BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Cincinnati

February 23, 2006


Before Villanova can think about their nationally televised re-match with Connecticut this Sunday, they must deal with a road trip to Cincinnati, where the Bearcats faithful will be waiting to welcome the highest rated visiting foe in the history of Fifth Third Arena.

Villanova sits atop the Big East standings with an 11-1 conference record. The Bearcats have won three of their last four to put them back into good shape for NCAA Tournament and would love to add a signature win to the resume.

Here are the pregame stories and previews from the internet:

Villanova Packing for Tough Road Trip (Delco Times)
Coach Has Cincy on Winning Path (Philly Daily News)
Bearcats Seek Signature Win (Cincy Post)
Cincinnati Has Survived Season of Hard Knocks (Philly Inquirer)
Four-Guard Set Came out of Necessity (Cincy Enquirer)
Bearcats Seek Huge Win (Enquirer)
Resurgent Bearcats Looking for NCAA Berth (AP Story in Fort-Worth Star)


For our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


I expect one Cincinnati Bearcats to be jumping through the roof tonight! Eric Hicks, coming off a 1-13 performance from the field, scoring just 3 pts against Providence, will be ready to go tonight! Even with a couple sore ankles, Hicks will definitely bring it tonight against Villanova: "It's just a little sore; I'll be fine," Hicks said. "We're playing Villanova, I'm fine."

Expect that mentality from the entire Cincinnati team tonight. With seniors James White, Eric Hicks and Jihad Muhammad in the starting line-up and Devan Downey and Cedric McGowan, they are going to have to be ready for a 40-minute assault from the Villanova 4-guard line-up. The spotlight will most likely fall on Downey, Cincinnati's freshmen point guard, on how he handles the on-the-ball pressure of Villanova and their three-quarter court trap. If he is forced to give up the ball early, the Cincinnati offense will have to find another way to get into a rhythm and not be sped up by the backcourt pressure. Hicks should find the boards and the paint his personal playground and the atheletic and imposing 6'6 forward will be looking to bounce back with a vengeneance tonight.

For Villanova, the target is definitely painted squarely on their backs. They are the #2 ranked team in the country and the hype surrounding them since their victory over Connecticut has continued to grow. This is definitely a dangerous game as they will have to battle a charged up atmosphere in Cincinnati with the crowd on top of them and avoid the natural urge to think about Connecticut coming up on Sunday. Key players to watch tonight on the Villanova side are Kyle Lowry and Randy Foye. This seems like a physical and intense match-up that these two will excel in. With Lowry slashing to the basket and Foye shooting over the UC guards, they will eventually free up Allan Ray on the perimeter for his 3-pt shot.

Neither team is very deep, but Villanova does have the ability to bring in Jason Fraser, Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark to rotate their guards for some rest and to match-up a little bigger. Cincinnati will be able to stay very athletic on the floor, but backcourt depth is a concern when handling the Villanova pressure.

I think the atmosphere is going to keep the Bearcats in the game from start to finish. However, in the end, the four-guard line-up of Villanova causes key match-up advantages down the stretch that the Bearcats will not recover from. It will be an intense and physical match-up that will be a great one to watch. The 4-pt favored Wildcats will get all they can handle.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Villanova 68 Cincinnati 65

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Connecticut @ Villanova

February 13, 2006


Big Monday tonight in the Big East means Connecticut and Villanova will battle it out for conference supremecy. Both teams enter the game with 9-1 conference records and part of a three-way tie for 1st place in the conference. Both teams are coming off road wins, UConn 99-57 at Seton Hall and Villanova 61-51 at DePaul. A couple of long winning streaks are on the line tonight. Here are many of the pregame stories and previews from around the internet:

Fiery Talks Spur Gay into Action (Philly Inquirer).
UConn Hitting Crossroads in Philadelphia (Waterbury Rep Am).
On Guard: Villanova a Unique Challenge )Register Citizen)
Huskies Acclimated to Conditions (Hartford Courant)
Nova Has Waited for This One (Hartford Courant)
Contrasting Styles: Quick & Powerful (Connecticut Post)
UConn Set to Battle Villanova (Danbury News Times Live).
Tough Test Against Villanova Tonight (Norwich Bulletin).
Gay Turning the Corner (Norwich Bulletin).

