Milestones: Class of 2011

The Wildcat faithful will no doubt thank the three players whose careers on the Main Line ended with the loss to George Mason last month and will graduate as members of the Class of 2011 next month. They leave behind a program that had reached an uncertain crossroad, but whose foundations are firmly set and ready to take the next step. Consider that:
 1. They went 14-2 in the Big 5, matching the second-best four year record (class of 2010), compiling a 0.875 winning percentage.
 2. They made four consecutive appearances in the NCAA post season tournament (the fourth consecutive class to finish each of their seasons with an NCAA appearance).
 3. They won 98 games over the course of their career, ranked third in most career wins by a class behind the class of 2010 (99) and the class of 2009 (102). The Class of 2011's winning percentage is 0.705 on a 98-41 record. They are the 25th class since 1939 to compile a career record of 0.700 or better.
 4. The first time in Villanova history that four consecutive classes have won 20 or more games per season every year during their career.
 6. The first class to graduate three 1,000 scorers.

Some Individual Numbers
The trio proved to be very prolific scorers...

						VU
Player	FGM	FGA	3FGM	3FGA	Pts	Rank
Corey Fisher	530	1284	161	473	1672	13
Antonio Pena	410	801	4	16	1100	51
Corey Stokes	413	1008	264	677	1315	33

...some of their other career stats...

			Rebounds
Player	Gms	Min	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	Stl	Blk	Comments
Corey Fisher	138	3662	76	258	334	487	174	10	#6 Assists; #11 Steals
Antonio Pena	138	3236	251	519	770	152	95	67	#13 Rebounding; #36T Steals; #14 Blocks
Corey Stokes	134	3298	93	345	438	123	88	34	T37 Steals

The annual Men's Basketball Banquet (Wednesday night, 4/20 6:30pm at the Pavilion) should be a great send off. Also saying goodbye at the banquet will be Assistant Coach Chris Walker, who is, according to Jeff Goodman, headed to Texas Tech as an Associate Head Coach for Billy Gillispie.

George Mason Post Game: Closing Out

The Last Three Minutes of 2011
Up 54-48 with 3:05 to play, George Mason's Cam Long missed a three point attempt rebounded by forward Mike Morrison. The tallest Patriot traveled however and gave the ball back to the Wildcats. Corey Fisher drove the length of the floor at full tilt, a tactic Villanova fans have seen many, many times over the senior's career. So too apparently, the Patriot's staff, as they broke down Villanova game films while prepping the team. A charge and turnover. Though Cam Long would again turn the ball over on GMU's next possession, the Patriots seemed to have the momentum as Villanova's empty possessions were mounting. Fisher missed another three point attempt, rebound (again) to Cam Long, and George Mason's Isaiah Tate scored on the next possession to narrow the gap to 51-54 with just under two minutes left. After a timeout the Patriots shifted strategies and fouled Antonio Pena on Villanova's next possession. Two misses, a GMU layup with an "and one" and the score was knotted at 54. Another foul put Mouphtaou Yarou on the line; another empty free throw line possession, two Patriot misses followed by offensive rebounds, and GMU's possession ended with a dunk by Morrison and a two point Mason lead. Corey Fisher, fouled while attempting a three, drained all three free throws to put Villanova up by one with 31 seconds left, but the Wildcats could not get a stop, allowing Luke Hancock to hit a three 10 seconds later. On the seven possessions in those last two minutes George Mason scored 13 points for 1.86 points per possession. The Wildcats responded with three points with their last seven possessions of 2011 season. 0.43 points per possession.

The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "George Mason Squeaks by...". The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:		George Mason University
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	28.5	31.2	59.7
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	122.8	70.5	95.4		101.7	102.5	102.1
eFG%	53.6	31.3	43.3		40.0	48.1	44.2
TORate	17.5	12.8	15.1		7.0	22.4	15.1
OR%	43.8	16.7	29.4		27.8	36.8	32.4
FTA/FGA	25.0	41.7	32.7		48.0	44.4	46.2
FTM/FGA	17.9	29.2	23.1		36.0	22.2	28.8
ARate	41.7	71.4	52.6		44.4	66.7	57.1
Blk%	3.6	0.0	1.9		12.0	7.4	9.6
Stl%	6.8	3.4	5.1		10.8	6.1	8.3
PPWS	1.12	0.77	0.95		0.94	0.98	0.96
2FG%	42.9	37.5	40.0		43.8	45.5	44.7
3FG%	42.9	12.5	31.8		22.2	40.0	28.6
FT%	71.4	70.0	70.6		75.0	50.0	62.5
%2FG	34.3	54.5	42.1		48.3	62.5	55.7
%3FG	51.4	13.6	36.8		20.7	18.8	19.7
%FT	14.3	31.8	21.1		31.0	18.8	24.6

Different Opponent, Same Pattern
The Wildcats played another game with their possession rate in the 50s. This was the third consecutive game where the offense played at a very deliberate pace. The first half rate -- 28.5 possessions computed -- was identical to the South Florida game, and like the USF game the 'Cats converted their possessions to points at a very efficient rate -- about 1.23 points per possession. And for the second straight game the offense collapsed in the second half. Mason played to about the same offensive efficiency (see table above under Defense) in each half, and though they scored more efficiently off the shot in the second half, they also had a higher turnover rate. The half time adjustment Mason made and the 'Cats did not counter however, was on the boards. Villanova controlled the boards at both ends of the court in the first half, and lost control at both ends in the second half. Offensively, the 'Cats hit their outside shots in the first half as three pointers accounted for 51% of their points before the intermission. In the second half, that part of their game disappeared, reduced to 13.6% of their points.

Numbers...Next
For George Mason, a 27-6 record and a date with #1 seed Ohio State on Sunday. For Villanova, the Wildcats close the record book on the 2011 season with a 21-12 record.

Tea Leaves, Dove Entrails, Odometers & Seed Lines -- George Mason Preview

Rendezvous in Cleveland
Villanova and George Mason are slated to play the #8/#9 game in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament, Cleveland Pod, on Friday afternoon. The Patriots, out of the Colonial Athletic Association, are seeded #8 as an at-large team, one seed higher than the CAA Tournament Champion, Old Dominion, and several seeds higher than Virginia Commonwealth, the team that knocked them out of the CAA Conference Tournament last week. They have to be very pleased with how the season has gone so far. Villanova, seeded #9 in the East Region, only Marquette at #10 was seeded lower of the 11 Big East teams invited to the NCAAs, and riding a five game losing streak into the first round, cannot be pleased with how their season has gone so far. For George Mason, this is a chance to add to the season highlights. For Villanova, this is a chance to begin a turnaround. The two have met four times in a series that dates to 1986. Villanova's record versus George Mason is 4-0. The Wildcats won the last meeting, a 69-68 nailbiter in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-off in November of 2009.

Common Opponents, Good Wins, Bad Losses...
The Wildcats and Patriots shared a single common opponent this season, Delaware:

	Nova		GMU
Opponent	W/L	Diff.	W/L	Diff.
Delaware	W (H)	+19	W (H)	+9
			W (A)	+20

Notable that each hosted Delaware within 16 days of the other. Mason traveled to Newark, Delaware about two weeks after their first game. The Patriots have two top 50 wins, versus Harvard (Ivy League, 21-6, 12-3, RPI #35) and conference rival Old Dominion (CAA, 27-6, 14-4, RPI #20). That road win over the Monarchs was GMU's best win of the season. The Patriots have five wins over RPI 51-100 teams. Villanova's has four top 50 wins and four wins versus 51-100 (RPI) competition. The Wildcats' worst loss was their last game, a one point loss to South Florida (RPI #155) in their last outing.

