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