 rebounds.
Henderson, on the other hand, really hurt his draft stock in this game: 1-14 FG, 1-5 3PT, 7 points.

Dante Cunningham: "Sit down dude, you can't dance."
Dante grabbed another "Nova News Player of the Game Award", not that that means anything. He had his tenth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Singler, Thomas, and Zoubek were no match for Cunningham inside.

Scottie Reynolds: "This is basketball, not yoga."
Kyle Singler: "Scheyer told me to try jazz hands."
Scottie is starting to heat up. He had his best scoring game of the tournament so far with 16 points. It wasn't the most efficient 16 points (5-15 FG), but it's good to see him aggressive on offense, looking for his shot. A wrist injury may have been holding him back in the last two games because he was wearing a brace, but hopefully his shooting stroke is fine now.


I can't even attempt to figure out what's going on here.
Corey Stokes is in there, and although he had a quiet night offensively (7 points, 1-4 3PT), he grabbed 5 rebounds and played strong defense. His counterpart from the bench with the same first name also had a quiet night. Fisher had just 6 points and more turnovers than assists, but it didn't matter. This game wasn't about scoring, it was all about the tenacious Wildcat defense.


Coach K: "I wish I could go back to coaching Kobe, LeBron, and D-Wade..."

Next Game: Sat. 3/28, 7:05 PM vs. Pitt
Now Villanova plays a familiar foe for a trip to the Final Four: Pittsburgh. No one saw back to back blowouts coming against UCLA and Duke, but I don't think there will be any surprises in this one. Pitt and Nova know each other too well. Villanova can't overpower them with tough physical play because Pitt is even more tough and physical. Villanova already proved they can beat this team, and they know the key is to attack DeJuan Blair. The Final Four is within reach... they just need to play their hearts out and leave everything out on the floor.

• Pitt Preview

• 1/28 Recap

Links: Guy Fisher

With the big matchup against Duke tonight, Villanova has received a lot of media attention, both locally and nationally. VUhoops and I Bleed Blue and White have been posting links to these stories all week, and you should definitely check them out. But if you can only read one, make it this amazing story by Dana O'Neil at ESPN about Corey Fisher and his uncle Guy. Truly inspirational stuff.

Round 3: Duke

Foe: #2 Duke Blue Devils (30-6)

Recent History: Villanova and Duke have not met in almost a decade, when the Blue Devils won 98-85 in the 2000 preseason NIT. Villanova is 3-7 all-time against Duke, but their last win was way back in 1958. Duke has consistently been one of the top teams in the country this season, maintaining a spot in the top 10 and spending a week ranked #1. They won the ACC Tournament over Florida State, and had several quality wins during the regular season including: Michigan, Purdue, Xavier, Georgetown, and Wake Forest. Duke destroyed Binghamton by 20 in the first round, then escaped Texas by 5 points in the second round. They were powered by 24 points from Gerald Henderson, who has been the team's best player this season. The junior G/F is averaging 16.8 points per game, and is looking like a potential lottery pick in the NBA draft. Right behind him is 6'8 super-soph Kyle Singler, averaging 16.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Jon Scheyer is the third Dukie averaging double figures at 14.9 points per game, most of which come from behind the arc where he shoots 39.5%. Rounding out the starting five are forward Lance Thomas (5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and freshman point guard Elliot Williams (4.2 ppg). Off the bench they have guard Nolan Smith (8.5 ppg), 7'1 center Brian Zoubek (4.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg), and David McClure (1.9 ppg). Last and least is the infamous Greg Paulus. The once starting point guard has had a significant drop off in every statistical category this season, most notably minutes. The former star high school quarterback has got to be second guessing his choice to play basketball.

Famous Alumni: Basketball: Tommy Amaker, Shane Battier, Jay Bilas, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Johnny Dawkins, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Daniel Ewing, Danny Ferry, Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Dahntay Jones, Billy King, Christian Laettner, Corey Maggette, Shavlik Randolph, J.J. Redick, Jason Williams, Sheldon Williams
Other: Richard Nixon, Ron Paul, Paul Farmer, Michael Peterson, Jack Coleman, Tucker Max, Dave Brown


Fun Facts:

• University is named after tobacco industrialists James Buchanan Duke and his father Washington Duke.

• Duke has 3 National Championships, 14 Final Fours, 17 ACC Championships

• Duke has had a record 11 National Players of the Year

Complimentary Youtube Video:


Final Verdict: This game has the makings to be an instant classic. Duke and Nova are two big names in college basketball, and the teams play similar styles. If Nova can bring that same kind of physical play they used against UCLA, I don't think the Blue Devils will be able to handle it. Coach K is one of the best coaches in the game, but Villanova has an inside man (transer Taylor King) to share some of Coach K's secrets. I think it will be a close game, but if they play like they did against UCLA, Nova should win it.

TV: 9:57 PM, CBS and NCAA.com

Links: Villanova.com, VUH, IBBW, LGN, VBTN, VV, VSB, Duke, Wiki, AP