Basking In The Benefits Part I.

So, as I mentioned in my diatribe on the Henderson family post earlier in the tournament--I was upset with how I couldn't walk into a random sporting goods store wherever I please and find some Villanova gear. Well I am going to try and track to see if there are any changes to that when I go home later this month for a Mets game. As for now, the first change isn't the final four clothes you can buy anywhere, because I'm concerned with lasting value. So as I waited for Tom Mogan to send me the email for student tickets to Detroit three minutes after everybody else got it--effectively ending any hope of getting tickets I went on fathead.com to see if there was a Villanova fathead yet. Nope. Nothing. So I snickered when fathead.com sent me an email saying pick up fatheads for your favorite team in the final four. I opened the email clicked on the Villanova link and was taken to a page that actually exists! Coming Soon! The tide is turning my friends. The tide is turning.

Tyler Hansbrough is a Bastard

Here at Fact on Villanova Sports, we're not afraid to take shots at players or coaches who we think are nothing but pieces of shit. Tyler Hansbrough is one of those people. Behind all the glory and hype, we find nothing but a little bitch who gets inside referees heads and gets all of the "superstar calls". I know Gerald Henderson broke your nose "Psycho T" but i hope Dante Cunningham breaks your heart.. and then runs you over with his truck, like he already almost did to Matsuflex.

More to come on this later.

FINAL FOUR FRENZY

VILLANOVA RIOTS!!!

Alright 'Nova Nation, the Voice here hoping to glean some insight on how you celebrated the big win last night. I'm sure we all have war stories (and videos) of what occurred last night and we here at FOVS want to hear it. So we ask that you post your story or video in the comments and the we will have a poll later this week before the final four to determine who's was the best/funniest/whatever and the winner will be forever remembered in bold in the post following the poll-- a post probably having something to with why UNC owes us this victory due to karma.

There's the Blue Man partaking in the action. Wouldn't expect any less. Photos courtesy of philly.com

Let's Go 'Cats! Final Four!

FUCK PITT

This, my friends, is a game winning shot motherfuckers.... PITT SUCKS NOVAS BALLS



And this is where we are headed

Final Four Mother Fuckers

What the fuck is going on, we called a timeout for that inbounds play are you fucking kidding me? I need a nother fucking beer.

Jay Wright what the fuck was that play

Oh Fuck Thats a 3

COME ON REGGIE

Time out Pitt. Taste it bitches.

AND ONE

Oh God we're in big foul trouble

Oh God we're in big foul trouble

Sit Down DeJuan

Ok so we're down two at half, but we've been looking good. We just need to hit some more of our shots. Now DeJuan Blair is sitting with two fouls, we can take advantage of that. Very disappointing that we gave up the 10 point lead to end the half down, but I'm still feeling good about this, if we come out in the second half like we did to start the game we'll be in great shape.

On another note, Fuck Jim Calhoun, I just watched that interview with him and for some reason I just really hate that guy, no real reason. Fuck UConn.

Are we live blogging this shit or what?

I want a live blog tonight, Fact get on that. I'm feeling real confident tonight, I'm feeling so confident about tonight that I don't even think we'll need our lucky charm to win this game, but I'm gonna throw him up here anyway. I'll see you all tonight in the middle of the Quad on West for the celebration. Take it away T-Pain...

WE JUST FUCKED DOOK UP

Wow Dook sucks sooooo much ass

Plays like this:


And this:


Led to great reactions like this:


And my personal favorite this:


notice Paulus gently rubbing some dude's shoulders.... really straight guys

Duke vs. Villanova Live Blog Tonight at 9:45

Reminder: Live Blog Tomorrow night for the Game

Don't forget tomorrow's live blog for Duke game. We had fun doing the last one (ignore the person posting as fact making very homoerotic comments.) Have a good day, and Let's Go Nova!

Now for your viewing pleasure, some Newspaper articles

• The Boston Globe on our Superstar of a Basketball coach.
• The Sporting News gives reasons why both teams could win.
• Joe Juliano of The Inquirer on the ties between the players on each team.
• Rich Hoffman of The Daily News sends a blast from the past, including a picture of Jay in action at Bucknell.

In other notes, Jay was on Mike and Mike in the Morning today.. They do a repeat of the interviews from 2:00 to 3:00 every afternoon on ESPN2.. It was pretty good.

One More thing, off the topic of basketball. Villanova Head Football Coach Andy Talley has been championing bone marrow donation for some time now and there will be a bone marrow testing drive on the 26th at the Connelly Center. It's not a difficult process, all they do is take a swab from your mouth, no blood required. There aren't nearly enough people in the registry and there can never be enough. Help Coach Talley and the football team fight cancer by going out on Saturday and getting tested!

Taylor King, Villanova's Secret Weapon?

Does that look Like the face of an informant to you?

