BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Pittsburgh @ Villanova

January 29, 2007



The Big East's Keystone State Rivalry did not take place last year in the regular season as Pittsburgh and Villanova did not meet until the Big East Tournament semifinals at Madison Square Garden. This year, the lone match-up takes place tonight at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and in front of a national television audience on ESPN's Big Monday.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:


Pitt's Cook Has Hoops in his Blood (Philadelphia Daily News)
Pitt's Cook Finally Heads Home (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Pitt's Aaron Gray is on Nova's Mind (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Young's Scoring Touch Returns, Pleases Dixon (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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


The Pomeroy Computer seems to be warming up to Pittsburgh as they have climbed up to #9 in the rankings, however, the computer still predicts Villanova to be a 1-pt winner tonight and the oddsmakers seem to agree as Villanova is currently listed as a 1.5-pt favorite in tonight's match-up.

Pittsburgh will hope to use Aaron Gray's size edge over the Villanova frontline to their advantage by feeding the ball into Gray often and running the offense through him. Gray is a very good passer and the Panthers are always one to make the extra pass, so if Villanova decides to double Gray, look for the big man to find the open man and for Pitt to move the ball for a clean look. This year, Pitt leads the Big East in 3-pt shooting percentage, shooting 43% in conference play from beyond the arc, and 40% overall on the season. If Villanova decides not to double Gray, he will look to use his variety of post moves and size to score over Villanova.

When the Wildcats have the ball, they will look to move Gray away from the basket. Outside of Gray, Pittsburgh is not a great rebounding team, so getting Gray out of his normal area will open the lane for Villanova and give them room to crash the boards. Mike Nardi and Scottie Reynolds are dangerous shooting from deep and when they are hitting Curtis Sumpter finds more room to do his thing. When Sumpter playing small forward, he has a huge advantage over Mike Cook, who is still coming along defensively in the Pitt system. Sumpter, however, has been hobbled the last week with a sore leg and the quick turnaround from a game at South Bend on Saturday could be a tough task for allowing the injury to heal and be healthy for tonight's game. This might be the key match-up in this game.

Villanova is coming off a tough road loss at Notre Dame while the Panthers cruised to an easy win over St. John's on Saturday. Villanova uses several different pressure defenses that could cause Pittsburgh some problems when the Wildcats look to go 3/4 or full court pressure. Ronald Ramon and Levance Fields are very good ballhandlers and decision makers (evidences by Pitt leading the conference in assist to turnover ratio in conference play at 1.46:1), but they are a little undersized and if trapped, they could run into some trouble. Once they break the trap, Pittsburgh should be able to find good shots against Villanova.

This is a really tough game. Villanova is an excellent free throw shooting team, shooting 74% in conference play (2nd in the Big East), while Pitt is at just 64% (13th), so in a tight game, which this is expected to be, that could possibly come back and bite Pitt. However, I feel these offenses are similar, but Pitt is the better defensive and rebounding team. With a hobbled Curtis Sumpter, Pitt should have enough to get a win on the road in this one.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Pittsburgh 72 Villanova 67

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Notre Dame

January 27, 2007


Villanova and Notre Dame meet for the second time in 10 days when they convene on the Notre Dame campus on Saturday for a Big East conference match-up. Villanova hosted Notre Dame on January 17th and entering the game the Wildcats were just 1-3 in the conference and were in desperate need of a win. Since their 102-87 win over the Irish, the Wildcats have also taken care of Texas and Providence and are suddenly one of the hottest teams around. The road woes have continued for the Irish since their loss to Villanova, dropping a 71-68 decision at St. John's in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The Irish do remain undefeated at home, 14-0, on the season, but this will be their biggest test at home since opening conference play.



Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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



It has not been a good week for the Irish. Late Monday as the team was arriving in New York City for Tuesday's match-up with St. John's, it was learned that their sophomore point guard Kyle McAlarney would not be available for them this season as he was suspended from the University after his late December arrest for marijuana possession. Then, on Tuesday, the Irish were beaten by the Red Storm on a 3-pt shot in the last 10 seconds by freshman Larry Wright of the Redstorm. The Irish are going to have to pick up the pieces as they head back home and get back on track.

Where this game is on the schedule for the Irish also makes it one of utmost importance. With a three-game road stretch following this game with trips to Syracuse, South Florida and DePaul, the Irish will need a shot of confidence to conquer their road woes. However, Villanova is a tough match-up for them as they are a team that shoots as well from the arc and has the ability to pressure the young Irish point guards into turnovers and into a quicker pace than they might be looking to play.