Lineups, Rotations
Coach Jim Larranaga, completing his 14th season at George Mason, will (according to the George Mason Game Notes) most likely start 6-4 senior Cam Long at the point guard spot, with 5-11 junior Andre Cornelius in the off guard spot and 6-5 sophomore Luke Hancock playing a kind of point forward. Hancock leads the team in assists, dishing over 4.3 assists per game, while Long leads the team in scoring, averaging about 15.3 points per game over the course of the season. Two undersized forwards will start in the front court, with 6-6 junior Ryan Pearson holding down the #4 spot and 6-9 junior Mike Morrison manning the low post. Pearson, at 230 pounds, may have the bulk (if not the height) to play in the paint. While GMU is ranked #222 (out of 345) for three point attempts/all attempts (31% per Ken Pomeroy's GMU Team Page, that attempt could come from four of the five positions on the court, with backcourt mates Long and Cornelius leading the way. Those two account for 282 of the team's total 543 attempts (51.9%), but forwards Hancock and Pearson accounted for over 100 attempts. In total, the forward spots took 20.8% of the three point attempts. The Patriots have looked to six players (the starters and senior guard Isaiah Tate) for minutes and points, six have played in all 32 games, nine have appeared in at least 30 of the Patriot's 32 games. When Coach Larranaga substitutes, expect to see Tate first. The 6-4 senior is one of three players to convert at least 40% of his three point attempts (42.4% to Cam Long's 42.6%). Next off the bench will be another guard, Vertrail Vaughns, a 6-2 red shirt freshman who converts threes at a 51.6% clip. Though Vaughns has logged only 289 minutes this season, 101 of those minutes have come in the last seven games. Expect Vaughns to get at least 15 minutes of court time Friday. The front court rotation could go as deep as Paris Bennett, Johnny Williams and/or Jonathan Alridge, though none has topped 300 minutes of playing time this season (about 25% of the available playing time for a single position). Coach Larranaga would have to take a scorer off the floor to substitute any one of those three, as none has a shot% of more than 15.9% (Johnny Willliams) -- role player status in the offense.

Coach Wright used the same line up for Villanova's first 20 (or so) games, but adjusted the starters as injuries mounted and inconsistent play ensued. The pre game notes indicate Coach Wright will use the line up that earned Villanova a 17-3 record, start 6-1 senior Corey Fisher alongside 6-2 sophomore Maalik Wayns in the back court. The two function as point guards, with Wayns bringing the ball up court, but Fisher takes control of the offense in the half court. 6-5 senior Corey Stokes will man the wing as a guard/forward. Stokes remains the most consistent three point threat, though he was hobbled through much of February with hamstring and turf toe problems. 6-8 senior forward Antonio Pena will play the #4. Pena can be especially effective on the boards, and if he hits his first 17 foot jumper, a recurring element in Villanova's offense for power forwards, then things should become easier for 6-10 sophomore Mouphtaou Yarou, Villanova's starter in the low post. Wayns and Fisher will go to the rim. If they can get there they should be able to finish. Or come up with fouls. When the game is about four minutes old, look for 6-6 sophomore Dominic Cheek or 6-8 sophomore Isaiah Armwood. If Coach Wright decides to go nine deep, then 6-5 freshman wing James Bell and/or 6-11 sophomore bfc Maurice Sutton will see the court as well. Guard fouls, either Fisher or Wayns or both has been a problem. Dom Cheek can serve as a stop-gap for very short periods of time, but a rotation that puts Cheek, Stokes and Sutton on the floor together has been vulnerable to turnovers from the press.

By the Numbers, Offense & Defense...
George Mason's shot efficiency (eFG%) is bolstered tremendously by a 39.7% conversion rate for three point attempts, ranked #12 in Division 1 per Ken Pomeroy. Mason would have to convert two point attempts at a 59.5% rate to yield an equivalent number of points. Given their two point conversion rate is a more modest (but still impressive) 50.9% (#49) suggest the Patiots offensive strength on the perimeter, can be extremely damaging if not contested effectively...

When the Patriots have the ball...							FTA
	eFG%	Rnk	TO%	Rnk	OR%	Rnk	FGA	Rnk
GMU O	53.6	19	16.7	15	32.8	157	39.3	129
Nova D	46.4	56	18.4	273	29.9	75	36.2	134

The Patriots' offensive rebounding is an average-for-D1 32.8%, and their propensity to get to the line, 39.3% (FTAs/FGAs) contradict the perimeter oriented team stereotype. Turnovers then can be understood as a function of an experienced (and quality) back court, not a function of their playing style. Combining lack of turnovers (not a strength for Villanova's defense this season) with three point shooting, traps to force turnovers is probably a poor strategy for Villanova's defense. Even a modest press to slow game flow and shorten the shot clock by 10-15 seconds may backfire, if Mason can set up secondary break opportunities for their three point shooters. Should Wildcat defenders prove to be slow picking up their defensive assignments, the 'Cats would be punished severely with three point conversions. Overall, GMU's assist rate, 55.2%, is a bit higher than average, suggesting the Patriots use the pass to set up the shooter. George Mason offers a balanced offense that draws just over half (52.3%) of it's points from inside 20 feet 9 inches, but relies on the three point attempt for just over a quarter (27.5%) of their points. When Long has the ball, he only slightly favors the three point attempt, but when Vaughn or Cornelius are on the court, alone or together, Villanova's perimeter defense needs to be on full alert. GMU's offensive rebounding, fair but not great, is an area that can be exploited by Villanova. Should the Patriot marksmen miss, Villanova should be able to deny them a second chance.

The "Four Factors" look at Villanova's offense versus George Mason's defense:

When the Wildcats have the ball...							FTA
	eFG%	Rnk	TO%	Rnk	OR%	Rnk	FGA	Rnk
Nova O	49.7	137	17.9	49	35.4	67	42.6	63
GMU D	45.8	37	20.8	123	30.7	96	32.0	58

The Wildcats have won by scoring, either on their first attempt of the possession, or via putbacks and second chance opportunities afforded by their offensive rebounding. Limiting turnovers maximizes their scoring opportunities, but the 'Cats also rely on points from the free throw line. They harvest about 24.5% of their points from free throw line, while getting 26.2% of their points from beyond the arc (much like GMU).

Want to Beat the Patriots? Then...
Unlike the Wildcats, the Patriots do not have an "offensive marker", a particular offensive element that strongly correlates to wins and losses. Nevertheless there are two elements that seem to matter in close games. Defense is another matter...
1. Keep them off the line. Filtering blowout wins (margins of 17 or more points), GMU's record when they get to the line 36.2% or less is 4-4. In closer games, those points are vital to their offensive bottom line.
2. Force turnovers. Again filtering for blowout wins, the Patriots are 2-3 when they lost 20% or more of their possessions.
3. Hit your shots. When GMU's opponents hit to Villanova's eFG% (49.7%) or better, the Patriots were 7-5. Filter blowout wins and their record was 5-5.
4. Dominate the offensive boards. When the Patriots' opponents rebounded to Villanova's offensive rebounding rate or better (35.4%), they were 6-4. Filter the blowout wins, and their record dropped to 4-4.
5. Get to the line. When George Mason's opponents had a free throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 42.6% or better (Villanova's FT rate), the Patriots were 2-4. Filter the blowout wins and the Patriots were 0-4.

