BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SOUTH FLORIDA @ VILLANOVA

March 5, 2008


Villanova looks to get back in the win column tonight when they host South Florida, fresh off their first Big East road win...EVER...at Rutgers over the weekend.

Villanova had some NCAA Tournament hopes dancing in their head recently, however losses to Marquette and Louisville pretty much squashed those hopes. However, finishing strong heading into the Big East Tournament can breathe some new life into the Wildcats.

Unfortunately for Stan Heath and the Bulls, the season looks to be winding down this week with no conference or post-season tournament bid, again. So, this is pretty much their season and expect the bulls to go out with a strong effort.

Here are the local media previews and game stories on tonight's Big East match-up:

USF Pitches Jones for Big East Award (St. Petersburg Times)


Not much on the 'net on this game this morning. Villanova will look to pressure South Florida, resulting in easy scoring opportunities for the Wildcats. The guard play for Villanova, led by Scottie Reynolds will have to come up big tonight to offset the inside factor of Kentrell Gransberry for the Bulls. Nobody on the Villanova roster, who is healthy, is likely to match the bulk and size of Gransberry inside, so Villanova will try to disrupt the USF offense by extending pressure and using their quickness.

With Dominique Jones finding his scoring touch and Jesus Verdejo becoming an more consistent offensive threat, USF has looked better lately, especially at home, but they finally were able to get over the hump at Rutgers this weekend. They had some near misses at Cincinnati and recently at home against UConn and Seton Hall, so, they could easily have been in the Big East Tournament mix, but some missed opportunities have cost them.

Villanova went through a really rough stretch, bottoming out with a 22-pt loss to city rival St. Joe's. The young Wildcats have played better lately as well, but their last two losses have halted the momentum they had when they climbed back to .500 in the Big East. They still have a shot to get back to .500 in the league and cling to slight hopes for an NCAA Tournament opportunity.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 73 South Florida 66