We all know that Taylor King transferred from Duke this past offseason. Before yesterday I didn't even think about it. Per NCAA rules, he's not allowed to be in the team's travelling party, but he's gonna pay his own way. But what if we can use him to our advantage? Think about this, Taylor King spent an entire year living with these guys, playing with these guys and most definitely learned some of their habits, likes, dislikes etc. For example, what if it pisses Greg Paulus off when people talk about how he went from having a promising football career to being buried on the bench his senior year in college after his decision to play basketball, or what if it pisses Gerald Henderson off if you talk about his Villanova graduate sister. These are all things that we can speculate about and I'm not saying that he'll give secrets like this away, but if he does, it could give us a valuable mental edge in the game. Dennis Rodman was the master of psychological warfare and if a Duke player throws a punch, we know that we have them rattled. I think Villanova can win this game on sheer strategy and execution, but it wouldn't hurt to have some other things to sweeten the pot.

Why Duke Must Die...

I don't want to put the carriage before the horse here and think ab out being in the elite 8 or final four, but just know that I will be putting some big money on Duke getting manhandled this Thursday. Enough about that, let's examine why Duke needs to lose this game.

• Firstly, who else recruited Gerald Henderson? Villanova. Why? His sister was already enrolled here. I know, because she was in my upper level theology class. I give her a pass for dating Mario the R&B singer, who sings one of my favorite songs. However, the rest of her family can seez my deez. Gerald Henderson Jr. = douche. As much as I don't like Tyler Hansborough because he looks like a dumb hick, Gerald Junior intentionally knocked him the fuck out. Gerald Henderson Sr. = double douche. After playing Jay Wright like a cheap whore does Fact for his love and money, and getting a scholarship offer from Villanova, Gerald Senior and his son went to Duke. No Big Deal. But...when you sign with Duke and say, yeah we were thinking about other schools (i.e. Villanova) but we were looking for a higher standard of basketball. Fuck you. Fact check: Last two years Duke had Gerald Junior - second and first round exits. Before he got there- sweet 16. At the same time Villanova has been putting in work: a sweet sixteen and a first round exit too. Before he made his move- elite 8. Suck a dick Henderson family. I'm sure your mother is a wench and the same goes for any other family members I left out.
  
• Taylor King. They didn't want him. We got him. Where's the angst? I don't know, ask the McDonald's All American walking around this campus still pissed as hell at Duke and Coach K for being assholes. I'm not suggesting he give up his year of eligibility to fuck up the Blue Devils this Thursday, but he needs to be the vocal leader these couple of days leading up to the game. These next couple of days are the most important couple of days leading up to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. I think this is the second biggest difference maker in the Duke game. The first is if Scottie actually plays like he should be playing and stops this half assed offense effort stuff. All the retarded ESPN analysts say the way Scottie goes is the way this team goes. It's as if they haven't watched a game in the past 3 weeks. News flash, Scottie hasn't been producing the same he used to and we are still ballin'.
• They get all the press and publicity. When can I walk into a Champs Sports or Modell's wherever I want and buy some Villanova garb--hopefully soon. I mean what does it take. I know we don't have a robust football program (although I pray for one every night), but come on (/GOB voice)! I think we've proven ourselves and will continue to do so this tournament and the coming years (especially next season).

I had more yesterday but the internet was down in the dorm (way to go most wired campus!) and I'm sick and tired. I'm going to sleep until my first class at 6:00 PM. You read that right, 6PM. Yesssss, I love night classes. Go 'Cats, Fuck Duke.

Sweet 16 Preview: East Bracket

Here's an article from sportsillustrated.com previewing the East bracket for the Sweet Sixteen.

Kevin Armstrong talks about Villanova-Pitt being the best matchup, Villanova no longer having homecourt advantage, Dante Cunningham being the difference maker in the bracket, and picking the 'Cats to advance to the Final Four.

SI also previewed the other brackets here: South West Midwest

Elite 8 Here We Come

Just a quick reminder of why we will win on Thursday...

Some Interesting Duke/Sweet Sixteen Articles

Editors Note: I gotta head to class in 20 minutes so I have to make this quick.. Here are some articles relating to the game against Duke or just the Philadelphia media finally giving this team respect. Remember that we'll be live blogging the game on thursday night so stop by with your ridiculous nicknames and even more ridiculous comments.. we might even refer to the game every once in a while.

• John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News writes about the possible effect the men with whistles will have in this game. This is important because Koach K is a ridiculous whiner.
• Mike Kern of the Daily News gives an argument as to why Villanova is in elite company with its recent success
• Former Philly Columnist Dana O'neil of ESPN gives a great recap of the slugfest that was the UCLA game.
• No link yet, but Dick Vitale is excited about this game.. I wonder why?