Finally...
...For Mason, defense is the key, a counter point to Villanova, where the Wildcats' ability to win is tied clearly to their offense. Track the Wildcats' conversion rates, they should provide a clear indication on Villanova's prospects to win this game. Oddly George Mason seems very flexible on offense. They have a number of ways offensively to translate a game effort into a win. Ken Pomeroy calls this one a virtual tossup -- Villanova by one point with a 50% probability. That's the statistical "word" for tossup folks. Looking at distance to travel as an indicator does not help much. Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com posted a piece travel distance and winning percentages that asserted when teams traveling to sites 200-500 miles from their campus have a 52% winning percentage. George Mason has a very slight travel advantage, about 288 miles to Cleveland versus about a 338 mile commute for Villanova. About as close as the game is expected to be.

Roster Moves
Mason guards Andre Cornelius and Luke Hancock sprained their ankles during Tuesday practice. Cornelius waa able to walk off the court, while Hancock needed assistance. Both departed for Cleveland with the team, and Hancock assured a blogger Wednesday that he had gone through a full practice Wednesday and would play Friday, an assertion confirmed by Coach Larranage who indicated both would start as planned.

Syracuse #02 Post Game: Consistency

The Return of Corey Stokes
The guard who could not miss Saturday could not make on Monday. The point guard who twisted and turned defenders in Chicago could not untwist his back for the second half in Philadelphia. The freshman who bombed Seton Hall into submission in a game last week was 0'fer in this game this week. The Coach talked about "finding ways, during a time when we're not making shot, to win...", and Monday night, the Wildcats did not. Senior wing Corey Stokes returned with a bang, dropping 24 points on the Orange before 18,500 (or so) fans in the Wells Fargo Center, but that was not enough to turn the result, as the Wildcats fell 65-69 on Senior Night.

The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "No. 15 Villanova Falls Short Against No. 17...69-64", lead with Corey Stokes' return, and the return of the "Philadelphia Kids"...Syracuse's Philadelphia Kids. Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson combined for 38 points before their friends and relatives (and a healthy contingent of Syracuse fans), while Dion Waiters sealed the Wildcats' doom with free throws at the end of the game. The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:			Syracuse University
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	36.5	33.4	70.0
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	73.9	110.7	91.5		79.4	119.7	98.6
eFG%	27.3	45.3	36.2		48.3	53.8	50.9
TORate	16.4	18.0	17.2		24.6	21.0	22.9
OR%	32.1	50.0	39.6		18.8	50.0	33.3
FTA/FGA	48.5	34.4	41.5		3.4	61.5	30.9
FTM/FGA	27.3	25.0	26.2		3.4	46.2	23.6
ARate	75.0	61.5	66.7		76.9	53.8	65.4
Blk%	21.2	3.1	12.3		6.9	7.7	7.3
Stl%	10.6	15.0	12.7		14.1	14.9	14.5
PPWS	0.67	0.99	0.82		0.98	1.19	1.09
2FG%	30.0	52.6	41.0		57.9	52.4	55.0
3FG%	15.4	23.1	19.2		20.0	40.0	26.7
FT%	56.3	72.7	63.0		100.0	75.0	76.5
%2FG	44.4	54.1	50.0		75.9	55.0	63.8
%3FG	22.2	24.3	23.4		20.7	15.0	17.4
%FT	33.3	21.6	26.6		3.4	30.0	18.8

Keys to Winning
The solidifies the notion that offensive shot efficiency is the single most crucial factor to winning or losing for Villanova. The 'Cats can survive a bad night of turnovers; they can overcome not getting to the line; they can survive being outrebounded...but when the shots do not drop they have yet to find or develop a Plan B. A 19.2% conversion rate for three pointers is terrible -- hit an abysmal 30% and they win by three. Free throw shooting also failed Monday night as the 'Cats hit an uncharacteristically low 63% of their attempts. Those cursing the free throw woes should know that even had the 'Cats shot to their pregame average (76.9%) they still would have lost by two.

Ineffectual Mutterings...
The Wildcats' tempo took a jump with this game, consistent with Syracuse games of the past. Though Coach Wright had the guards walk the ball up the floor, the guards clearly know how to pick Syracuse's 2-3 zone apart. A post game question to Coach Boeheim had the Orange coach admit he decided to extend the perimeter of the zone to "...knock their shooters off their spots...". Plan B, to pass to Antonio Pena at the free throw line where the power forward would have the triple option of taking his shot, kicking back out to a shooter off the screen or passing into the low post to a flashing Isaiah Armwood, found limited success as the low post pass was often mistimed. Additional games and practice should have that play working.

Records, Next Up...
Villanova's records stand at 21-7 overall and 9-6 in conference play. The Wildcats have three more games in their season-ending gauntlet, St. John's (H) up next Saturday, followed by two road games, at Notre Dame (A) and Pittsburgh (A). The Orange records stand at 23-6 and 10-6 in conference play. Syracuse will visit Georgetown, then go home to host DePaul to close the regular season.

Roster Notes
Maalik Wayns twisted his back during first half action and played about 16 minutes before the intermission. He returned, but logged only eight minutes additional in the second half. No word on whether this is day-to-day.

Marquette University Post Game: Milestones

1,000 Points and Counting
Trading buckets with Marquette, with just over a double digit lead, Corey Fisher took a rainbow pass and turned to drive the lane with 10:13 left in the game. He paused and elevated just outside of the foul line for what looked for all the world like a field goal attempt. At least that is what the two Marquette defenders thought as they converged on Fish. Fish however had other thoughts, and spotting Antonio Pena sweepping unguarded inside of the arc that separates two's from three's, the senior point guard lofted a pass to his classmate who took another step or two, caught the pass and elevated, seemingly in a single uninterrupted motion and launched a field goarl attempt of his own. Nothing but net as Villanova pushed the lead out to 14 for the second (and last) time in the half. Villanova's senior forward went on to score four more points in the game, bringing his total to 14. But points nine and ten counted as points 999 & 1,000 in Pena's career at Villanova. Though the Wildcats had half of the second period to play, Pena's milestone seemed to be the climax of the game. Marquette coach Buzz Williams called a timeout after Chris Otule's layup, and subbed in his "rebounding" team, Joe Fulce and Jae Crowder. Over the next two possessions the Warriors worked Villanova's lead back to single digits. By continuously substituting on nearly every possession change, the Marquette coach alternately called for presses on the Villanova guards and defensive board crashing against Villanova's bigs, and over the last seven minutes of the game managed to nibble down on Villanova's lead by one and two point chuncks. Double technicals on Isaiah Armwood and Jae Crowder, and a fifth foul on Crowder two minutes later -- with 2:29 still to play and Villanova up by six -- seemed to tilt the board advantage decisively back to Villanova, and the Wildcats preserved that edge, complements of 7-9 shooting from the line.

