The Hawk, the Quaker, and the Explorer are Dead

Villanova finished up a three-game sweep against Big 5 schools, including St. Joe’s (71-60), Penn (65-53), and La Salle (84-81). All three opponents proved to be tougher adversaries than expected, especially the scrappy Explorers, who nearly pulled off the upset at the intimate Tom Gola Arena. The only Big 5 opponent remaining on the schedule is Temple, who beat the Wildcats for the city crown last season. The Owls already knocked off Georgetown this year (68-65), prompting a dubious court rushing by their fans.

Villanova’s talented back court is renowned around the country, but the new dynamic duo in the front court has been vital to the team’s recent success. Antonio Pena and Mouphtaou Yarou are like a modern version of San Antonio’s “Twin Towers”, David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Neither Wildcat is a 7-footer, but fifth-year senior Pena is a wily veteran like the Admiral, while Yarou is a young big man oozing with potential, just like a young Duncan. Pena’s been dominant over his last four games, averaging 14 points and 9 rebounds. Mouph is already averaging close to a double-double on the season at 8.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and he will only get better from here. The Spurs’ Twin Towers won two championships together, which is impossible for Nova’s duo to duplicate since Pena is a senior, but I’d settle for “just one”.

Corey Stokes, coming off a career-high 34 points against Penn, is having an Allan Ray-esque offensive season. His numbers are up across the board, averaging 16 points per game, shooting 47% from the field, lighting it up from downtown at 41.8%, and Stokes is virtually automatic from the charity stripe at 95.7%. He can guard multiple positions at 6-foot-5, and Jay Wright has praised Stokes as one of his best defenders. The Bayonne Bomber has come a long way since arriving on campus as a one-trick pony 3-point specialist.

Dominic Cheek has turned into a real spark-plug off the bench for Villanova. Ironically, his worst game, when he scored just four points, came in his lone start of the season, versus Penn. Cheek dropped 14 points against both St. Joe’s and La Salle, and he’s turning into a legitimate threat from behind the arc. He sank four 3-pointers vs. the Explorers, which is valuable because as teams play more zone defense, Nova needs more reliable shooters to pair on the perimeter with Stokes.

Corey Fisher and Maalik Wayns’ 3-point accuracy should improve, but thus far they’ve been dreadful at 22% and 14.7% respectively. Both seem to be trying to shoot their way out of their slumps, as Fisher is attempting 4.6 threes per game, and Wayns, 3.8. Fisher has proven he can consistently drain the collegiate 3-pointer, shooting 39.6% last season, so I encourage him to continue taking the open shots. Wayns, on the other hand, should stick to driving to the basket because he’s shooting a much better 63% on 2-pointers.

Other notes:

- There are seven Big East teams currently ranked in the top 25, and this was supposed to be a “down year” for the Big East. I know it’s early, but there are four teams still undefeated and four more with just one loss. They’ll start beating up on each other soon enough.

- JayVaughn Pinkston was suspended for the entire season. That seems fair; he made a mistake and is serving his punishment. Now, the rest of the team can focus on this season, and not have to worry about any distractions surrounding Pinkston’s situation.

- LeBron James’ return to Cleveland garnered a lot of national attention, and he answered with an impressive 38 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. Kyle Lowry’s return to Memphis wasn’t as ballyhooed, but he had an equally impressive 28 points, 3 rebounds, and 12 assists. (11-15 FG, 4-5 3PT, 2-2 FT) Lowry is flourishing while Aaron Brooks is sidelined with an injury, averaging about 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists as a starter for Houston. Brooks should be returning shortly, unless there's some kind of Tonya Harding incident.

- Randy Foye has played in just seven games this season for the LA Clippers. You can’t say I didn’t warn you. Then again, if his second year with the Clips is anything like Blake Griffin’s, Foye could be in store for big year in 2012… assuming the world doesn’t end.

- Dante Cunningham doesn’t wow you with his stats (4 pts, 3 reb, 0.5 blk), but he is quietly turning into a solid professional basketball player up in Portland. He is playing about 17 minutes every night, and Coach Nate McMillan gives him that time off the bench because he plays hard all the time.