That's all for now folks, tomorrow or later today i'll do a rundown comparing Duke and Villanova in areas outside of basketball.. Some are inane and others are quite relevant.

Villanova Women Shit the Bed

The 8th seeded Villanova Women's Basketball team obviously doesn't like playing out of conference. They got blown out today by 9th seeded Utah 60-30. You can't justify getting doubled up by a team that you're supposed to be favored over. It showed the weakness in Villanova's game.. If they can't score from beyond the arc, they're utterly hopeless because we don't have the big athletes and post scorers. I really don't care about Women's basketball because two teams seem to win the championship every year. I do however care about Villanova's team because the odds are against them. They Play their games in an empty arena and don't complain about it. The fact that they even made it to the NCAA tournament is incredible. Kudos to the Lady Wildcats.

Game Recap

The plight of anyone in this tournament doesn't matter because if UConn doesn't win.. it would be a huge shocker because they have clearly seperated themselves from every other team in the country.

Nova get Duke in the Sweet 16

So Duke had to sweat out their win over Texas last night as the game was very much in doubt until the last seconds. Now we will face the Dookies in Boston in the sweet 16 on Thursday. We will probably post a more in depth game preview later in the wee but i honestly like this match-up. Dook is not a particularly athletic team outside of Henderson while i think that we have a very athletic team. If we can keep Henderson from exploding and watch Singler and Scheyer on the perimeter we will have a great shot at this. I think our press will also be a key factor in a win as i am not convinced about the ballhandling abilities of the Dook PGs. On offense we must make sure to not get into a shooting contest with them and if we can use our speed to drive on their guards and then make smart passes we should be fine.

• Also a nice article here about our game yesterday and our intesity
  

Villanova makes it 4 out of 5.. UCLA Recap

Editors Note: I know we don't do recaps that often.. but this game actually means something. We're gonna do a Live Blog of the next round game regardless of the team it's against.

It takes a special team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament four out of five years, but this Villanova Team has done it with their 89-69 beatdown of UCLA. The 'Cats gave it to the Bruins but didn't offer them any Vaseline. In my opinion, this is the best game Villanova has played in the Jay Wright era. Reggie Redding was simply outstanding today by scoring 13 points, grabbing six boards, dishing out six assists and getting six steals. Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson each had double doubles. Cunningham finished with 18 points and ten rebounds and Anderson had 10 Points and 11 rebounds. All in all, six Villanova players scored in double figures and Shane Clark came close with eight points. Anyway you slice it, this game was a beatdown of epic proportions.. Once Villanova took the lead, they never looked back. The Villanova players set the tempo of the game and made it a slugfest that UCLA's group of finesse players couldn't keep up with. Along with the Villanova players outplaying the UCLA players, Jay Wright thoroughly outcoached Ben Howland because the 'Cats kept breaking the press that the Bruins were attempting to apply with tremendous ease. While it's great to make it to the Sweet Sixteen, I pray to god that Villanova comes out next game with the same fire that they did in this game.

By The Numbers

• 28- This season's win total, Tying the school record
• 100- The total number of wins for this Senior Class, another school record.
• 1,572- Scottie Reynolds' career point total after today's 11 point effort. Scottie is now 428 points short of 2,000 and 671 short of Kerry Kittles' School Record. His career point total ties him with Harold Pressley for 18th all time in school history.
• 176- Jay Wright's win total since arriving at Villanova.
  
• 4- Wins needed to be champions.
  

UCLGay

Wow, we kicked their ass... they played like a bunch of west coast pussies. As Charles Haley said "Hey you from California right? Well then you must be a faggot." It was a great team effort today with 6 players in double figures which is nice. Oh, and Jason Colenda scored two points.... In the NCAA tourney... that's insane. fact is doing a real write-up as we speak so I wont steal all his thunder. Sweet Sixteen

Villanova vs. American Live Blog Tonight at 7

Be sure to stop by Tonight at 7 and give your opinion/crack jokes.. etc

First ever FOVS Live blog tomorrow night

Yes you read it correctly, our first live blog will be tomorrow night starting at rougly 7 PM lasting until the end of the game. I will be hosting it.. but i'm sure that Matsuflex, The Voice, and possibly Blue Man will show up in one form or another (Blue Man doesn't make too many appearances.. he's like superman with a gayer costume.) We promise you that there won't be any of that coach bashing.. so come here tomorrow and you'll get all you can handle. Bring your best dick jokes and ridiculous nicknames.. You know we like diversity here!

Why the hell do they have the right to call themselves American University?

I have class in like 30 so I have to hurry.. but I have a couple things to update and one thing I'm burning on but it wasn't worthy of a Soapbox entry.

Why does our opponent this week have the right to be named American University? Just because they're in the D.C. doesn't give them the right to call themselves American University. So because of this, I'm proposing a change to the Villanova administration. We should rename our fine institution to Villanova, The American University. That's about all I have to say about that.