The Villanova blogosphere has gone about their business of reporting/commenting on the result. VUHoops.com posted two pieces in the hours since the game, their recap with player/team grades...and a bit of a comment with the headline "Another Close Call". The morning brought a more reflective piece from Frank, "The Morning After: Marquette". The Nova Blog also posted a morning after piece (which reminded me a bit of my undergraduate days many, many years ago) Nova...Pena...The Good, The Bad & The Ugly -- is this Chris' "movie period"? Throw Your V's Up continues to map scoring differentials as the game progresses. He maps the Marquette game and provides a number of astute observations about the players. The Marquette blogosphere has a few posts, led by the signature blog, Cracked Sidewalks. Tim Blair penned a Marquette-centric recap that laments the Warrors' defensive lapses. Ink journalist Tod Roziak penned a set of post game notes in his Golden Eagle Blog, as a complement to his newspaper game recap. The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "No. 12 Wildcats Tops Marquette, 75-70". The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:		Marquette University
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	31.8	33.3	65.2
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	106.8	123.0	115.1		78.6	135.0	107.4
eFG%	43.3	55.6	47.9		38.5	56.1	48.3
TORate	9.4	27.0	18.4		18.9	12.0	15.3
OR%	26.3	45.5	33.3		17.6	50.0	33.3
FTA/FGA	30.0	133.3	68.8		19.2	27.3	23.7
FTM/FGA	26.7	116.7	60.4		19.2	24.2	22.0
ARate	50.0	77.8	61.9		55.6	33.3	40.7
Blk%	3.3	5.6	4.2		11.5	0.0	5.1
Stl%	6.2	9.0	7.6		15.9	9.0	12.4
PPWS	0.99	1.39	1.18		0.88	1.21	1.07
2FG%	47.6	58.3	51.5		41.2	65.4	55.8
3FG%	22.2	33.3	26.7		22.2	14.3	18.8
FT%	88.9	87.5	87.9		100.0	88.9	92.9
%2FG	58.8	34.1	45.3		56.0	75.6	68.6
%3FG	17.6	14.6	16.0		24.0	6.7	12.9
%FT	23.5	51.2	38.7		20.0	17.8	18.6

Green and red are used again here to highlight elements that were above or below season-long performance levels. The table takes on the appearance of a bi-polar Christmas decoration, with "good" and "bad" delineated by halves. Both teams made half-time adjustments, and they, to varying degrees, met their objectives. Both teams emphasized defensive rebounding in the first half, and it worked as each limited the other to <30% of their missed field goal attempts. The adjustment towards offensive rebounding in the second half boosted each squad's numbers under their respective baskets, with the counter effect of giving away rebounds at the other end. Is the Nova Nation marking the passing of the "Shoot 'em up" game strategy? Five of the past six games the team has played for fewer than projected (per Ken Pomeroy -- see "Schedule" section on the Team Page) possessions and in three of the five games the "miscalculation" was by 5, an 8% deviation from the projection. The only game where the 'Cats were above the projection was Providence (and we remember how that went). Couple more minutes for Mouphtaou Yarou & his pairing with Antonio Pena with a more deliberate pace and we are watching this team transition to a more deliberate, half-court friendly style of play? The next few games, especially against Pittsburgh on 2/12, should tell. .

This & That
1. The Wildcats used nine players, but only six received 10 or more minutes of playing time. The PT differential was stark. Maalik Wayns, the rotation player who received the smallest double digit allocation drew 27 minutes (tied with surprise starter Isaiah Armwood), while the next nearest in the rotation, James Bell, received four minutes. Dom Cheek and Mo Sutton, the last two off the bench, received more time in the second half than the first, earned two and three minutes respectively. The disparity in minutes seems strange given the minute distribution in games throughout the season, but Throw Your V's Up may have an explanation. In a look at the efficiency of the rotation, the blogger concluded the bench was extremely inconsistent. Staring at a 14 point advantage, the staff may have been thinking that it was time to give the bench some run, but at the game tightened quickly from the 10:13 mark in, the staff may have held off.
2. In a game that saw Antonio Pena became the 54^th player to score more than 1,000 points in his career, Corey Fisher scored his 1,500^th point, becoming the 25^th Villanova men's player to do so. Noted in the AP story at the top, Fisher, Stokes and Pena are the second trio of seniors in team history to pass the 1,000 point mark. Corey Stokes has scored 1,216 points through the Marquette game.
3. Sophomore Mouphtaou Yarou paced the team with a game-high 18 points, the first time the center scored game-high points in his college career. Mouph was a terrific 5-8 from the field (a 62.5% eFG%) and (even better...) 8-10 from the line, for a 1.41 PPWS. Jimmy Butler and Darius Odom-Johnson paced Marquette with 15 points apiece. Fish chipped in 17 points on 5-11 shooting (1-4 from 3, 4-7 from 2 -- a 50% eFG%) and 6-6 from the line for a 1.23 PPWS.

Records, Next Up...
Villanova's records stand at 18-4 overall and 6-3 in conference. Marquette drops to 14-9 overall, 5-5 in conference play. The Warriors are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 1-3 in their last four. Villanova readies for the last game in this home stand, as they host West Virginia on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. Marquette, having two more games to do on their road trip, takes a week off, and then swings South to Florida for a game with the South Florida Bulls next Wednesday (2/9), then north (relative to Florida) to visit Georgetown the following Saturday (2/13).

Georgetown University Post Game: Inside Game

Life in the Big East
After directing the tip-off to Fisher Mouphtaou Yarou grabbed a defensive rebound off a Jason Clark miss, grabbed a tipped pass and hit a reverse layup for the game's first score. An offensive rebound two possessions later that elicited a foul from Hoya center Julian Vaughn and the sophomore center was on the line for two. He made both, and grabbed a second defensive rebound two (Hoya) possessions later that ended with a Corey Stokes three point miss. Yarou picked up his first personal foul about a minute later and headed to the bench. He came back in, missed two attempts on consecutive possessions about seven minutes later, and, as the Wildcats collectively settled into an offense that consisted of a series of jump shots from 14 feet and farther out, did not touch the ball again in the first half. Although the center re-emerged for a dominant sequence about halfway through the second half, he committed foul number four with seven minutes to go and went back to the bench, not to see the court again until the last three minutes of the game.

The Villanova blogosphere registered a collective groan, as VUHoops.com posted a recap with player/team grades..."Hoping for a good recruiting class" is a grade? The Nova Blog posted a video sequence from "The Shining" -- Jack Nicholson chopping through the bath room door to get to Talia Shire -- which is Chris' reaction to Austin Freeman. A reaction very different, but complementary in it's own right, from Coach Wright who cited Freeman's 30 point performance in his post game press conference and concluded with the aside "I love him, and he's a great kid too". The Hoya blogosphere has a few early posts, including the Hoya Prospectus recap with a breakdown by halves similar to vbtn's (I wrote the first paragraph above before going over to check out Brian's recap -- he indicates the "Let 'em take jumpers" is a defensive strategy the Hoyas also used against the Johnnies last week...) and The Casual Hoya posted a quick recap & look ahead as well. The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "No. 8 Wildcats Upended by No. 21 Georgetown, 69-66". The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:		Georgetown University
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	29.9	32.9	62.7
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	87.0	121.7	105.2		107.1	112.6	110.0
eFG%	37.0	53.7	45.4		57.7	57.5	57.6
TORate	10.0	18.3	14.3		16.7	27.4	22.3
OR%	16.7	40.0	28.9		23.1	33.3	27.3
FTA/FGA	29.6	59.3	44.4		7.7	75.0	37.0
FTM/FGA	22.2	40.7	31.5		7.7	70.0	34.8
ARate	40.0	66.7	54.5		76.9	81.8	79.2
Blk%	18.5	3.7	11.1		7.7	10.0	8.7
Stl%	3.2	9.2	6.3		3.5	12.1	8.1
PPWS	0.84	1.16	1.01		1.19	1.36	1.28
2FG%	41.7	41.2	41.5		52.9	58.8	55.9
3FG%	0.0	50.0	38.5		44.4	33.3	41.7
FT%	75.0	68.8	70.8		100.0	93.3	94.1
%2FG	76.9	35.0	51.5		56.3	54.1	55.1
%3FG	0.0	37.5	22.7		37.5	8.1	21.7
%FT	23.1	27.5	25.8		6.3	37.8	23.2

