With their utter humiliation at the hands of Syracuse last Saturday--out-running, out-boarding, out-shooting, out-everythinging them--Villanova no longer stands a shot at the Big East regular-season title. Being the first loser, however (also colloquially known as "second place") is still well within their grasp, as the Wildcats can lock down the #2 seed in the upcoming Big East tournament with a win tomorrow against West Virginia--who will be playing for similar positioning, though their path to the second seed is a little more convoluted. In any event, winning is good, we like winning, and we'd like to see our boys contine to rebound from the season's worst loss (now their third L in their last five games--scary stuff for a team with title aspirations).
More recently, Villanova was able to pull out the W, albeit a hard-fought one, against NCAA bubble team Cincinnati. Scottie Reynolds somehow went scoreless in the first half, but as he always seems to, showed up as the getting started to get good in the second half, ending up with 17 points in all. Five other players scored in the double figures--the kind of well-balanced attack that Nova really thrives on--as they escaped with the 77-73 road victory. “That was an outstanding road victory for us,” said Coach Wright. “We rallied this team after the Syracuse loss.”
12:00 tip from the Wachovia Center. The result of today's game, and of what Nova does in the upcoming Big East tournament, might end up making the difference between being a two, three or four seed in March Madness. Our boy Scottie, however, is keeping his eyes on the prize. "Our goal is still to be the best at the end of the season," insisted Reynolds. “Our job is not done until we reach that goal."
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