So anyways.. News that is directly and indirectly related to Villanova, The American University

• Villanova is a "Study in Consistency" according to the Daily News' Rich Hoffman
• Villanova father John Franco did some work as a spring training instructor for the Mets.
• My least favorite Paper, the Washington Post is trying to drum up hope for our upcoming opponents by saying they're "experienced. Call me when they win. While we're on the Washington Post, check out Dan Steinberg's D.C. Sports Bog.. one of my personal favorites even though I hate D.C. Sports.
• The Evening Bulletin states what we already know.

'Nova Gets #3 Seed

We all pretty much knew that was coming, but now it is confirmed. Our 'Cats will be playing their first two games at the Wachovia Center as the #3 Seed in the East Region. I just filled out my Nova Facts Facebook Bracket, and I'm taking Villanova to win it all in another meeting with Louisville. While that may seem like a very biased pick, outsiders are also saying that we could win it all. Pat Forde of ESPN.com named Villanova as one of nine teams who could win it all.

"Villanova (65). Wild-card pick based on the inside-out production of Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds, the solid coaching of Jay Wright and the commitment to guard for the full 40 just about every game. But Reynolds needs to be hitting from the perimeter or this team can sometimes struggle for baskets. " Full Article

Thats Right, We're the Wild-Card Bitches...

Selection Sunday: Basketball Brackets Reminder

Remember Nova Nation and FOVS fans, today is selection Sunday and you still have time to join the Nova Facts Facebook Bracket Challenge. The winner of the bracket challenge will have their name printed in bold and given a free 2008-2009 Villanova Men's Basketball Media guide. So join, tune in, and post your bracket winners. This is the link. Join up and win!

Factrospective #1: 1995 Big East Championship. Villanova finally does it

Editors note: During the game Len Elmore and Dan Shulman were talking about how Villanova has only one championship and I got a little bit sentimental so this is the start of a new series: the Factrospective series this one covers my first trip to the Big East tournament.

In March of 1995 I was six years old. The 1995 season is when my first memories of Villanova basketball were formed so needless to say, the mention of Kerry Kittles, Eric Eberz, Alvin Williams, Jason Lawson, Jonathan Haynes, Chuck Kornegay, Zeffy Penn or Ron Wilson strikes a special chord with me as this was the Villanova team that I cut my teeth with.

I remember walking down the street to my uncle's house in Northern New Jersey (which was right around the corner from mine) to embark on a trip to my first Big East Tournament game. Little did I know at the time, but this would be the game where Villanova finally cleared the hurdle and won a Big East title. Kerry Kittles played out of his mind that season, averaging over 21 points a game, six rebounds and three and a half assists a game on his way to Big East Player of The Year in what was possibly the finest season by a Villanova player since the great Howard Porter graduated from Villanova. Kittles' chief rival in that game was no slouch either.. the sophomore sensation that he was up against is known to some as Jesus Shuttlesworth, but to the masses as Ray Allen.

So anyways.. back to the story. I got to my uncle's house where he, my grandfather and my uncle's good friend and 1985 National Championship hero Harold Jensen were waiting. Standing at six foot five, Harold towered over my four foot tall first grade self. They were waiting for me to get there so we got in the car and took off for New York. When I first walked into the lobby of the Garden, I can remember being in awe of the electric atmosphere, I still get that feeling walking in during the tournament 14 years later. Back then I didn't have the appreciation i have now for the history of that building. I didn't know that Muhammad Ali had suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Joe Frazier in that building, almost 2o years before to the day of my first experience at the Big East Tournament. I also didn't know that this was the sight of countless great pro basketball games from back when the NBA didn't suck. These facts didn't matter to me at the least. All that mattered to me was that the Villanova Wildcats, a team that meant so much to my family that was chock full of Villanova graduates was about to face the UConn Huskies, a team that had previously been ranked number one in America until Kerry Kittles and Villanova shocked them in Gampel Pavillion.

When I walked into Madison Square Garden I saw pictures of legends like Patrick Ewing and Mark Messier. I had remembered that the Rangers won the Stanley cup the previous season in a dramatic seven game series against Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure and the Vancouver Canucks. But anyways.. enough stalling. Kerry Kittles had been magical that season and he continued his magic in the Big East Tournament that year. In the semifinal he scored 29 points in a 15 point victory over the defending champs Providence who were led by Austin Croshere who had a pretty decent career in the NBA. It was clear from this performance that Kerry Kittles was ready for prime time. The matchup was a great one.. Catholic schol against public school, Kerry Kittles against Ray Allen, Cats against Dogs etc. Kerry Kittles and Jason Lawson were simply outstanding. The Junior guard from New Orleans scored 27 points and the Sophomore center from Olney High School in Philly also added 27 points on 10 for 14 from the field. In the End, The Wildcats clinched their first Big East Championship handily, winning by a score of 94-78. The score of this game reflected the high flying nature of a Villanova team led by Kerry Kittles who would eventually become the all time leading scorer at Villanova, finishing his career with 2,243 points.