For our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


From the outset, Villanova/Connecticut was the circled game on the Big East schedule and their first of two meetings this season takes place tonight in Philadelphia. As expected, the stakes are high with both teams 9-1 in the conference and ranked in the top 5 in the nation. Connecticut has won eleven straight games and Villanova has won eight straight themselves.

This will be Connecticut's first look live at the Villanova 4-guard line-up. Mike Nardi missed the last two games for Villanova because he was sick, but he will be back in the line-up tonight. Villanova is definitely due for a good shooting game, but it will have to come against one of the toughest defenses they will face on the season. UConn holds opponents to 36.6% from the floor and just 28.5% from 3-pt range on the season. Of course, as usual, they also lead the nation in blocked shots per game as well.

Villanova is known for their 3-pt shooting, but in their last three games, they have gone just 16-60 (26.7%) from beyond the arc. To their credit, they have continued to find a way to win even when they are off. Excellent on the ball pressure has disrupted opponent's offeses and when the game is close and comes down to a possession by possession game, the Wildcats are tough to stop from scoring because they can isolate any of their four guards in a spread the floor set that really pressures the defense, because it is tough to help and leave one of their excellent shooters free. The experience of their senior guards, Allan Ray and Randy Foye, have also made them tough down the stretch as they have been through it all.

On the other hand, Connecticut is long and lean with as many athletes as some NBA teams. Their starting front court of Rudy Gay, Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong could all see their names called in the 1st round of this year's NBA draft and they have depth with freshmen Jeff Adrien and senior Ed Nelson. Their backcourt is not too shabby either with Marcus Williams, Rashad Anderson, Denham Brown and Craig Austrie getting most of the time, but they are often overlooked with the strength of their front court, but they will be tested tonight, offensively and defensively by the guards of Villanova.

Looking at this game, it really hinges on one player: Marcus Williams. If he is successfully able to get Connecticut into their offense and into their comfort zones, they could really exert their strength's against Villanova. Williams will also have to contend with the Villanova guards on defense and be up to the athletic challenge they will pose. When Williams is motivated and challenged, he usually reponds with some added intensity that makes his game better.

Villanova is going to have to be "on" from beyond the arc tonight. If they are successfully breaking down the UConn guards, they need to make them pay when they kick it back out to the shooters and hit their shots. If they can do this at a good clip, it could force the Huskies to shuffle their line-up a little to match up with their quickness on the perimeter, which would negate some of UConn's advantages inside.

The way UConn has been playing in their 11-game win streak has been IMPRESSIVE. With Rudy Gay asserting himself as the go-to guy and Josh Boone picking it up on the offensive end and getting key contributions from just about everyone else in timely intervals, the Huskies have exerted themselves as the nation's #1 team. Villanova is not going to lay down before the mighty Huskies, however. Their guards are confident and Kyle Lowry brings them a fearless attitude. However, in their 8-game win streak, I just haven't seen them be consistently at the level of the Huskies. Some injuries in that time and sickness might be the reason, however, the UConn depth might be the difference in this one. In one of the biggest variations I have seen, the Pomeroy Computer rankings give Villanvoa a 3-pt edge, however, the oddsmakers have made Connecticut the 3-pt favorite.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Connecticut 76 Villanova 71

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ DePaul

February 11, 2006


DePaul entertains Villanova on Saturday afternoon and the Blue Demons hopes for joining the Big East party next month in New York Sity was dealt another serious blow when they dropeed a 61-60 decision to Providence, at home, on Tuesday night. The Blie Demons find themselves at 2-8 in the conference and are staring at a pretty challenging slate to finish off conference play.