- Scottie Reynolds is averaging 18 points and 4.6 assists for the Springfield Armor in the NBA D-League. Scottie has to be an upgrade over a some of the current back-up point guards in the NBA. Come on GM’s, what are you waiting for?

Nova Soaks Penn 103-65

Drop 100+ points - Check
Six players score in double figures - Check
Shoot over 58% from the field and 52% from three - Check
Walk-on scores a basket - Check
Make Penn look like 5th graders playing against 8th graders - Check
Dominate a game from start to finish and play like you deserve a top-5 ranking- Check and Check

Corey Fisher - Continued to look like the best player on the floor. He ran the point with ease scoring 13 points and dishing out 8 assists.

Maalik Wayns - Led the team in scoring with 16 points, and he showed his range by hitting three 3-pointers. He's easily been the most impressive freshmen through the first two games.

Scottie Reynolds - Got back on track with a very solid game: 14 points, 5 assists. Most of his scoring came in a spurt in the middle of the second half.

Taylor King - Plays like a madman... I love it. He grabbed three rebounds in less than a minute after entering the game, then drained a three. He also made the Dwayne Anderson signature dive from behind steal. 14 points and 7 rebounds in the game... you can can see he's already turning into a crowd favorite.

Corey Stokes - "Only" made two 3-pointers for 14 points.

Antonio Pena - Got a legit double-double this time (12 points, 10 rebounds). He also had 2 blocks and and just 2 personal fouls. He's looked great, but the competition has been lacking. The true test will come in Puerto Rico.

Mouph Yarou - Fouled out in just 17 minutes, finishing with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and a block. He will probably continue to struggle with foul trouble early in the season as he adjusts to the college game.

Dominic Cheek - Had 7 points off the bench. He hit a pretty fade-away jumper with the shot clock winding down towards the end of the game.

Mo Sutton - Had 7 points, 5 rebounds, and a block in just 14 minutes. He flashed some nice post moves as well.

Russel Wooten - Scored the first two points of his career, thanks to an assist* from Armwood.

Isaiah Armwood - Got a little more playing time in this game (13 minutes), but failed to score.
* He shot an airball, which Wooten caught and put in for a lay up.

Jason Colenda - Picked up a steal, but let down the student section enormously when he missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Nova Quakes Penn

Final Score: #16 Villanova 69, Pennsylvania 47

Player of the Game: Dante Cunningham: 20 pts, 11 reb, 3 blk

Recap: Villanova dominated this one from start to finish. They smothered Penn on defense and killed them on the boards 42-15. Nova was able to limit Penn to only three made 3-pointers, which is the Quakers' strength. They also played good defense on Bernardini, holding him to 12 points. It counts as a road game towards the RPI, but the crowd wasn't very hostile with a lot of Wildcat fans in attendance.

Dante's Stock
Dante had his third double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. With another huge game from Dante, NBA scouts might start to consider him as a pro next year. His problem is that he is a power forward in a small forward's body. Undersized power forwards have been having success in the NBA recently, so Dante has a chance to get drafted. He will still have to prove himself against the Big East's best, but we will get a good chance to see where he, and the rest of the team for that matter, stands next week against Texas.


Super Stoker
Corey Stokes found his shooting stroke again. He went 4 of 6 from three to score 14 points. He showed his range by hitting a couple from well beyond the NBA line.


On Point
Villanova got solid contributions from both small guards. Scottie Reynolds was in double figures with 10 for the sixth time in seven games, and he added four dimes. Corey Fisher's scoring was down slightly, but he looked great running the point and setting up his teammates (7 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals).


Dwayne's Debut
Dwayne Anderson made his return from injury tonight. He only played 7 minutes and looked kind of rusty, but he did knock down a 3-pointer and grabbed a rebound. It's great to finally see him back out on the court.

Peña-lty
Antonio Peña fouled out for the third time this year. He looks good on offense (8 pts, 2 ast), but the foul problems on defense is starting to get redundant.


Fo' Shizzy
Shane "Shizzy" Clark looked healthy tonight. The knee appears to be fine, and he is getting back into game-shape. He had 5 points and 4 boards off the bench.
Reggie Redding had a quiet followup to his double-double. Only 2 points, but he did had 6 bounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block.

