BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Connecticut

February 28, 2007



Last season this was a battle for the top spot in the conference as both Villanova and Connecticut finished with 14 conference wins and a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This year, things have changed as neither team is over .500 in the Big East through 14 league contests. Villanova is still in the mix for a bid to the NCAA Tournament with their strong RPI rating, but another loss in the conference and they could find themselves behind several other 9-7 Big East bubble teams. Connecticut is just 6-8 in the Big East, so getting to 8-8 is the ultimate goal, but a tough task with Villanova tonight and a trip to Georgetown on Saturday ahead.

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

UConn's Price of Success (Philadelphia Daily News)
Even NIT Berth Looks Grim for UConn (Bristol Press)
Last Gasp for Huskies (Norwich Bulletin)
This Year, Very Different Stakes (Hartford Courant)
'Nova-UConn Remain Intense (Philadelphia Inquirer)
UConn Will Honor Lone Senior Tonight (Norwich Bulletin)


This is definitely a 'bubble watch' game for the NCAA Tournament. Connecticut, at this time, is on the outside looking in, but a win over Villanova and an upset on the road at Georgetown would send the young Huskies to New York city next week with some momentum as they look to make their move in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Many people believed that one big win could ignite the Huskies and they have done some things better of late, bu they still look for that complete game. As of now, many have Villanova on the right side of the bubble, mostly due to a high RPI, but they still need to find a couple wins down the stretch. At 7-7 in the conference, there is little room for error.

The line on this game is 'even' and it definitely looks like it will be a nailbiter. Villanova has the experience edge with three seniors in the starting line-up (Curtis Sumpter, Mike Nardi and Will Sheridan) and Scottie Reynolds, a contender for freshman of the year in the conference. They also rotate a couple athletic forwards in Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham, but from there, the Wildcats become very young and inexperienced, like tonight's opponent.

Actually, nobody is as young and inexperienced as Connecticut, and it has shown often this year. With no juniors or seniors on scholarship, the Huskies have gone to battle in the Big East with eight freshman and 5 sophomores, only two (Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie) with extensive previous experience in the Big East (and they were role players last year). All season long the Huskies have struggled offensively, especially with their shooting and decision-making. Jim Calhoun has been persistent in encouraging his troops to do the little things to help make things easier, but the youngsters seem not ready to grasp those concepts. There is a lot of raw talent, but it needs to be refined and the players need to be stronger, physically and mentally, to compete night in and night out in the Big East.

This game figures to be a tight one. I would be surprised if it is really high scoring. Both teams might play fast, but look for each to defend the perimeter very hard and contest every shot possible. In the end, the Villanova experience and Curtis Sumpter should be enought for the Wildcats to earn the win.


NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 62 Connecticut 58

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIE: Georgetown @ Villanova

February 17, 2007


The Big East tips off Saturday's action with a marquee match-up in Philadelphia when the Georgetown Hoyas make the short trip to meet the Villanova Wildcats. A win on Saturday will move Georgetown into a tie with Pittsburgh for the conference lead with four games to play. Villanova is still trying to solidify their standing in the conference this season and a win on Saturday goes a long way in doing so.

These two teams met in January at Georgetown and Villanova avoided an 0-3 conference start by picking up a very important 56-52 win on the road. The Wildcats forced 21 Hoya turnovers in the contest by extending pressure all over the court. Georgetown has a very thin backcourt and their Princeton-style offense is not designed to run in a hurry, and forcing Georgetown to expend time and energy breaking the press was a key factor in the Hoyas never getting their offense on track in the contest. Despite Mike Nardi and Curtis Sumpter combining to shoot 3-15, Villanova was victorious. On the Georgetown side, the turnovers were the killer, but Roy Hibbert also did not attempt a shot from the field in the entire game and scored hus only two points (2-6) at the foul line. A stat-line of 2 pts and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes by the 7'2 center will not get it done for Georgetown.

In the rematch, the Wildcats will look to use the same formula. They will press and trap Georgetown at every chance they can. Playing at home, Mike Nardi and Curtis Sumpter are nearly guaranteed to have much better games, but will they be able to keep Hibbert from scoring opportunities as well as last time?

After losing to Villanova, the Hoyas turned around and dropped a game to Pittsburgh. However, since then, Georgetown has won eight straight game by an average score of 73-57. Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green have been playing like the two All-American candidates they were hyped to be in the preseason. The effecient Hoyas waste little opportunity on the offensive end and they have been executing at peak capacity in recent weeks. They will look to continue to feed the ball to Hibbert and run more and more of the offense through Green, opening up opportunities for Jonathan Wallace and DeJuan Summers to hurt you as well.

Right now the Hoyas are rolling. I do think Villanova is a quality team, but they will be hard-pressed slowing the Georgetown train as it rolls through Philadelphia on Saturday.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 72 Villanova 62

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Cincinnati @ Villanova

February 14, 2007


Villanova looks tp climb over .500 for the first time this season in Big East play as the welcome last-place Cincinnati to Philadelphia for a conference game. The Bearcats are struggling in Mick Cronin's first season as head coach of his alma mater at 1-9 in the conference and have found themselves almost inventing new ways to lose games down the stretch as well as getting blown out from time to time.