One thing that might fall squarely into Notre Dame's favor is the health of Curtis Sumpter. The 5th year Villanova senior who missed all of last season with a knee injury missed the VU win over Texas and was limited in their win over Providence because of a nagging muscle pull in his leg. Reggie Redding took a lot of his minutes against Providence and would be called on again to match-up with Irish leading scorer Russell Carter, who scored 32 of ND's 68 points at St. John's.

The Irish will look to use Rob Kurz and Luke Harangody inside to open up a lane for Carter and Colin Falls to shoot. However, the Wildcats will counter with Will Sheridan and Dante Cunningham concentrating on rebounding and defense inside. Mike Nardi and Scottie Reynolds picked up the offensive slack for Sumpter against Providence and should fare well against Notre Dame.

The Pomeroy computer likes Notre Dame by 5 in this one. It should be a tight game. I think the Irish have been playing a bit over their heads throughout the season and Villanova seems to be coming on strong. If Sumpter was healthy, I would have no reservations about siding with the Wildcats, still, I think they have just enough depth and a little more well-rounded in the backcourt to get this done on the road.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 78 Notre Dame 74

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Providence

January 23, 2006


In what is a VERY important game to both teams, Providence and Villanova hook up in the Dunkin Donuts Center in downtown Providence for a Big East conference match-up. The Friars have gotten off to a 3-2 conference start, winning all three games in the 'Dunk' in Big East play. Villanova is off to a 2-3 conference start but have been mighty impressive in their last two outings, beating Notre Dame 102-87 and out-lasting Texas 76-69 on Saturday without Curtis Sumpter.

Here are some of the pregame stories and articles found on the internet on today's game:


Preview: Villanova @ PC (Providence Journal)
Nardi's New Approach (Centre Times Daily)
Young Cat Becomes a Leader (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Aggressive Style Has Kept Wildcats Lean, Mean (Providence Journal)

For Providence, having this game at home makes it a must-have. After falling in back-to-back games to Louisville and Seton Hall on the road, the Friars returned home and righted the ship against lowly Rutgers. The Friars have a little bit of everything with athletes (Herbert Hill, Weyinmi Efejuku), toughness (Geoff McDermott, Jonathan Kale) and shooting (Sharaud Curry, Brian McKenzie, Dwain Williams). They also get some production off their bench, but they still need to improve defensively and in taking care of the basketball. Turnovers killed them against Seton Hall and led to them falling behind by a lot early against Louisville. Tonight, they will need to take care of the ball and for Curry to do a better job of getting everyone involved first and then getting his offense secondly.

There is a question on the health of Villanova star Curtis Sumpter, which worries me about this game. Sumpter is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Wildcats, but in his absence another star may have been born as Scottir Reynolds took control of th egame for Villanova, scoring 26 points and that was following a 27-pt effort against Notre Dame. The Wildcats are going to need a good floor game from Mike Nardi and for him to hit some shots and see production from their frontline of Shane Clark, Dante Cunningham and Will Sheridan for them to get a win if Sumpter is out of the line-up.

I have seen Providence and Villanova both favored by a point, so the game is essentially a 'pick 'em' contest. Without Sumpter, I do not see Villanova being able to score enough on the road in this contest. However, if Sumpter is able to play, he rounds out the Villanova attack and gives them a little extra rebounding which should lead them to a win. It is a cop out, but I see a close game either way with Sumpter being the difference.

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ Villanova

January 17, 2007

Villanova has some work to do after a 1-3 start in the Big East and will look to get back on the right track tonight when they host the surprising Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Irish did not fair too well in their lone conference road trip, a 66-48 loss at Georgetown, so the Irish will look to reverse that trend tonight.

Here are the pre-game stories and previews from the internet:


Irish Face a Different Villanova (Chicago Tribune)
Irish Face Wildcats in their Own Zoo (south Bend Tribune)
Irish Trip to Pavilion a Chance for New Memories (Journal Gazette)
Paulsbonor's Carter Leads Surging Notre Dame (Courier Post)
Russell Carter: Captain of ND's Destiny (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Irish's Kurz finds Hard Work Key to Success


Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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


It is just the fifth conference game for the Wildcats tonight, but it is hard to believe that this is not one they must have when they host Notre Dame at the Pavilion tonight in a game shown on ESPNU. Villanova is coming off a disappointing loss to Syracuse at the Dome on Saturday and is still trying to find their footing this season. Senior Curtis Sumpter is back and healthy leading the way, but he has not been getting consistent help from their frontcourt, mostly because the Villanova attack is still perimeter orientated and without Kyle Lowry, Randy Foye and Allan Ray, it is not nearly as effective. Shane Clark, Dante Cunningham and Will Sheridan have all had their moments, but the Villanova game plan has not concentrated on them consistently. Senior Mike Nardi and freshman Scotty Reynolds are both dead-eye shooters, but Villanova is too dependent on having them be 'on' to win. The only exception was in their victory at Georgetown when their 3/4-court and full court pressure forced Georgetown completely out of their comfort zone offensively, they will probably unleash a similar defensive gameplan tonight.