No Mo
Maurice Sutton did not play, so it seems like the coaching staff will continue to redshirt him. If they were going to play him this season, he probably would have seen some minutes tonight in a blowout to get some experience.

Jimmy V

Jay appears to already be looking ahead to the match up with the Longhorns at MSG next Tuesday...

Video Highlights:

Nova vs. Penn Preview

Villanova will take on the Pennsylvania Quakers tonight in their first Big 5 game of the season. They have played two neutral games at the Palestra, but this will be Villanova's first official road game of the season. The Wildcats recently moved up to #16 in the coaches poll and are looking to win their seventh straight game of the season. Nova has won the past 5 games against Penn.

The Wildcats need to focus their defense on sophomore guard Tyler Bernardini. He is averaging 17.8 points per game and is shooting 40% from three. Last season Bernardini hit 4 threes and 9 free throws to score 21 points against Nova. Coming off a great game versus Rhode Island, Reggie Redding will probably see a lot of time tonight to try to shut him down.

Tip off is 8:00 PM at the Palestra in Philly. Nova should be familiar with the rims after playing two games in a row there during the Philly Classic. The game will be televised on CN8.

Game Previews: Villanova by the Numbers, I Bleed Blue and White, Villanova, Penn, AP

# 21 Villanova vs Penn

Score: Villanova 87, Penn 61

Player of the Game: Scottie Reynolds, 21 pts, 5 ast

Recap: Villanova dominated every aspect of last night's game in their 87-61 victory over the Penn Quakers. The Wildcats were bigger, stronger, and faster and it showed in the 31 point halftime lead. Penn went on the win the 2nd half by 5 points, but Villanova's starters didn't play much in the second half, as Jay Wright used his bench, playing 5 freshmen at once at one point. Even walk-on Jason Colenda got minutes at the end of the game. Nova showed its dominance on the defensive end with 14 steals and caused 27 Penn turnovers, which led to easy fast break points.

Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 21 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Corey Fisher started in place of the injured Shane Clark and had 13 points, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 rebounds. Fisher ran the point most of the night, with Reynolds playing the shooting guard, and they really played well together. With Clark injured, Antonio Pena saw increases minutes, and he was very impressive. He had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. He was an efficient 3-4 from the field, 5-6 from the free throw line, and 1-1 from the 3-point line. I think Pena has a lot of potential, and will be an important part of the rotation in the future. Dante Cunningham had 10 points, 2 blocks, and a steal, although he failed to grab a rebound in 18 minutes of action. The big man Casiem Drummond had 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. But he had a poor shooting night going 2-7 from the field and 1-4 from the free throw line. He missed some easy lay-ups and needs to learn to finish stronger at the hoop. Reggie Redding had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Malcolm Grant had 9 points and 3 assists off the bench, providing relief for Fisher at the point, although he fouled out late in the game. Corey Stokes again had a poor shooting night going 1-8 from the field and 0-4 for three to score 4 points. He did play good defense getting 2 steals and grabbing 5 boards. He needs to be more patient offensively. He came in by Jay Wright's admission as the best pure shooter he ever recruited, and it seems like Stokes tries to prove it by shooting very difficult shots. Some of the 3-pointers he's been taking have been deep in NBA range and others have been contested. He needs to wait for the easy open shot, then once he starts making those he'll have more confidence and be able to make the tougher shots. Dwayne Anderson had 1 point, 2 rebounds, and a block off the bench. Andrew Ott had 4 points and 5 rebounds, but he is still a work in progress. He looked clumsy and uncoordinated out there, bouncing an easy rebound off his legs out of bounds. It will be a while before he can really contribute to the team. Frank Tchuisi from Cameroon showed some athleticism tonight with a 2-handed dunk and a high-flying swat for a block, although it was called a goaltend.

The Wildcats next game is Thursday in the Big East/Sec Invitational at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. There is a double header with the first game being South Carolina vs. Providence and Villanova is playing in the second game vs. LSU at 9:30. LSU is in a down year, as they've lost most of their players from the Final Four team two years ago to graduation and the NBA, such as former lottery pick Tyrus Thomas, now playing for the Bulls, and Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who is a rookie on the Celtics. LSU is also missing a key player to injury, so it should be a fairly easy win for the Wildcats if they play "Villanova basketball".