BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: MARQUETTE @ VILLANOVA

February 25, 2008



In a matter of a few short weeks, Villanova has bounced back off rock bottom to put themselves back into the NCAA Tournament mix. After losing 77-55 to city rival St. Joseph's, the Wildcats had a five-game losing streak and were 3-6 in the Big East. Talk of the NCAA Tournament was erased from the minds of Villanova fans in replace of hoping they would make the Big East Tournament. However, four wins in their last five games have given Villanova new hope and their win over UConn Saturday adds to their momentum.

Tonight's guest for Villanova is the Golden Eagles of Marquette. Tom Crean's club has won four in a row, all rather comfortably and have positioned themselves solidly in 5th place in the Big East. They have a tough closing three game stretch in the conference (home game with Georgetown sandwiched between road trips to Villanova and Syracuse), but if someone was to falter among the top four, Marquette could steal a bye.

Here are the local media game stories and previews for tonight's game:

The 'D' returns for Wildcats (Phillyburbs.com)
Marquette Men's Basketball Preview (Appleton Post-Crescent)
Eagles Pecial Reserve (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
UConn Win Bolsters 'Nova (Inquirer)

The oddsmakers have pegged the game as a pick-em, but the line has moved to Marquette's favor as they are now listed as 1.5-pt favorites in tonight's Big East contest.

Each team relies heavily on their backcourts to win basketball games. Much has been written about the trip of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews for Marquette, but if your not careful, Lazar Hayward is the one that will beat you. The sophomore forwards has really come into his own as a scoring threat this season and holds his own defensively against bigger frontcourts in the Big East. The Golden Eagles have also gotten more consistent production and play from senior Ousmane Barro in the post and the addition of freshman Trevor Mbakwe from injury gives them another physical and athletic post presence that they definitely needed.

However, the game will likely be decided on who comes out on top in the match-up of guards. I like Marquette's chances because of the defensive pressure they will apply to Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher when they have the ball. I expect them to force a lot of challenged shots. Corey Stokes has shown the three-point stroke he came to Villanova with the reputation of having of late, so the secret is out and look for Marquette to extend the defense and be up under him at all times.

Villanova has a capable forward trio in Antonio Pena, Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark and depth in the middle with Casseim Drummond, but often the frontcourt is forgotton about as VU attacks with their guards. The emergence of Dwayne Anderson has also give the Wildcats a lift. Their offense really needs a shooter like Anderson or Stokes to be a threat from the outside to be the most effective as they rely on a lot of one-on-one dribble penetration from the guards and the kick-out safety valve is needed.

Villanova got a huge win over Connecticut on Saturday, but the deeper guard line-up of Marquette will really challenge the Wildcats' strengths tonight. Look for Marquette to set the tone tonight on defense, limiting easy shots on the perimeter. Marquette's offense has been clicking lately with excellent ball movement for easy baskets, I think that will continue against Villanova tonight. Villanova will likely play zone and force Marquette to make perimeter jumpers. Marquette does have a habit of going cold, if they do, Villanova will be in it to the end. I predict Marquette makes enough from the perimeter to stay out in front and hold on for a tough road win.


NBE Blogger Prediction: Marquette 72 Villanova 65

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: WEST VIRGINIA @ VILLANOVA

February 20, 2008


West Virginia and Villanova is an interesting game taking place at the Pavillion on the Villanova campus tonight. The Mountaineers are on a two-game winning streak following victories over Rutgers and Seton Hall last week while the Wildcats have won two of three following a five-game losing streak.

Here are the local media game previews and stories on tonight's game:


Huggins: WVU Will Make Big East Tourney (Times West Virginian)
Stretch Run Important for WVU (WV Metro News)
Defense is Mountaineers Focus (Daily Mail)
Hahn Happy, Coaching Again (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The Mountaineers are 7-5 and sitting in pretty good shape heading into the Big East's stretch run. However, the schedule is no picnic with four of their final six games on the road and home dates with Providence and Pitt mixed in. The slate of road games begin tonight with a date in Philadelphia to face Villanova.

After a 55-54 loss at Pittsburgh, Bib Huggins was highly critical of his team's play in the clutch. They responded with a couple easy wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall, but expect tonight to be a stiffer challenge on the road and a good barometer to see if their coach's words have pushed them forward.

Villanova has looked much better recovering from a 5-game swoon, edging Seton Hall at home and losing to Georgetown on a controversial foul in the last second. Villanova rebounded from that loss by pounding St. John's over the weekend. The Wildcats have several athletic players and will try to pressure the ball against the Mountaineers. They really need to defend the way they have in their last two games to come up with a victory tonight, losing the WVU shooters like Alex Ruoff, Darris Nichols or Joe Mazzulla would be costly. Each team matches up with the other in the frontcourt, so it could come down to the guards.