Forget the highlighting...Brian Lerner does a nice job of highlighting the good and bad, just remember to "see" red where he has green, and green where he has red. paint it all red. For the second game running, the pace was surprising. 30 possessions for the first half is stunning, possibly the lowest possession half played by the 'Cats this season. Only the Pennsylvania game, at 62 possessions, matches this 62.7 (63) game for lowest number of possessions. The Wildcats were able to force turnovers, particularly in the first four minutes of the game (see below) and during the last two minutes of the game when the Hoyas committed two turnovers and committed personal fouls as the Wildcats trimmed the lead to a single possession. But Villanova did not blunt the Hoyas' shot efficiency, allowing a 57.6% eFG% for the game, and a disappointing 57%+ for each half. No halftime adjustment appeared in the offering. Villanova's inability to get offensive rebounds, especially in the first half was also disappointing.

Observations
1. Austin Freeman posted 30 points in a performance eerily similar to many that Scottie Reynolds had over his career. And like Reynolds, Freeman stepped up as the "go to" guy in the opponents' arena. During the last two minutes of the game every Hoya ball handler looked around to find Freeman, and the senior did not disappoint. If he could not take the shot he found the teammate who could. After Freeman dropped his last free throw an NBA scout sitting next to me commented on his "calm and professional demeanor", especially with the game on the line. Only one other Georgetown player, Jason Clark, scored in double digits -- 10 points on the nose (though Nate Lubick and Julian Vaughn scored eight and nine respectively).
2. Corey Fisher and Maalik Wayns shared scoring honors for the Wildcats, logging 15 points each as an ironic counterpoint to Freeman. Two other Wildcats, Antonio Pena (10) and Corey Stokes (13), also scored 10 or more points. Stokes, 4-10 with 3-6 three pointers, converted at an efficient 55% eFG% despite suffering a turf toe injury in the game's opening minutes.

The First Four Minutes
What can the first four minutes tell us about the half/game? With respect to today's game, not much apparently. In the first half, the Wildcats took the tip-off and the two teams ran off six possessions in the game's first four minutes...

	FGM	FGA	FTM	FTA	Pts	Poss	PPP	OReb	TO
Villanova	4	5	2	2	10	6	1.67	1	0
Georgetown	2	5	0	0	5	6	0.83	0	1

Though the tempo favored the Hoyas (6 possessions tracks for 30 on the half), the effieincy definitely seemed to favor the Wildcats. Villanova however turned over their next two possessions, and Georgetown out scored Villanova 27-16 over the last 16 mintues of the half.

The second half produced seven possessions in the first four minutes, but the scoring so favored the Hoyas that Coach Jay Wright called a timeout to regroup his squad...

	FGM	FGA	FTM	FTA	Pts	Poss	PPP	OReb	TO
Villanova	3	4	0	0	8	7	1.14	0	3
Georgetown	4	4	1	1	9	7	1.29	0	3

With seven possessions, the half was on pace for 35 possessions apiece; that "slowed" to 32 over the next 16 minutes. Unlike the first half, this four minute snapshot did accurately "foretell" a more offense-oriented half. The Wildcats went on to outscore the Hoyas 32-28 through the end of the game.

Records, Next Up...
Villanova's records drop to 17-4 overall and 5-3 in conference. The 'Cats are now off of Pittsburgh's pace by 2 games. Georgetown extends it's winning streak to five games and pushing north of 0.500 in conference play for the first time this season. The Hoyas are 16-5 overall, 5-4 in conference play. Villanova readies for another home game with Marquette on Wednesday (2/2), while Georgetown heads home to host Louisville on Monday (1/31).

Providence College Post Game: Road Trips

Villanova evened their record for this, the longest road trip of this season, at 1-1 on Saturday with their 11 point win, 83-72, over Syracuse. Chances to conclude the road trip with another win were foiled as the Friars won a decisive, 83-68 victory over Villanova at the Dunkin Donuts Center in downtown Providence, RI. The Friars punched the Wildcats with a 6-0 run to start the game, then stretched that lead to nine, 34-25, going into halftime. Credit Providence for striking again early in the second half, taking a 7-4 run over the first four minutes that stretched the lead to 12, 41-29, before the 'Cats could regroup for their own run. Villanova could get no closer than seven (43-50 at the 10:11 mark), and once repelled, could not stop the Friars from pushing their lead back out to double digits, where it largely remained through the end of the game. Villanova's longest road trip for this season ended with on a 1-2 note.

Providence guard/forward Marshon Brooks led all scorers with 20 points despite shooting 4-15 from the field. Going 0-8 on three point attempts, the senior went 12-14 from the charity stripe. Four other Friars, sophomore guard Vincent Council (16), freshman guard Gerard Coleman (16), sophomore forward/center Kadeem Batts (11) and freshman Bryce Cotton (10) scored double digit points. Sophomore point guard Maalik Wayns paced the Wildcats with 18 points on 7-15 shooting (2-4 on three point attempts) and 2-3 from the line. Senior forward Antonio Pena notched a double-double, scoring 17 points while grabbing 15 rebounds.

The blogosphere registered a few post games, including "postgame -- Villanova 68 Providence 83" from the Nova Blog. The Friar blogosphere has a few early posts, including a quick recap with a few comments at projo.com (Providence Journal) authored by long-time Friar and Big East beat writer Kevin McNamara and an exuberant but brief recap with a picture of the court rushing) from Dave at the Friar Blog. The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "No. 8 Wildcats Surprised by Providence, 83-68". The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:		Providence College
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	37.0	38.3	75.3
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	64.9	112.4	90.3		91.8	128.1	110.2
eFG%	26.4	43.8	35.5		40.9	48.1	44.1
TORate	18.9	10.5	14.6		10.8	7.8	9.3
OR%	42.3	37.5	40.0		14.3	40.0	25.0
FTA/FGA	25.0	22.5	23.7		24.2	115.4	64.4
FTM/FGA	16.7	20.0	18.4		21.2	92.3	52.5
ARate	22.2	43.8	36.0		45.5	63.6	54.5
Blk%	8.3	0.0	3.9		9.1	3.8	6.8
Stl%	13.8	5.1	9.3		5.3	5.4	5.3
PPWS	0.62	0.97	0.80		0.92	1.22	1.08
2FG%	29.6	48.1	38.9		40.0	44.4	42.4
3FG%	11.1	23.1	18.2		27.8	37.5	30.8
FT%	66.7	88.9	77.8		87.5	80.0	81.6
%2FG	64.0	60.5	61.8		35.3	32.7	33.7
%3FG	12.0	20.9	17.6		44.1	18.4	28.9
%FT	24.0	18.6	20.6		20.6	49.0	37.3

Forget the highlighting...paint it all red. Pace was the surprise. Providence likes to run, an element of the Friar program going back to (at least) Rick Pitino's days in Friartown. Villanova has proven to be very proficient at controlling high-possession games offensively, but has seen success lately with a lower possession, structured play offense. A 38 possession first half with Villanova leading would have been a good sign, but owning that many possessions along with a nine point deficit had to be a warning that things were not going well. Pushing the pace in the second half would be a necessary prerequisite to making a serious run at the Friars.

