Villanova Falls Again

The Villanova Wildcats were eliminated from the Big East tournament after their 80-76 loss to Marquette in a quarterfinal game. The Wildcats had beaten Marquette two previous times this season. This was not a surprising loss for me. Nova has been struggling of late, having lost five of their last seven. At times this season, Nova has looked like one of the top teams in the country. More recently, they have looked like a overrated team that can't defend.

This Villanova team has to pull it together if they hope to get anywhere deep into March. First, they need to consistently knock down shots. Second, the need to limit the turnovers. The defense has been a bit better than the offense. Marquette doesn't have a dominant big man either. Nova's gonna have to tighten up the D if the want to go deep into the Tourney.

Yes this is my first post in a while. I'm gonna ease back into it.

Here We Come Duke!

Villanova will play Duke late Thursday night in a Sweet 16 matchup. This ought to be a close game. Both teams have excellent guards. For Villanova, Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher control the backcourt. Duke gets most of their points from the backcourt of John Scheyer and wingman Gerald Henderson (who's from Philly, no less).

I did pick Villanova in this game, mainly because they are a hometown team. But now that I begin to think about it, the Wildcats have a very realistic shot of sending the Blue Devils packing. These teams are oddly similar. Both teams rely on consistent shooting. I told you about the guards, but both teams also have skilled big men: Kyle Singler for Duke and Dante Cunningham for Villanova. It should be a fun matchup.

There aren't any real cinderella team in this year's 16. You have 12th seeded Arizona, but I don't consider them a cinderella. They are from the Pac-10 and are usually ranked in the top 25. A cinderella can't be from the a power conference like the Pac-10.

It may seem like I am disappointed there is no cinderella, but I'm not. There will be plenty of great games on this weekend. Kansas-Michigan State, Syracuse-Oklahoma, and Missouri-Memphis, just to name a few.