Villanova went out of the conference this week to claim the Big 5 crown with a 2nd half comeback win over rival St. Joseph's. The Wildcats continue to win in the conference, but things have been tough, as they have challeneged in each of their last four conference games, winning all by between 2 and 6 points. So, close games have been the norm for Villanova of late.

For our the rest of our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW

If there was a good time to catch Villanova on your home court, it is probably this Saturday. coming off the normal emotional draining game with St. Joseph's and knowing they have a Big Monday date with Connecticut on Monday night, this is probably the definition of a sandwich game.

Can DePaul be the team to take advantage of it and steal one? Well, probably not with the way the Blue Demons have been playing of late. The DePaul offense has struggled of late, scoring just 47 and 44 points in losses to Marquette (road) and Georgetown (home) and managed just 20 2nd half points against Providence in their latest loss. Facing the ball pressure of Villanova is probably not a good remedy for what is ailing the Blue Demons as ballhandling and decision making with the ball has not been a strong point. I keep waiting for DePaul to regroup and show some life down the stretch, but they are running out of time.

The 4-guard craze of Villanova had an off-night against St Joe's with Mike Nardi out sick, but Kyle Lowry picked up the slack with a 25-pt performance that reminded us all how talented the Villanova "4th" guard is. Nardi could be back for this one and Allan Ray and Randy Foye are likely to find the DePaul match-up to their liking. DePaul does not have much of an inside threat offensively and are susceptible to the Villanova on-the-ball pressure that they will almost certainly put to good use.

It might be only natural for the Wildcats to look past DePaul a little bit. However, the offensive struggles that continue for DePaul do not give me much hope the Blue Demons can take advantage of any potential let down.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Villanova 64 DePaul 52

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Marquette @ Villanova

February 4, 2006


This is an interesting game. Watching the experienced Villanova four-guard line-up take on the Marquette team with their excellent stable of young guards could make for some interesting match-ups.

Not too many teams have the ability to match-up with Villanvoa and be able to survive playing that game, but the Golden Eagles might be able to do so, especially now with the return of Wesley Mathews.

Marquette could very easily go with a line-up that features Dominic James, Joe Chapman, Mathews and Jerel McNeal with Steve Novak and try their luck against Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Mike Nardi, Kyle Lowry with Will Sherida.

For our the rest of our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


Obviously, the Villanova 4-guard line-up will have the edge in experience with seniors Ray and Foye, two 1st team all-league, as well as All-American, candidtaes and the junior Nardi and sophomore Lowry. James is the likely Big East freshmen of the year and McNeal is a definite candidate for the all-freshmen team with Chapman the experienced senior and Mathews rounding back into shape from his foot injury, the Golden Eagles have been banged up of late, but seemed to get healthy late in the game against St. John's the other night with Novak scoring 29 pts and James and McNeal having strong 2nd halfs.

Playing on the road, I do not expect Marquette to pull out the win and with their 6-3 conference start, including a win over UConn, they are on the right side of the NCAA bubble right now. A road upset like this would definitely make a lasting impression on the committee and their schedule has five tough contests against good teams or in tough venues ahead, so it is going to be very interesting to see how this Marquette team keeps their level of play up and avoid hitting any sort of freshmen wall that can happen.

Villanova has skated by for a win in each of their last three games. They have been flirting with a loss in each, but make the plays when they need to, especially when the game breaks down into a possession by possession game because their guards can spread out anyone and take it to the basket for a foul or kick it out for a long range shot.

This game might represent more of a changing of the guard with this years kings of the backcourt in Villanova hosting the future kings of the backcourt in Marquette. I expect Villanova to teach the Golden Eagles a few of the last lessons they will need to take off in the future before they win this game on the road. It will be a fun one to watch, however.

NBE Blogger Preview:

Villanova 80 Marquette 72

Read more!