Observations
1. The two Coreys put up some stunningly bad numbers, going a combined 4-26 from the field, including 1-13 from beyond the arc. The transformation from a dead-eye three point shooting machine on Saturday to the pair who couldn't shoot straight is the type of inconsistent play expected from underclassmen, not seniors. A real headscratching performance at this point in their careers.
2. One of several paradoxes offered in the game was Villanova's domination on the boards. In the first half the 'Cats were able to hold the Friars to an anemic 14.8% rebounding rate. The Friars bounced back in the second half to grab a crucial 40% of their misses, necessary second chances (they were credited with 13 second chance points) that allowed them to hold Villanova at an arm's length through much of the second half. The overall rebounding rate for the Friars, 25%, looks very good for Villanova, but it masks that strong second half adjustment that brought more Friars to cover their offensive boards.

Records, Next Up...
Villanova's records drop to 17-3 overall and 5-2 in conference. After pulling even with the Panthers in conference play, the 'Cats drop back with the loss. Providence has a two game winning streak, both wins coming against Top 25 teams. The Friars are 13-8 overall, 2-6 in conference play. Villanova heads home to face Georgetown on Saturday (1/29), while Providence heads down to Newark, NJ to play Seton Hall on Sunday (1/30).

Syracuse Post Game: Streaks

Bombs Away!
Both Villanova and Syracuse entered the game eager to break the streak each had begun with their last outing. A streak of the losing kind. For both the number stood at one and neither wanted to see it go to two. Villanova played to their offensive and defensive numbers in the first half, establishing an 11 point (40-29) lead going into the intermission. The last 20 minutes, an offensive festival for both (or a clinic on how to deconstruct the other team's defense?), saw the two Top 10 teams match point-for-point to the end of the game, ended at 83-72, with Villanova's 11 point first half cushion intact.

Forward Kris Joseph, back from an injury that sidelined him for Syracuse's loss to Pittsburgh, scored his game-high 23 points on 8-15 overall shooting, and 3-5 from the line. Senior Forward/Center Rick Jackson recorded a double-double (16 points and 15 rebounds) in the losing cause. Villanova was paced by sophomore guard Maalik Wayns, who scored 21 points on 6-11 shooting and 5-5 from the line in a nice bounce-back from his performance in Storrs Monday. The two Coreys, Stokes and Fisher, scored 16 points apiece, while senior forward Antonio Pena, the fourth Wildcats to score 10 or more points, chipped in 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the winning effort.

The blogosphere registered a few post games, including "postgame -- Villanova 83 Syracuse 72" from the Nova Blog and VUHoops.com posted their recap with a poll for player grades. Best I can tell the polls are still open, so go over and vote if you are inclined. All's quiet in the Orange blogosphere, a commentary-less series of videos from the Troy Nunes...blog (complemented by a commentary on 3 pointers) and some post game musings from Otto's Army excepted. The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "No. 7 Wildcats Overpower No. 3 Syracuse, 83-72", led off with Villanova's three point "zone busting" shooting, and followed with the crowd size. There are a handful of good quotes from Corey Fisher as well. The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:		Syracuse University
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	33.9	32.2	66.1
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	118.1	133.6	125.7		85.6	133.6	109.0
eFG%	72.0	50.0	61.0		46.3	55.7	51.6
TORate	20.7	9.3	15.8		25.8	20.7	24.2
OR%	11.1	43.8	32.0		25.0	61.1	44.1
FTA/FGA	16.0	80.0	48.0		22.2	17.1	19.4
FTM/FGA	16.0	72.0	44.0		14.8	11.4	12.9
ARate	64.3	45.5	56.0		80.0	41.2	55.6
Blk%	14.8	4.0	12.0		7.4	2.9	4.8
Stl%	5.7	3.2	6.3		8.6	5.9	7.3
PPWS	1.49	1.25	1.35		0.97	1.14	1.06
2FG%	50.0	57.1	53.8		29.4	63.2	47.2
3FG%	61.5	27.3	45.8		50.0	31.3	38.5
FT%	100.0	90.0	91.7		66.7	66.7	66.7
%2FG	30.0	37.2	33.7		34.5	55.8	47.2
%3FG	60.0	20.9	39.8		51.7	34.9	41.7
%FT	10.0	41.9	26.5		13.8	9.3	11.1

Green highlighting identifies the good elements of Villanova's game yesterday, while red highlighting identifies elements that are below the levels the team has played to to date. Pace was the second surprise. I believed the 'Cats would push at every opportunity, preventing the Orange from getting into the 2-3 zone. 66.1 possessions is a pace Syracuse should have wanted -- it suggests Villanova would have to score out of offensive sets, and not transition. The box score confirms the Wildcats scored four points (only -- all in the second half) on fast breaks, with two coming on Maurice Sutton's jam at the end of the game.

Same Result, Two Paths
The yellow highlighting on the teams' second half ratings and four factors shows how the same efficiency can be attained by different means. Both teams scored 43 points on (about) 32 possessions, but each employed different methods to attain their result. Villanova did not convert shots as efficiently as the Orange (50.0% vs. 55.7% eFG% above), but the Wildcats limited turnovers (9.3% vs. 20.7%) and got to the line more frequently (80.0% vs. 17.1%). Though the Orange "won" in two of the four categories (offensive rebound rate -- 61.1% vs. 43.8% -- was the second category), those two were not enough to outscore the 'Cats in the second half and cut into their first half lead.

8 Minutes & 43 Seconds of the First Half...
At the 14:43 mark of the first half with the score 9-7 Syracuse, the Wildcats put on a run of nearly nine minutes during which they outscored the Orange 27-11 and built a 14 point lead (34-20) on 14 possessions...

	FGM	FGA	FTM	FTA	Pts	Poss	PPP	OReb	TO
Villanova	9	12	2	2	27	14	1.93	0	1
Syracuse	4	9	1	2	11	13	0.85	0	3

The best sequence of possessions for Villanova in the game (1.93 points per possession equates to a 193.0 offensive rating), but actually typical for the entire first half for Syracuse (see "By Halves" table at top). Villanova was a deadly 6-7 from beyond the arc, scoring 21 of the 27 points in the run from that distance, including two streaks of 3-3 from beyond the arc. Though the Orange would outscore the Wildcats 9-6 to close out the first half, they would play virtually the entire second half from a 6-to-14 point hole, sustaining a single rally that cut Villanova's lead to four only once, at the 2:41 mark of the second half.

Records, Next Up...
Villanova upped it's to 17-2 overall, 5-1 in conference, remaining a single game off of Pittsburgh's pace. The Wildcats play their third consecutive road game next Wednesday at Providence. Syracuse dropped it's second game running, putting the Orange at 18-2 overall, and 5-2 in conference play. The Orange will host Seton Hall on Tuesday.

University of Maryland Post Game: Pressure Cooking

Bookbinder's Philadelphia Snapper Soup...
From the web containing this liner note...
"Pilfered this recipe from recipe gold mine. Can't wait to try it..."
 1. Place terrapin in stock pot with 1 1/2 quarts water. Bring to a boil. Skim during cooking. Simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender.
 2. Strain meat from stock. Dice meat into 1/4 inch pieces. Set both aside.
 3. Cook vegetables in butter until onions are translucent. Add beef stock.
 4. In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup water into paprika and flour until smooth. Add tomato purée and spices.
 5. Stir into stock until well blended. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
 6. Strain soup.
 7. Place vegetables into food processor or blender and purée.
 8. Mix cornstarch with remaining water and blend until smooth. Add to soup and cook 15 minutes, stirring, until stock is thickened.
 9. Add meat and vegetable purée.
10. Remove from direct heat. Add sherry right before serving.