Unfortunately, the euphoria didn't last long as the third seeded Wildcats were knocked out in the first round of the NCAA tournament against against 14 seeded Old Dominion, Something that became all too familiar under the tenure of Steve Lappas.

Even with the disappointment of the NCAA tournament, I'm proud to say that I got to witness one of the great moments in the history of Villanova Basketball in person.

ALL HAIL DWEEZEY

Yesterday this man, who goes by a variety of names, saved Nova Nation from an embarrassing defeat at the hands of a Marquette team who was down 16 at the half and was missing their starting point guard. While I am very very happy that we did, eventually, pull out the win, the fact that it was even that close in the end disturbs me. This is another example of a time when our team had a solid lead and failed to close out our opponent like in the first Provy game and the second Cuse game. I hope yesterday was a wake-up call and we can play a focused 40 minutes tonight and down Louisville in and attempt to win only our 2nd Big East Tourney Championship ever after our only other win in 1995.

REGGIE TO DWAYNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK GOD, MORE TO COME

John Saunders and Who?

Just watching the 'Cats beat up on Marquette and then John Saunders had to get all urban on us and drop an N-Bomb...

Soapbox #4: A Toast to Jay Wright

Here at FOVS our Soapbox posts are generally negative in nature but I thought that I'd take a break from that in order to salute our fine basketball Coach. As you probably already know, Coach Wright was named Coach of he Year by the Big East for the second time in four years. While he has his detractors, no one can argue that he's led the 'Cats into a period of unprecedented success in an era where the Big East has grown into a juggernaut that seems to get better each year. If you add to the equation that he's doing it without the aid of extra revenue brought in by a BCS football program like the three teams that finished ahead of the 'Cats are able to take advantage of. Jay Wright is a bonafide superstar and the success that his teams have had are a big reason that Villanova is becoming such an academic juggernaut something that I like to refer to as the "Foye Effect" similar to the Flutie Effect that Boston College witnessed after the Hail Mary Doug Flutie threw against Miami in 1984. Whatever Coach Wright is being paid right now, even in this tough economy it is not enough because the way that he represents Villanova on and off the basketball court is as close to perfect as possible. Congratulations to Coach Wright for being the best coach in the Big East, something I never doubted for the least.

The Not So Great Quarterback Debate

Editors Note: This is our second part of our football spring preview, we plan on looking at more positions down the line as we see fit. I know that we're in the most exciting time of the basketball season but we try to be diverse here at FOVS

Coming off a season where Villanova's football team made it to the second round of the FCS playoffs; hopes are high for next season. The only issue is the starter at Quarterback next season. Chris Whitney, a rising junior is the incumbent starter but Antwon Young who struggled at the Beginning of last season when he was the starter is a hell of a player. There is an old saying in football that "if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks." Andy Talley, the head coach of the Wildcats prefers a wide open passing attack where Quarterbacks and receivers put up gaudy numbers. To longtime observers of Villanova football, the last season and a half was somewhat bizarre because the 'Cats were driven by their defense and running game. We used to be driven by the passing game that would heavily compensate for a mediocre defense. Both of Villanova's quarterbacks have their strengths, but both of them have areas that they can improve on as well.

Antwon Young has protopical size for a quarterback (6'4 215 lbs) and packs an arm that can make any throw on the field. When he's in a rhythm, he's as accurate as anybody, but he has a tendency to make poor decisions. Along with his arm, Antwon is an impressive athlete who can run the Zone-Read option play with good success. Another thing Antwon has going for him is the fact that he's very difficult to bring down in the backfield because he moves around well to extend plays and breaks arm tackles with ease. With his impressive skillset comes a price however. Last season he almost cost Villanova a win against an inferior UPenn team by throwing several interceptions on plays that he should have either thrown the ball away or pulled down the ball and ran.

Chris Whitney is not as physically gifted as Young, but simply stated, he's a winner. When Young tore his ACL in the middle of the 2007 season, Whitney came in as a true freshman and led the 'Cats to the Brink of the playoffs. I don't want to say he's as good as possibly the greatest college football player ever, but if I had to compare Whitney's skillset to anyone on earth the best comparison I can think of is Tim Tebow because he's built like a fullback and runs like one too. In the Richmond game last year after converting a long first down on a broken play by reversing direction and running across the field toward the opposite sideline that the play originated, he lowered his shoulder and absolutely trucked a defender instead of sliding or running out of bounds.. things that a normal minded Quarterback would do. When handing the ball off to a running back, Whitney doesn't just stay in the backfield; he runs up field and tries to cutblock the nearest defender to the ballcarrier. From examples like this it can be stated with a good degree of certainty that Chris Whitney is not just a Quarterback, but a football player and a very good one at that matter. The only problem with Whitney is that he isn't nearly the passer that Antwon is and that can be an issue in games that we may have to come from behind in and he doesn't have as much experience in the offense.