Corey Fisher and Scottie Reynolds will be the key in this game. If they can both manage to play effecient offensively together, I think the Wildcats will pull out a win at home. However, those two have not seemed to gel together as one is either on and the other off or, they are both off. In the race to secure a Big East Tournament berth, the Wildcats need this game.

West Virginia is a slight favorite, but I am going to go with the home team. I think the Wildcats will continue to improve defensively and they match-up well inside against WVU. It will come down to how productive Fisher and Reynolds are, I think they have a good game in unison tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 71 West Virginia 67

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: VILLANOVA @ GEORGETOWN

February 11, 2008

Not much time for Georgetown or Villanova to think about their games from Saturday as they are both back in action tonight as Big Monday on ESPN tips off at 7 PM at the Verizon Center.

Here are some of the local media stories on tonight's game:


Wallace Aims to Regain Touch (Washington Post)
Hoyas Troubles are all in Back (Washington Times)
Hibbert Savors His Final Georgetown Games (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Thompson III Has Flourished (Inquirer)


Georgetown got stuck in 'White-Out' conditions in Freedom Hall in the 2nd half of their game against Saturday night and they looked like a car wreck in the process, getting outscored 36-20 after intermission in their 59-51 loss to the Cards. The loss dropped the Hoyas' lead in the Big East standings to a mere 1/2 game over Notre Dame with Connecticut and Louisville closing fast.

Villanova stopped the bleeding from a 5-game losing streak, four of which were Big East games, and got a late three-pointer from Dwayne Anderson to edge Seton Hall 72-70. Villanova was coming off a low-point in their season, a 77-55 loss to city rival St. Joe's in the Palestra. That loss snapped their Big 5 win streak and put their season in serious jeopardy of going straight down the tubes.

The Wildcats responded with a needed victory and Anderson's shot, at least termporarily, saves their season. Now, they hit the road to face Georgetown to try and build on Saturday's win.

It is a tough task for the Wildcats. Georgetown brings a lot of size and experience, two traits that Villanova lacks completely. Villanova will try to counter with pressure and force the Hoyas to rely on three-point shooting. On the road, Georgetown has been susceptible to pressure and poor shooting nights against good teams, but at home, the Hoyas have yet to show that as a weakness.

Villanova will extend pressure and trap the Hoyas before falling back into a halfcourt zone defense. Last season when they needed a win early in conference play, the Wildcats completely stifled Georgetown in the Verizon Center with this gameplan. It was effective in tacking Roy Hibbert out of the game and the pressure really had Georgetown's guards struggling.

Georgetown is a 13-point favorite and that definitely seems like a very high number. Georgetown will want to slow the game, get into their offense and pound the ball inside to Hibbert and work outside from there. Villanova will try to force the tempo, but the Wildcats are not a great shooting team from the perimeter. Scottie Reynolds is struggling with his shot and his shot selection seems to be an area he struggles more with. I do not see a true point guard, although Corey Fisher is a big time talent, he and Reynolds are more offensively minded. Inside, Villanove will have a tough time scoring around the basket against Hibbert, Pat Ewing and Vernon Macklin.

Georgetown should win this game, win it comfortably, but the posted spread could be tough to cover.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 71 Villanova 60

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SETON HALL @ VILLANOVA

February 9, 2008



Villanova entered Big East play ranked in the top 25 and after a road win at Syracuse they were 3-2 and seemed to be a team on the rise. However, five straight losses since, four in the conference and one snapping their record Big 5 win streak, has the Villanove season crumbling out of control.

Seton Hall raised the level of excitement of New Jersey basketball fans with a 5-game win streak that had the Pirates sitting at 5-3 in the Big East and quietly figuring out how many more wins they needed to get on the NCAA Tournament bubble. However, Wednesday night was a reality check that might have added a more sobering blow to their chances.

Hosting Notre Dame at home, Seton Hall hoped to make an impression on the rest of the country. Instead, the Pirates were completely run out of their own building, 95-69, and saw Paul Gause go down with a torn ACL which will cause him to miss the rest of the season. Gause missed several of the games during their 5-game win streak with a broken hand, but his importance to the SHU line-up as a secondary ballhandler and defensive wizard will be missed in the longrun. Eugene Harvey is asked to play a TON of minutes in Bobby Gonzalez's pedal to the medal style, something without Gause for the season might have to be re-adjusted.