While Bookbinders used a low heat, slow-cook method and about four and a half hours to break down the meat and connective tissue, Villanova employed a time honored and faster technique to cook their terrapins Saturday afternoon -- heat and pressure and lots of them. The Wildcats cut about fours hours and 23 minutes off the cooking time, but produced a dish many in the Nova Nation will savor for the next day or so (until the team gets back to conference play at Storrs on Monday).

At the 9:27 mark of the second half bfc Jordan Williams scored points 21 and 22 of his 25 point, game-high total, on a lay-up that stretched out Maryland's lead to 12 points for the second time in just over a minute. The Wildcats, losing by three at the half were headed in the wrong direction when seniors Antonio Pena and Corey Fisher, along with sophomores Maalik Wayns and Mouphtaou Yarou decided they had had enough. On the next three possessions Pena collected two rebounds and hit a jumper on a feed from Fisher. Maalik Wayns followed with a pair of free throws on a Sean Mosley foul. A defensive board by Mouphtaou Yarou ended the next Terrapin possession while Fisher hit a three to finish the Wildcats' possession. Those three possessions brought eight points on two field goals off two assists, two free throws and three rebounds, but at least as importantly those three possessions brought the 17,477 fans in attendance at the Wells Fargo Center onto their feet and back into the game. During that 6:13 sequence that followed Williams' layup, the Wildcats shot 6-11 (54.5%) from the field and 5-5 from the line. They grabbed nine rebounds (2-7-9), lost one turnover and scored 19 points in 11 possessions for an efficiency of 1.73 points per possession. But it did not stop there as the 'Cats closed the loop by harassing the Terrapin back court and clamping down on defense. Maryland's 11 possessions through that stretch of the game produced zero points. Not a typo -- Maryland's efficiency rating was 0.00 points per possession for over six minutes. Maryland shot 0-8 from the field, and 0-2 from the charity stripe (no charity there). Their front court grabbed 3 rebounds (2-1-3) even as the team committed three fouls and two turnovers. The pressure, loud fans, poor performance and perhaps the memory of similar collapses at Illinois, Temple and Duke rattled Maryland as the team's offense shifted after two Williams misses early in the drought from team play feeding the post and making back door passes to quick outside jumpers and one-on-one breakdown plays, all out of the the back court or the wing. Maryland's four rotating guards, Pe'Shon Howard, Adrian Bowie, Terrell Stoglin and Cliff Tucker split the remaining six shots during the sequence, and like Williams, missing them all. The connective tissue that characterized the Terp teamwork through the first 30 minutes of the game broke down under the pressure. The drought (ironically) ended on another Williams layup, and while there may have been only a two possession gap in the team's scores, with over two minutes still left to settle it, the Terps at that point were all but done.

The Nova/Philadelphia Blogoshere has three (relatively) early returns, the Nova Blog posted a and linked to an SB Nation affiliate, The Testudo Times for some in game banter with Maryland fans. VUhoops.com posted a recap with more polling to grade the player's performance. All sites are worth a look if you have the time. The Philahoops.com site ran a recap with links to the audio of the post game pressers. The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "Wildcats Rally Past Maryland", led off with Corey's scoring spree. The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:		University of Maryland
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	34.4	34.7	69.0
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	96.0	118.3	107.2		104.7	86.6	95.6
eFG%	45.6	48.3	46.8		51.6	48.0	50.0
TORate	17.5	23.1	20.3		17.5	23.1	20.3
OR%	35.0	50.0	42.5		31.6	23.5	27.8
FTA/FGA	8.8	58.6	31.7		22.6	44.0	32.1
FTM/FGA	5.9	44.8	23.8		12.9	24.0	17.9
ARate	40.0	50.0	44.4		80.0	58.3	70.4
Blk%	2.9	3.4	3.2		6.5	4.0	5.4
Stl%	11.6	17.1	14.4		2.9	5.8	4.4
PPWS	0.93	1.11	1.02		1.05	0.99	1.02
2FG%	50.0	44.4	47.8		52.0	60.0	55.6
3FG%	16.7	36.4	29.4		33.3	0.0	18.2
FT%	66.7	76.5	75.0		57.1	54.5	55.6
%2FG	84.8	39.0	59.5		72.2	80.0	75.8
%3FG	9.1	29.3	20.3		16.7	0.0	9.1
%FT	6.1	31.7	20.3		11.1	20.0	15.2

The green highlighting is good news to the Villanova faithful, while the red highlighting is the "not good" news. The table today has that bipolar "bad half"/"good half" look. The Wildcats' offense started very slow, while Maryland's offense was in it from the opening tip, but suffered that inexplicable lapse about 30 minutes into the game. appeared to be a pronounced drop off in efficiencies the second half.

The pace by halves was consistent -- and low, about four possessions lower than anticipated. Surprising, though Villanova used an eight man rotation for the game, and lost Dominic Cheek relatively early, Coach Wright did not dig deeper into his bench to find a replacement.

Notes & Observations
1. On a day when the usual suspects for scoring struggled, sophomore Maalik Wayns stepped up to lead the 'Cats. The point guard did it efficiently, scoring 22 points on a 75% eFG%. He shot 7-10 overall (1-4, 6-6) and 7-9 from the stripe, yielding a 1.54 PPWS. Fisher chipped in 17 on a volume shooting performance. The senior recorded a 56.7% eFG% on 7-15 overall (3-6, 4-9) shooting and 0-0 from the line. Fish's PPWS computes to 1.13. Pena played 39 minutes and scored 14 points on 7-12 (0-0, 7-12) and 0-0 from the line. His eFG% is 58.3%; his PPWS computes to an even 2.00.
2. Pena put together another quiet but efficient outing. The senior's numbers are up this season, but because his minutes are also (way) up, the possesion-based stats, estimated by the amount of playing time, tend to understate his impact on play. Pena logged his second double-double of the season when he added 10 rebounds to his 14 point scored.
3. Coach Wright cited all four members of the front court contingent. Though Yarou had little impact scoring, he did manage a few rebounds during the Wildcats' 19-0 run. Coach Wright cited Bell and Armwood for their contributions as well.
4. A breakdown of that 19-0 run...

	Pts.	FGM	FGA	Pct.	Poss.	ppp
Maryland	0	0	8	0.0%	11	0.00
Villanova	19	6	11	54.5%	11	1.73

If the shooting numbers are stark, consider the rebounding...

	Offensive		Defensive
	#	Pct.	#	Pct.
Maryland	2	22.2%	1	33.3%
Villanova	2	77.8%	7	66.7%

The numbers support what the fans saw -- Villanova's front court completely took over the boards.

Roster Notes
1. Maurice Sutton was benched for the game. Coach Wright confirmed in the post game that it was indeed a gesture made in the midst of an exciting sequence in the Louisville game that he felt a disciplinary action was warranted. Sutton should be available for Connecticut on Monday.
2. Dominic Cheek was injured during the game. Coach Wright (same post game conference) indicated the wing's left knee was "tweaked" during play. He did not know the extent of the injury.