Now to my opinion as to who should start..

While both of these Quarterbacks are very capable players and can win, I personally believe that Young Should be the starting Quarterback next year. The reason isn't because I think he's the better player.. I think he should start because if he does, Whitney could use a redshirt this season and have two more years of eligibility starting in the 2010 season. While taking a redshirt season, Whitney can further learn the offense and it gives the coaches more time to develop him with the guarantee that he'll have two more seasons after this one to lead the 'Cats on their quest to that elusive championship. In the meantime, I think Antwon is more than capable to run the offense and win football games. Whichever guy starts next season, we can be confident that the football team is in good hands for the future because both of these guys are very talented signal callers who bring a unique skillset that lends itself to winning football games.

Nova Ranked #10

After a good final week, Nova finishes the regular season at 25-6 (13-5 Big East), good enough for a #10 ranking in the AP Poll (13 in the Coaches'). Top ten in the country is pretty damn good. We never would have been ranked this high if we hadn't started off the season on the right foot, and I think we all know who to thank for that...


...T-Pain

Frying the Friars Recap

Nova Nation witnessed a fine display of basketball last evening as the Cats locked up the double bye in the Big East by fighting off a pesky Providence team that lingered around and threatened Villanova's lead for 35 minutes. The biggest thing that I think Wildcat fans can hang their hats on in this game is how Jay Wright has conditioned this team throughout the season to never let their foot off the gas. Jay Wright reinforced this message every timeout, chewing out players who weren't getting it done defensively and emphasising better ball control. 

A great thing that doesn't get mentioned as much is the quality of play by Scottie Reynolds every game and every year. People love to look at the numbers he put up his freshman year and ask why he can't continue to put that up. The answer is he is doing what very few players ever learn their entire career and that is to make the team around them better. What he has done this season has been vastly overlooked by a lot of Villanova fans, I believe, and you cannot find fault in his game (okay maybe in the excessive use of the armbar when dribbling prompting offensive foul calls is one fault). 

Scottie may not seem like the most energetic Villanova Basketball player on or off the court but you have never gotten the idea that Scottie has ever felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of a certain game. He has proved that since his freshman year and continues to do so now, a great character trait of maturity that will hopefully have profound effects on the incoming class next year and continue to effect the equally talented Corey Fisher.

Switching from watching the game live and making my own judgments and looking at the television to see ESPN's blind resume feature in regards to the Friar's chances at making the Tournament, I thought a lot about Providence's chances to go dancing this year. The Friars are a team that never backed down from Villanova this year and it is that kind of mentality that would make them so dangerous in the Tournament. However, I think they needed this win. I don't buy the argument as much that since it was on the road to a ranked opponent who has a winning streak at home it shouldn't count as much. I do think that they punched their ticket with a win. I do think that when you lose those kind of ticket punching games and you hope to back your way into the tournament you are playing a dangerous game of optimism. I hope the Friars do get a look by the selection committee, the more Big East teams the better--especially since I have confidence that the Friars can win a first round game. Look at the resume of the Villanova team that made it last year and how they performed--anything can happen with a gritty team determined to will themselves to victory which is what Providence has done much of this year. Bottom line, if Providence makes a halfway decent run in the BET, I think Friar fans who be justified holding their breath.

Misc:

VUHoops always immaculate coverage I & II

Let's Go Nova's player grades and recap

Friar's Blog is a great stop to see what Providence saw and a great blog in general. They recap.

This Villanova team hasn't lost back to back games all year. It doesn't mean much now that we are facing single elimination tournaments for the remainder of the season but it is a testament to how this team can bounce back from defeat and the kind of team that Jay Wright has developed. Remember the losing streak last year? Same team. 

Regular Season Finale: Providence Game Preview

The final game of the season for the 'Cats is tonight against the Providence Friars at 7 PM tonight at The Pavillion. Providence has witnessed a resurgence this year either due to the veteran club they returned or through the intimidation of officials by Jeff Xavier's brother.


Even though the 'Cats handled Providence in a close game earlier in the season at the Dunkin Donuts Center, The Friars have proven that they're a dangerous team in desperation mode fighting for a tournament bid. With some Villanova players possibly thinking ahead, this could very well be a trap game. Providence is not worried about seeding like we are at this point, they're worried about simply making the tournament and not having to settle for the NIT. Playing in the NIT is like a bad rash that doesn't go away and simply winning one game in the NCAA tournament beats winning the NIT by a mile.