However, the Pirates have little choice but to keep trying to go full-steam ahead. They are a team without a power forward, using 6'5 Brian Laing in the position. Laing is one of the most productive players in the Big East, but he is sometimes asked to play the role of the biggest Pirate on the floor. John Garcia is their (usual) starting center, but his knee problems are not in the past. Mike Davis has not developed to Gonzo's satisfaction, leaving Augustin Okosun as the big man that is the most consistent, yet, the most raw.

For now, the Pirates are likely to become a 'chuck n duck' attack behind snipers Jamar Nutter and Jeremy Hazell. Nutter is a notoriously streaky shooter, but this style should keep him involved and the lack of options will likely keep him from disappearing. Hazell can shoot lights out from anywhere, especially at home, and he loves to play that role, but he can go 2-12 from the arc of 8-12, just not sure exactly which it will be.

Harvey and Laing will continue to produce, and on the games Nutter and Hazell and hitting their quick pop three's, the Pirates will throw a scare into anyone. How long can they keep up the attack? I am not sure...but, their schedule is favorable down the stretch.

As for Villanova, they are going through some serious growing pains. There is not a senior on the roster and losing three senior starters from last season definitely has had an impact. Jay Wright received a lot of attention with his four-guard line-up that went to the Elite 8 a few years ago and his offensive system seems to still be centered around individual guard penetration with kick-outs to the shooters. Problem is, their best penetrator is also their best shooter in Scottie Reynolds and the rest of the team is not very good ad shooting the three-point shot. Freshman Malcolm Grant can be instant offense, or he is nowhere to be found. Classmate Corey Stokes is a deadly shooter, but is having trouble finding a way to get his shot off in the Big East (slow release, not very good at creating his own shot) and Corey Fisher has shown the ability to score, but like Reynolds, the ability to involve others can be improved upon.

Add those factors to the fact that Villanova still lacks any go-to offensive players in the paint and you have a team set-up to struggle until they figure things out. They have several impressive forwards, but the Villanova offensive scheme does not involve them much. Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena are expert garbage men inside and Shane Clark, who is battling nagging injuries, can spot up for a shot, but the opportunities are limited. I do like the contributions Casseum Drummond can potentially give them, especially in a game like this one, he could be a difference.

With all that said, Seton Hall is likely to bring a style that is comfortable for the Wildcats to play. Villanova has hit rock bottom, following their loss to St. Joe's on Monday night, sometimes that is the most dangerous a team can be. With Seton Hall, Villanova is unlikely to have to worry about long defensive possessions or running a lot of half court sets...if the game plays out in the style both teams tend to play, it should be a high scoring affair and I think Villanova has just enough of a offensive advantage to hold off SHU.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 83 Seton Hall 75

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SYRACUSE @ VILLANOVA

February 2, 2008



These two teams have already met this season, with Villanova picking up a surprising 10-pt win at the Carrier Dome. Since that game, the fortunes of both teams have changed pretty dramatically.

Syracuse followed the Villanova loss with a heartbreaking loss at Georgetown in overtime, a game that SU looked like they were about to steal, only to see the Hoyas steal it back. I t looked like things were about to get worse for the Orange when it was announced freshman Antonio Jardine was suspended from the team indefinitely for violating University code. However, even just using six scholarship players, the Orange pulled together and gritted out a win over Providence and got a victory over DePaul.

On the other hand, Villanova has flamed out since their win over SU. The Wildcats were have lost back-to-back-to-back games to Rutgers, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, all by double digits. The Wildcats are not a great shooting team and they have little size upfront, although the return of Casseim Drummond shoul dhelp as he gets back into game shape.

Syracuse finally found a way to win on the road in the Big East as Arinze Onuaku carried the load for the Orange in a win over DePaul. The big man hit 10 of 13 shots and rescued the rest of SU from a poor shooting night. This is already SU's 10th Big East game and they have been doing this short-handed because of injuries to Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins and roster attrition with Josh Wright (academics) and Devin Brennan-McBride (injuries). The Jardine suspension was expected to break the camel's back, but Jim Boeheim is not in the Hall of Fame for nothing and players like Dante Greene, Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris are highly talented ballplayers.

Winning in the road in the Big East takes 100% mental focus, playing all these games in such a short time frame can drain some of that focus from even the most experienced teams, let a lone one as young at SU. With Villanova absolutely desperate for a win and expect them to use every kind of defense to confuse and frestrate the Orange, a motivated performance from the Wildcats should allow them to protect their home court. Scottie Reynolds should be able to find his spots against the SU zone and more energy on the defensive end should lead to other offensive opportunities.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 74 Syracuse 70

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