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

Past is Future for UC (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Father Feels Mick's Pain (Enquirer)
Nova's Sumpter Conquers Injuries (Cincinnati Post)
UC Tries to End 6-Game Skid (Enquirer)
Wildcats Offense Better than it Looks, Nardi Says (Philadelphia Inquirer)


Villanova is a 15.5-pt favorite in tonight's Big East conference match-up. The Wildcats will look to use their expererince with three senior starters in the line-up to move over .500 in the Big East. The Bearcats have a lot of athletic ability, but they were a team thrown together late in the process by Mick Cronin and it often shows in their play. There is some talent there, but adjusting to the High-Major world of college basketball has been a trying experience for Mick Cronin's squad.

Things are unlikely to get an easier tonight as Villanova looks to score inside and out and force Cincinnati into turnovers with their agressive trapping defense. The Bearcats will need to take care of the ball and shoot well, especially from beyond the arc, or this game could get ugly.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 76 Cincinnati 62

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Seton Hall

February 10, 2007


Villanova, despite being just 4-5 in the conference, is looking strong in their bid for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have very good numbers in the RPI ratings and, in our conference RPI ratings, they have played the toughest schedule to date in the Big East by a healthy margin. Now, they have to make sure they win the games they are supposed to win and that means getting the job done on the road when they make the short trip to the Meadowlands to face Seton Hall on Saturday.

The Pirates are sinking, losing four straight conference match-ups and their lack of depth is taking a major toll on their team. With Mani Messy recently leaving the club, they are down to just Stan Gaines and John Garcia as their lone big men with Grant Billmeier out for the remainder of the season. As it stands, they have Brian Laing usually playing a big forward position and they rotate four additional guards in and out of the line-up, but freshman Eugene Harvey and Laing rarely leave the floor.

Going small might cause match-up problems for many teams, but Villanova seems to be a team that can handle it. With Scottie Reynolds and Mike Nardi in the backcourt and Curtis Sumpter and Will Sheridan in the frontcourt, they can then mix and match with Dante Cunningham, Shane Clark, Bilal Benn, Dwayne Anderson and Reggie Redding to be a very versatile team. The Pirates will try to speed up the Wildcats and pressure their guards, but Villanova will likely turn around and use a series of traps and 3/4 court pressure right back at them to force turnovers with their length and athletic ability at the forward spots.

Villanova is too deep and can score in too many ways for Seton Hall in this one. The Pirates will likely hang with them because of their all out effort, but over the course of 40 minutes, they will have a few droughts where Villanova will just keep on plugging away and in the end, pull away.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 76 Seton Hall 68

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Louisville @ Villanova

February 3, 2007


One of the things I am looking forward to most on Superbowl Weekend is seeing Louisville and Villanova hook up in Philadelphia. Louisville has thrust themselves back into the mix in the conference and for an NCAA tournament bid by winning four in a row and six of seven in Big East play after opening conference play with a loss at Notre Dame. They still need to improve some of their computer numbers, especially their RPI, and winning on the road against Villanova would help a lot.

Villanova is a strange team, although they are just 3-5 in the Big East, they possess some of the better computer and RPI numbers in the country. However, if they keep losing, their conference record might be the biggest black markon their tournament resume.

I do not think it has been any accident that Louisville has enjoyed a four-game winning streak since Andre McGee returned to the mix after a knee injury looked to wipe out his sophomore season. McGee has not put up great numbers since his return, but for a team that has struggled so mightily with injuries the last year and a half, having him and Brandon Jenkins in the backcourt to help freshmen Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith can not be overlooked. Another ingredient to their turnaround also might be the absence of Derrick Caracter. The continuing saga of their enigmatic freshman big man seemed to be a distraction since September for the club, but they seemed to have been moving on without him, although his return could come at anytime, as could another departure.

Villanova had a nice little run going with wins over Notre Dame, Texas and Providence. Although their best player Curtis Sumpter was limited in the majority of time in those games, not suiting up t all for Texas, the Wildcats came together and looked to be a team on the verge of making a run. However a tough loss on the road to Notre Dame and another one at home to Pittsburgh has Villanova taking another step back. Against Pittsburgh they did get 21 pts and 9 rebounds from Sumpter who definitely looked healthier, but in each game they let healthy 2nd half leads slip away.

Both teams like to get out and push tempo with defensive pressure. Sometimes neither of them will look very pretty in doing so as their games can become a little ragged, especially since Louisville is not one of the better shooting teams in the conference, but they both use their athletic ability to chase down loose balls and get rebounds.

The key for Villanova is to slow down Scottie Reynolds. That is right, slow down one of their own. Against Pittsburgh Reynolds seemed to be going too fast at all times that he went up for wild shots and turned the ball over, he looked nothing like the mature beyond his years point guard that we started to get used to seeing. With Sumpter getting healthier and a nice stream of front court players to match inside with David Padgett and Juan Palacios, this is a good match-up for Villanova if Reynolds makes proper decisions and Mike Nardi and Sumpter to be the senior leaders on their home floor they need.

For Louisville to get a road win against a similar team they need to shoot well. Terrence Williams, David Padgett and Juan Palacios need to make the most of their opportunities and score at a high effenciency rate as Villanova will look to pressure their young guards. I think this Louisville team is coming together very well, but they are running into a desperate team on the road in this one.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 67 Louisville 62

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