Notre Dame has started out with three of their first four conference games at home and did exactly what they needed to do, win them. The Irish have held serve against Louisville, West Virginia and Seton Hall, their only conference blemish, a road disaster against Georgetown. Villanova will bring a similar defensive ability with some athletic and long frontcourt players and will look to trap and pressure the Irish ballhandlers. At this point, freshmen Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples are their main ballhandlers while Kyle McAlarney remains suspended. This is a match-up that Villanova will like to exploit and test the youngsters ability to control tempo when being pressured. With Luke Harangody and Rob Kurz, the Irish frontcourt is more effecient than their counterparts from Villanova, but the Wildcats' group will pose a big challenge with thier efforts on the defensive end and the boards. This is a nice match-up to watch develop throughout the game.

I look for a big effort defensively tonight from Villanova. The Irish can shoot the ball and some 3's from Falls and athletic plays by Russell Carter will keep them in it, but Curtis Sumpter is the best player on both teams and playing in the cozy Pavilion should put the Villanova perimeter shooters in their comfort zone.

Villanova is forecasted as a 1-pt winner by Pomeroy and a 3-pt favorite by the oddsmakers.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 67 Notre Dame 61

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Syracuse

January 13, 2006



After picking up a couple road wins in their last two conference games, the Syracuse Orange return home to host the Villanova Wildcats. Syracuse won at Marquette and Rutgers in their last two games after opening the conference with a loss to Pittsburgh in the Dome. The Wildcats dropped their first two conference games (@ WVU, vs DePaul) before going out and literally stealing one at Georgetown.

Look for the Wildcats to try and pressure Syracuse point guard Josh Wright much like they did against Georgetown with constant pressure in the 3/4 court and full court traps. Syracuse is not a deep ballhandling team and they are not one of the better decision-making teams in the conference. Offensively, the Wildcats are a little too dependent on the 3-pt shot and one on one skills, which makes them a little inconsistent and will find the 2-3 zone of the Orange tough to crack. However, if they can get their shooting touch down at the cavernous Dome, they could light it up from the perimeter.

Syracuse needs a good game from Josh Wright, not really in terms of scoring or shooting, but he needs to handle the pressure and get Syracuse in position to score. Demetris Nichols is shooting just 42% in his three Big East contests and Syracuse will need for him to have a big game to counter the production we can expect from Curtis Sumpter. It is a key game for both teams as SU looks to seperate itself from the middle of the pack and Villanova looks to bring them back to the middle with the rest of them.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 62 Syracuse 58

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Georgetown

January 8, 2007


The 2007 edition of ESPN's Big Monday debuts tonight when the Villanova Wildcats travel to the nation's Capitol to meet the Georgetown Hoyas. In the first week of conference player, the Wildcats did not fare too well, dropping both of their contests, losing on the road to West Virginia and at home to DePaul. While Villanova struggled, Georgetown looked mighty good in dismantling Notre Dame at home.

Here are the pre-game stories and previews from around the internet:


Villanova: Don't Count us Out Yet (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Road is Looking Rough for 'Nova (DelCo Times)
Thanks to a Jolt from Ewing, No Energy Shortage for Hoyas (Washington Post)

Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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


In the preseason, Villanova fans probably envisioned a 2-0 conference start when looking at the schedule for their Wildcats in Big East play. Once the games began, Villanova finds themselves at 0-2 with a pair of road games on tap this week agaianst Georgetown and Syracuse as they try to dig out of their hole. It is not going to be easy, especially tonight when they have to face Georgetown's intimidating frontline and defensive presence that throttled the high scoring Notre Dame Irish this past weekend.

All around, this looks to be a bad match-up for Villanova. Georgetown likes to make the defense play for a full 30 sceonds on one end and excels at slowing the opposition's attack on the other end with a confusing match-up zone or a man to man that features great size and length in the frontcourt. Against DePaul, Villanova struggled as they always seemed to be playing too fast and first and foremost, they are still in love with the 3-pt shot, although they do not have their four-guard line-up this year.

Georgetown had some questions entering Big East play, but they put many of them to rest as they completely drubbed Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. The Hoyas raced out to an 18-2 lead before the Irish knew what hit them and they just sucked the life out of them to complete the victory. The Hoyas have the ability to defend, rebound and run with the best of them and when they are at their best, you feel like you have to score on every possession just to stay in the game. Not a good match-up for Villanova.