Anyways here's a few articles I found interesting while browsing today.

• Joe Juliano of The Philadelphia Inquirer on Shane Clark's role on the team.

• Mike Kern of The Philadelphia Daily News in regards to Big East Tournament Seeding

• The Charleston Daily Mail making a case for Bob Huggins to be Coach of the Year. I'll reserve judgement until someone from his program graduates.

Frank Tchuisi will put off his career as an Akon impersonator temporarily to be an Assistant Coach

anThanks to our good friends over at Vuhoops.com, we have learned that Villanova's resident Akon look-alike and practice fiend Frank Tchuisi (That's pronounced Tweeeeeeeeezy) will be coming back next year as a graduate assistant, undoubtedly to assist in the transition process for Villanova's incoming monster from Benin Mouphthaou Yarou. This was confirmed on Coach Wright's final radio show of the year. By coming back to work long hours and earn menial wages, Frank is putting off his inevitable career as a celebrity impersonator along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We promise you though, he won't be dry humping 15 year old girls like the real Akon.

FOVS Diversity Drive

We know that there isn't enough diversity in the Villanova blogging community so here at Fact on Villanova Sports we have decided to blaze our own trail and invite people from a diverse selection of backgrounds. We already have an angry drunk, someone who is questionably homosexual, a guy who wears a blue fetish costume to games and another who is most certainly a chauvinist pig. We've decided to stir the pot a little bit more and bring in someone with one eye. No we're not bringing in Dick Vitale because he's too busy rimming Coach K. We're bringing in a guy who was born into the mean streets of Detroit, spent his boyhood years in sunny Southern California and currently resides in an affluent suburb of Cleveland. Our chief one eyed correspondent will provide you the reader with commentary on the sports world outside of Villanova and College basketball. I have to warn you though, his father went to Notre Dame and he has two brothers who went to Georgetown so be cautious. If you feel like you can add to our diversity and can contribute something worthwhile.. drop me a line and we'll talk about it.

FOVS Mock Draft: Which Sorority on Villanova's Campus Would You Have House Your Harem?

The rules of this one are simple: serpentine draft. once you chose a sorority, its off the board for everyone else. Villanova sororstitutes only. 2 rounds. Let's get it.

First Pick: Delta Delta Delta (Fact)

They try so hard to convince us otherwise at even at the door of the tri-delt house, but remember: 2 our of every 3 tri delts go down!

With The first pick in the Inaugural FOVS Sorority Mock Draft, I will add the ladies of Delta Delta Delta (with the exception of one.. figure it out). Yes, the Tri Delta's at Villanova are stuck up, xenophobic, drunken, cocaine using bitches.. but we can't forget about the fact that they're hot. Honestly, who gives a shit about personality anyway when the girls look good? If they're mean, so what? You can gag them. I would much rather have a mean hot girl than a nice average looking girl. As for them being xenophobic and stuck up? So what.. I am probably even more xenophobic than they are. When building a harem, you don't have to worry about individual personalities as much as you do group dynamics. Stuck up people get along with stuck up people, simple as that. You can't let the pauper into the country club yada yada yada and so on. The Voice should have something interesting to say about Tri Delta's, but that may be something for another day...

The Voice: Nope, trying not to get killed by any more sorority girls than I already have been, so mums is the word. Plus you cannot exclude anybody from the sorority. You take the good and the bad. But no brainer pick.

Second Pick: Alpha Chi Omega (Matsuflex)

With the tri delts off the board, with the second pick of the second pick of the draft, Matsuflex selects the girls of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. While fact went with the flashy Reggie Bush type pick, I'll go with the more conservative Mario Williams pick. Long swept under the shadow of the bitches of tri-delt, the A Chi O girls are no slackers when it comes to looks and they lack many of the stigmas that are associated with DDD. Also, in my opinion, they will be willing to work harder in order to prove that they are as good if not better than the tri-delts. I'm going to be honest, I don't really know many of these girls but from what I've seen and talked to, they seem a little bit more down to earth than the DDD hoes, that's not to say that they aren't going to be bitchy, just that they will be less bitchy than the DDD girls. And A Chi O has one thing that DDD doesn't have, a set of really hot twins..... and a really hot Russian (Fact can attest to her hotness). So with that i turn the clock over to Blue Man.

Third Pick: Kappa Kappa Gamma (Blue Man)

I was hoping to move up in the draft but my offer of 30 cases of frost gatorade and a one week rental of deep blue sea was rejected. ill take Kappa Kappa Gamma.

One thing is for sure--LL Cool J was not in KKG. Samuel L. Jackson might be.