Louisville Post Game: Rebounds

Ranked Teams, Part 2
#18 Louisville was the second consecutive Top 25 ranked opponent to visit Villanova this week and the third this season. Unlike Temple and Cincinnati, Villanova hosted the 'Ville at the Wells Fargo Center, the Wildcats' home away from home, in Philadelphia. A Different location but same result, as Villanova won going away 88-74 before nearly 13,200 fans who braved the bone chilling 20 degree temperatures and mid-week work schedule to catch the game.

Freshman Gorgui Dieng won the opening tip, and that was the last contested ball versus Villanova's sophomore center Mouphtaou Yarou, that the freshman won. Though it took a half to bring the Louisville back court under control -- collectively Peyton Siva, (especially both) Chris Smith and Preston Knowles torched the 'Cats for 36 of Louisville's points on 14-26 (8-12 3FGs, 6-10 2FGS) shooting in the first half -- Villanova began to connect consistently from the outside during the second half, which in turn opened up low post where Yarou and senior Antonio Pena delivered a series of body blows in the form of dunks from entry passes and put backs from offensive rebounds. Villanova's diversified offensive approach helped to build a double digit lead the Cardinals could only nibble at, but not erase.

The Nova Blog posted their recap -- "post game: Villanova 88 vs. Louisville 74", while VUHoops.com recapped the game with player stats, a poll for player grades and a Live Blog. From the other side of the ball, Card Chronicle has a post/recap with a red perspective. From the ink media, Louisville beat writer, Rick Bozich, posted a game recap with a Cardinal perspective. The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "Wildcats Rip Off Another Win...", led off with the balanced, inside - outside attack Villanova used to break down Louisville. The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:			University of Louisville
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	37.4	35.8	73.1
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	112.4	128.7	120.3		109.7	92.3	101.2
eFG%	55.0	66.1	60.3		64.5	45.2	54.8
TORate	29.4	19.6	24.6		24.1	19.6	21.9
OR%	50.0	40.0	45.2		20.0	25.0	22.9
FTA/FGA	30.0	50.0	39.7		3.2	19.4	11.3
FTM/FGA	30.0	32.1	31.0		3.2	16.1	9.7
ARate	57.1	70.6	64.5		68.8	58.3	64.3
Blk%	6.7	7.1	6.9		3.2	0.0	1.6
Stl%	16.1	14.0	15.1		16.0	13.9	15.0
PPWS	1.23	1.33	1.28		1.30	0.97	1.13
2FG%	40.9	60.9	51.1		50.0	38.1	43.2
3FG%	62.5	60.0	61.5		53.3	40.0	48.0
FT%	100.0	64.3	78.3		100.0	83.3	85.7
%2FG	42.9	60.9	52.3		39.0	48.5	43.2
%3FG	35.7	19.6	27.3		58.5	36.4	48.6
%FT	21.4	19.6	20.5		2.4	15.2	8.1

Green highlighting identifies the good elements of Villanova's game yesterday, while red highlighting identifies elements the are below the levels the team has played to to date. Pace was slightly (one possession) higher than projected by Ken Pomeroy, and the margin was higher, but within each team's comfort zone...

Note the yellow highlighted (in table above) scoring distribution for Louisville. Hitting 50% of their 2s and 53% of their 3s the Cardinals got most of their points (58%) from beyond the arc but scored a point less than Villanova in the first half. When the Cards cooled off, hit only 40% of their 3s (still a very strong number) and 38.1% of their 2s, the point distribution shifted (note the yellow highlight under the 2nd half), and the Cardinals were outscored by 13. Rebounding was the difference.

Three Things Villanova Fans Are Smiling About Today...
1. Did I mention rebounding? -- This was a crucial element for the win over Louisville. Normally the Wildcats dominate. In this matchup Pomeroy's gameplan suggested it would be key to beating Louisville. And three Wildcats -- Yarou (11), Corey Fisher (8 -- not a typo, it was Fish) and Isaiah Armwood (7) -- worked to insure that if the Cardinals missed they would not get a second chance. Those three combined to outrebound the Louisville squad.
2. Shot and scoring distribution -- Four designated front court players, James Bell, Isaiah Armwood, Antonio Pena and Mouphtaou Yarou (and Maurice Sutton who logged no minutes in this game) took about 95% of the allocated "front court" minutes and 41.4% of the available shots. That is 41% of the shots allocated to 40% of the minutes. In reality, the four front court players logged 95% of the available time (the staff was running a bit of four guard again...), so the time/shot allocation was very close, which suggests a close-to-even distribution of the offense between the front and back court players. Four Villanova players scored double digit point, led by senior wing Corey Stokes whose 23 points came on a very efficient 5-9 shooting from the field and 9-9 from the line. Stokes' eFG% was 77.8% and measured with his free throws, his PPWS, 1.73 suggests he did more than run off screens in a catch and shoot system, but also took it to the rim when the opportunities presented. The shooting/scoring balance was evident in the second half when on more than a few possessions, Louisville left the low post naked and Nova bigs Armwood and Yarou were able to score virtually uncontested when the guards hit them with entry passes.
3. Louisville turnovers -- The first half pace was pretty frenetic, had 37.4 held for the second half, the two teams would have had 74 possessions apiece. As it was it "settled" down to about 73 possessions. While "shootout" might be the best adjective to describe that half ("They sliced us..." -- Coach Wright on the Cardinal 1st half attack), the Wildcats did force a 24% turnover rate on the Cardinals, higher than their season-long 19% rate. The 'Cats lost an appalling 29.4% of their possessions in that half, they did manage to keep the Cards' turnover rate above their season-long rate for the second half as well.

Three Grains of Salt...
1. Are We There Yet? -- when reminded for the 4th consecutive post game presser that he had said the team was "not yet" playing like a top 10 team (overrated...), and then prompted to assess the progress, Villanova's Coach opined that the team "...can better -- and I mean that in a good way...". He liked much of what he saw and thought they played . Coach Pitino characterized Villanova as "one of the better teams" in the country.
2. The Louisville Front Court is...not good. Accolades to the Villanova front court should be tempered with the reality that the Cardinals' front court is largely a patchwork of bigs whose best days lie either before or behind them, anytime but the present. Pitino used George Goode and Terrence Jennings in a rotation with starters Gorgui Dieng and Stephan Van Tresse, the four played 74 of the 80 front court minutes, scoring 13 points (collectively) on 5-13 shooting from the field and 3-3 from the line. They collected 11 (6-5-11) rebounds, three assists, five turnovers, four blocks and five steals. Injuries to Rakeem Buckles and Jarred Swopshire, coupled with late clearance of Dieng, left the door wide open for Jennings and Goode, yet Pitino passed over the juniors to tab the sophomore rotation player and the late-arriving freshman. Coach Pitino's reputation for candor (and a history of laying into underperforming members of his squad) seemed at odds with his response to a question about his front court's inexperience -- "I don't think that's the problem...we are a good team...that ran into one of the better teams in the country". The Louisville mentor seemed to reach for the carrot rather than the stick as the motivator for this front court contingent. Villanova's good showing was very encouragining, but Louisville's contingent is not comparable to the front courts of Rutgers, USF or Cincinnati. Or some of those they will face going forward -- Pitt, Syracuse, Connecticut or St. John's for example.
3. Corey Stokes strained his left hamstring in Sunday's game against Cincinnati. He received treatment and has continued to play. Hopefully Villanova's leading scorer who has emerged as one of the senior leaders the staff has relied on heavily this season will have time going forward for it to heal completely.

Records...
Villanova runs its record to 15-1, 4-0 in conference play. Louisville's record is 13-3 overall, and 2-1 in conference play.