January 12, 2010 –
by Brendon
Those viewers who slogged through Monday night’s two-hour, 40-minute game between Villanova and Louisville are owed a debt of gratitude by both teams and the three officials. It was not a propitious start to the first true Big Monday of the season.
Villanova defeated the Cardinals at Freedom Hall, 92-84, in what was an intensely competitive game, but no one will wish to see it in full again. Forty-four turnovers, 67 fouls (plus a technical on Jay Wright), 94 free-throw attempts — this game had all the flow of a Los Angeles freeway interchange. Highlights only, please.
| Team |
Poss |
PPP |
eFG |
Turn |
Reb |
FTR |
| Villanova |
80 |
1.15 |
0.582 |
0.276 |
0.441 |
0.714 |
| Louisville |
80 |
1.05 |
0.375 |
0.276 |
0.523 |
0.650 |
It’s impossible to get a full grasp of how the game was played from the final score — or even the Four Factors above — but the one thing that is easy to see is that this game was foul-marred. Ten players on each team played at least five minutes, and all but one — Louisville’s Reginald Delk — committed at least two fouls. Nine players committed at least four fouls. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Big East, Connecticut, Corey Fisher, Edgar Sosa, Georgetown, Jay Wright, Jerry Smith, John Cahill, Karl Hess, Ken Pomeroy, Louisville, Maalik Wayns, Michael Stephens, Mike Marra, Pittsburgh, Preston Knowles, Reginald Delk, Samardo Samuels, Scottie Reynolds, Seton Hall, Taylor King, Villanova
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November 19, 2009 –
by Brendon
The Big East is still undefeated — now 35-0 — but the team picked to win the league nearly became the first to lose on Thursday afternoon. Nearly everything went wrong in the first 38 minutes for Villanova, but the final two were all right in the Wildcats’ 69-68 victory over George Mason in the Puerto Rico Tip-off.
Two freshmen, Maalik Wayns and Isaiah Armwood, hit 3-pointers in the last two possessions to bring Villanova back from a late five-point deficit with 1:42 to play. The basket was Armwood’s first of his career, and it came after he was forced into action thanks to severe foul trouble for Villanova’s frontcourt.
The fouls were the main thing that made this game a strange one.
|
Poss |
PPP |
eFG |
Turn |
Reb |
FTR |
| George Mason |
70 |
0.97 |
0.436 |
0.200 |
0.242 |
0.574 |
| Villanova |
70 |
0.99 |
0.434 |
0.243 |
0.452 |
0.434 |
Those free-throw rates are borderline absurd. The two teams combined for 54 fouls committed. Nine players accumulated at least four fouls, including the four Villanova Wildcats who fouled out. Among those four were Antonio Pena, Taylor King and Maurice Sutton or, in other words, all the height in Villanova’s rotation since freshman Mouphtaou Yarou was sent back to Philly with a viral infection. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night, Mid-Majors
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Tagged Antonio Pena, Big East, Chris Wright, Colonial, Corey Fisher, Dante Cunningham, Dayton, Duke, Dwayne Anderson, George Mason, Isaiah Armwood, Jay Wright, Maalik Wayns, Maurice Sutton, Mid-Majors, Mike Morrison, Mouphtaou Yarou, Reggie Redding, Ryan Pearson, Shane Clark, Taylor King, Villanova
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April 3, 2009 –
by Brendon
The last time North Carolina won the national championship, the Tar Heels defeated two teams from the same conference at the Final Four in St. Louis in 2005. Starting Saturday in Detroit, UNC may have the chance to it again. Villanova is the first opponent for Roy Williams team in the national semifinal with another Big East team, Connecticut, favored to win the first semifinal. Just like with the Michigan State-Connecticut semifinal, I’m going to analyze Villanova-UNC based on team matchups.
No. 3 Villanova vs. No. 1 North Carolina (8:47 p.m. ET)
Where Villanova can hurt North Carolina: On the offensive glass. Villanova is a balanced team, one that doesn’t excel at any one thing — except perhaps free-throw shooting — and isn’t awful at anything, though the Cats do send their opponents to the line a bit too much. Therefore, pinpointing a distinct Nova stylistic edge isn’t simple, but it may surprise you that it’s on the offensive glass where the Cats should be able to do some damage to North Carolina. Read More »
Posted in ACC, Big East, National Perspective, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged ACC, Antonio Pena, Big East, Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Danny Green, Dante Cunnigham, Deon Thompson, Duke, Dwayne Anderson, Ed Davis, Final Four, Jay Wright, North Carolina, Reggie Redding, Roy Williams, Scottie Reynolds, Shane Clark, Tyler Hansbrough, Tywon Lawson, Villanova, Wayne Ellington
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March 14, 2009 –
by Brendon
NEW YORK — Fans and members of the media like to construct a basketball team’s character around its ability to play defense. Good defensive teams “try harder,” have “more heart” and “want it more” than their opponents. That may be true in hackneyed leads and on messageboard threads, but, on a basketball floor, defense is built on talent and coaching just as much if not more than offense is.
There isn’t a team more talented or coached better defensively than Louisville, and the Cards proved it again in a 69-55 win over Villanova in Friday’s first Big East Tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Andre McGee, Big East, Big East Tournament, Corey Fisher, Dante Cunningham, Earl Clark, Jay Wright, Jerry Smith, Louisville, Preston Knowles, Rick Pitino, Scottie Reynolds, Terrence Jennings, Terrence Williams, Villanova
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