Fourth Pick: Kappa Delta (The Voice)

Having seen the big three expectedly go in their rightful order, i'm stuck with the remaining mediocrity of sororities. I think it's still pretty much a no brainer though, that Kappa Delta be taken next, if for no other reason than their impeccable senior class. I mean their senior class alone, is better than the cream of the crop of upperclassman in the three sororities already taken.

Fifth Pick: Delta Gamma (The Voice)

Alas, as if choosing one diamond in the rough wasn't hard enough, I must go again. This is where it gets difficult again. DG or Alpha Phi. I think Alpha Phi are a bunch of nice girls, that would never put out. DG on the other hand loves to party hard and play hard, which may be a turn off, because they dominate greek week like tia grant dominates scottie in bed (you know its true). Yet, I will take my chances with the anchor girls.

Sixth Pick: Alpha Phi (Blue Man)

I'll leave adpi on the table for fact and go with alpha fi.

Seventh Pick: Chi Omega (Matsuflex)

There is one hot piece of ass in the sorority that justifies taking all of the other ones with her. Chi Omega. Muahhahaa.

Eighth Pick: Alpha Delta Pi (Fact)

Geez, being stuck with the last pick in the draft is like getting herpes. You won't have to worry about getting herpes from any of these girls because sleeping with them is not an option. If you got one of the picks at the beginning of the round, you at least got some project bitches but in this case, we have no options. I requested a trade, I even offered the pick to someone else. Shit, I don't know.. put me down for ADPi. given my personal experiences, i have to pick Alpha Delta Pi, but like a real draft pick that doesn't pan out, They're probably gonna get cut after mini camp.

And that concludes FOVS first Mock Draft on the topic of Villanova Sororities you would want in your harem. Now that we said our peace, we wanna hear what you have to say in the comments. Debate it out and start from the top--first commenter has first dibs at any sorority. I think there are 10 total, and if you weren't included we are sorry...for you not because of your exclusion but because of the state of your chapter. Enjoy until we get back from break, when the Dining Service Mock Draft will commence.

SoapBox: Memphis

How in the name of God is Memphis ranked #3 in the country? Please someone enlighten me. They have beat one ranked team, Gonzaga, and have lost to Syracuse, a team we beat twice, Xavier and Gerogetown who just sucks (yes I know they beat us but that doesn't mean they don't suck.. besides we only lost by 2 Memphis lost by 9). They play in one of the worst conferences in the entire country and yet, based on the fact that they can beat up on their inferior C-USA opponents, they somehow get to fly up the rankings. I mean last year yes, they did beat some quality non-conference opponents and had a better argument for their rank. But this year.. NO. They're not even blowing out their C-USA opponents that badly, they have actually been somewhat challenged in their crap schedule. Everyone also gets all over Calipari's dick because of his amazing coaching decision to move Tyreke Evans to PG and how they have yet to lose since that move. The reason they haven't lost since then isn't because of Cal's genius, its because that move coincided with the beginning of their C-USA schedule so all that bullshit has to stop. Memphis is just a dirty fucking program. Everyone knows all about their shady recruiting practices and yet nobody seems to care about it. Memphis fans love to talk about how the rest of college basketball is scared to play them and that is why they have to play a weak non-conf schedule. How would one of those fans explain the fact that this year, they played 4 "quality" non-conf opponents and lost to three of them, including to mid-table Big East teams. basically, Memphis is bullshit in every way and yet they are rewarded for it, it seems they are again destined for a high tourney seed and an easier chance for a deep run while more deserving teams who play in real conferences and beat quality opponents have to play tougher teams in the tourney. Fuck Memphis

Soapbox #3: Notre Dame Preview.. Sort of

Notre Dame may be my least favorite school in America.. I hate every single one of their sports from Football to Lacrosse. Why should they be allowed to have an exclusive contract with a major television network to broadcast their football games? They end up receiving much more money than other schools because they don't have to engage in revenue sharing due to their exclusive agreement with NBC. Doesn't that represent a significant advantage over other schools? The Fact that Notre Dame can get away with this is ridiculous. The even worse thing about their arrangement is their membership to the BCS. Why should Notre Dame belong to the BCS when Utah and Boise St., two teams who have won BCS bowl games don't and have to basically go undefeated to get in? Okay, enough with my rant about the favoritism shown toward their football team. Let's get down to basketball. While I hate everything else about Notre Dame (excluding Justin Tuck), I have a tremendous respect for Luke Harangody. I just wish Gody would play games with a paper bag over his head. Man, there are very few players who have been beaten with an ugly stick like him. His eyes look like they're merging together and he's evolving into a cyclops. McAlarney is another player who pisses me off. The only players i can think of who have been busted for pot at Villanova were quietly launched. McAlarney was arrested, found with pot and was able to return.. Bullshit, almost as bad as Syracuse god knows how many other times they've swept it under the rug: see Will Yeatman. Anyways, my prediction Villanova 72 Notre Dame 64