The Hoyas can go inside and outside, but their 3-pt shooting is one the keys to their attack as they spread out the floor. Sometimes, they seem to fall in love too much with the perimeter shot, but they should dedicate themselves to going insode to Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green and hit the boards. The Wildcat frontline is not bad, just under utilized, especially offensively. Villanova is led by Mike Nardi and Curtis Sumpter, if the pair of seniors are on, then the 'cats will stick with anyone in the league. Georgetown's defense will key on them and see if anyone else can beat them on the road, in this instance, that is unlikely.

As a 5-pt favorite and a 7-pt predicted winner by Pomeroy, we look for the Hoyas to make it two in a row to start league play and sending Villanova a little deeper in the hole.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 69 Villanova 61

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DePaul @ Villanova

January 6, 2007


Neither coach, Jerry Wainwright of DePaul or Jay Wright of Villanova, was very happy with the offensive execution of their team in their Big East openers earlier this week. Wainwright was actually satisfied with his teams effort, but their shots did not fall in a loss to St. John's in Madison Square Garden. On the other hand, Jay Wright kept his team on the Coliseum floor to let him know he was not in favor of their approach to the game in their loss to West Virginia. Both teams should have a little extra bounce in their step when they meet in Philadelphia on Saturday.

I look for Villanova to come out sharper in all aspects of the game Saturday. Jay Wright was very displeased with his team's play and I am sure the point was continually driven home to his team on their return to Philly following Wednesday's loss. The Wildcats nearly came all the way back from a 22-point halftime defecit, but they dug themselves too big of a hole as WVU hit the key shots to hold them off.

Curtis Sumpter made a successful return to Big East action, scoring 21 pts against WVU and he will look to take advantage of a favorable match-up in this game to lead Villanova to victory. Look for Mike Nardi to rebound from a poor game as VU matches up well with DePaul's talent.

DePaul could not put the ball into the ocean if they were standing on one of the many piers in New York City on Wedensday. The were awful from 3-pt range and from the foul line, too. Sammy Mejia followed up his 40-point effort against Northwestern State with a clunker and the Blue Demons as a whole will be looking for redemption.

In this one, I think Villanova returns home and is in their comfort zone and earns their first win of the Big East season.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 69 DePaul 63

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ West Virginia

January 3, 2006


West Virginia looks to continue their winning ways at home when they host the Villanova Wildcats tonight in a Big East conference match-up. The Mountaineers are coming off an 81-71 win over Connecticut and look to go 2-0 already in the Big East. This will be the first Big East game of the year for Villanova and marks the return to Big East action for 5th-year senior Curtis Sumpter. Here are the preview articles from around the internet:

Big East Season Starts for Villanova (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Nova Takes Show on the Road (DelCo Times)
Sumpter Back and Strong for 'Nova (Charleston Gazette)
Cats out of the Bag: Big East's Forgotten Team (Covers Canada)
WVU Seeks 7th Win in a Row Tonight (Register-Herald)

On Saturday, a charged-up crowd led to an intimidating atmosphere are West Virginia rode the wave of energy to defeat Connecticut 81-71. The experience was very new to the young UConn team, that is something that should not impact tonight's guest in Morgantown: Villanova. The Wildcats have three senior starters with Mike Nardi (15 PPG and 4.5 assists/game), Will Sheridan (7 PPG, 5 rebounds) and 5th-yr senior Curtis Sumpter (19.7 PPG and 6.7 rebounds) leading a much more experienced group to Morgantown. Villanova also shoots over 78% from the foul line as a team and 38% from 3-pt range. They do not turn the ball over very much and are a solid rebounding team.

The young Mountaineers are going to have to deal with getting ready to play at a high level again after the emotional high of their win against Connecticut. They will not be catching the Wildcats by surprise tonight as the word is out that WVU is quite good. Villanova (according to the RPI) has played a pre-conference schedule that is rated the 21st toughest in the country, compared to WVU's that is rated 313th. WVU is led by senior Frank Young, who is averaging 14 PPG and is coming off a season-high 22-pt performance against Connecticut. Sophomore Joe Alexander, who will have the tough match-up of going against Curtis Sumpter, averages 12.6 PPG and 5 rebounds and uses his length and athleticism to create match-up problems in his own right. The Mountaineers will still look to launch close to 30 shots from beyond the arc and will rely on turnovers and poor shots from their opponent to make up for their lack of rebounding. The problem is, I do not see this Villanova team engaging WVU with many ill-advised shots and poor ball-handling with thier expereinced point guard, compared to UConn on Saturday.

The vegas line currently is sitting at -2 in favor of West Virginia and the Pomeroy ratings show WVU to be a 6-pt winner. I think we have an upset here as WVU comes out a little flat and it is Villanova looking to make their statement that they are the forgotten team in the mix.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 75 West Virginia 70


What do you think?

Read more!