Villanova Loses Second Straight Overtime Game as UCONN Escapes with Win

For the second straight game, the Villanova Wildcats lost an overtime battle against a Big East rival at the Wells-Fargo Center, falling to the University of Connecticut Huskies 73-70. Just like the previous game (less than 48 hours earlier to Notre Dame), the Wildcats held a big lead early in the contest that evaporated before they succumbed to the Huskies. In last night’s game, Villanova got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 26-8 lead, led by the hot shooting of Dominic Cheek and Mouph Yarou. UCONN guard Jeremy Lamb quickly heated up however and the Huskies went on a 22-4 run to close out the first half. At the intermission, the teams were deadlocked at 30-30.

 

Both teams came into the nationally televised game (ESPN), struggling. Villanova had lost five 0f their last six games, including the overtime loss on Saturday night to Notre Dame. Connecticut had lost four of their last six, including a loss on Saturday to Marquette. Both teams entered the fray with losing records in Big East play, Villanova was 4-10 in conference games, and the Huskies 6-8.

 

In the second half, after the teams were tied three times, Connecticut took a 7 point lead, 54-47, on an old fashioned three point play by Lamb with 6:28 to go in regulation. The Wildcats fought back, however, and went back on top, 60-58, after two-made foul shots by Yarou with 2:18 left in the game. When Ryan Boatwright missed two foul shots for the Huskies, the Wildcats had a chance to enhance the lead But alas, it was not to be. First, JayVaughn Pinkston missed a three point shot with 34.9 seconds left. Villanova got the rebound and after a timeout, Dom Cheek made a bad inbound pass that led to a UCONN steal and a bucket by Alex Oriakhi, once more tying the game, 60-60. Villanova had one more opportunity in regulation,  but could not convert.

 

UCONN rode the hot hand of Lamb throughout the overtime period, as he scored their first 10 points of the “extra ” session. But once again, Villanova did not quit and fought back. Ty Johnson hit a layup with 5.9 seconds left to tie the game at 70-70. Unfortunately, for the Wildcats, Shabazz Napier had enough time to launch a 29 foot three pointer that connected and gave the Huskies the lead 73-70. With 6/10ths of a second left after Napier’s shot swished through the net, Villanova’s attempt to inbound went astray and the the Cats went down to another heartbreaking overtime loss.

 

Cheek was Villanova’s high scorer with 23 points, on 9 for 13 shooting, including 2 of 5 three point shots. Ty Johnson ended with 14 points and contributed 6 assists against 4 turnovers. JayVaughn Pinkston had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Mouph Yarou added 11 points for the Wildcats. For the second straight game, Villanova was without the services of starters Maalik Wayns and James Bell who both continue to nurse injuries. Prior to the game, Dallas Ouano, Villanova’s lone senior, was honored at mid-court as part of the senior night ceremonies.

For UCONN, Lamb scored a game (and career) high 32 points. He was the Huskies only player to score in double figures. Andre Drummond had a game high 11 rebounds for the Huskies.

 

Villanova, now 11-16 overall, 4-11 BE, next plays at Georgetown on Saturday, February 25th. UCONN, now 17 -10 overall, 7-8 BE, hosts Syracuse on Saturday night.

To view the post game press conference with Jay Wright, Dominic Cheek, and Ty Johnson,

CLICK HERE!

Full photo gallery below:

Wild Comeback Win for Villanova over Providence Friars

Trailing 60-41, with 16:25 left in the second half, Villanova  finished the game on a 33-12 run, to edge the Providence Friars  74-72 at the Pavilion on Tuesday night. JayVaughn Pinkston put on a spectacular performance in the second half scoring 17 of his game high 28 points, including the last 9 points scored by the Wildcats, to keep Villanova from suffering a devastating defeat to the visiting Friars, the last place team in the Big East. Pinkston also pulled down 14 rebounds, 8 in the second half.

What made the Wildcats comeback even more noteworthy is that it was done by and large without Maalik Wayns, who tweaked his left knee and left the game for good with more then eleven minutes to go in the second half. Wayns, who is scheduled to undergo an MRI Wednesday, watched the comeback from the Villanova bench, with his knee heavily wrapped in ice.

The Friars shot the lights out in the first half led by Bryce Cotton, who hit 6 of 7 three-point shots to help Providence head into the intermission leading by 14 points, 44-30. Providence came out in the second half and expanded its lead to 60-41 as The Friars continued to outshoot Villanova. But as Providence coach Ed Cooley pointed out after the game, Villanova played with more tenacity and urgency to close out the game and came away with a win that did not look likely earlier in the game.

After trailing 60-41, Villanova eventually tied the game at 63-63. Providence scored the next 5 points to retake the lead but after an old fashioned three-point play by Pinkston, Johnson stole the ball and fed Pinkston for a break away dunk that again tied the game and brought the crowd to its feet. Villanova finally took the lead with just over 18 seconds to go on yet another Pinkston bucket. With plenty of time left for the Friars, it was a big time block by Maurice Sutton, his second of the game, that iced the win for the Wildcats.

Pinkston and teammates Dominic Cheek and Mouph Yarou paced the Wildcats down the stretch and helped break Villanova’s three game losing streak. In addition, Ty Johnson, who played most of the second half in place of Wayns, Sutton, James Bell, and Ash Yacoubou all played with great energy and toughness to help the home team edge out the visitors. Pinkston finished with a career highs in both points (28) and rebounds (14). Cheek and Yarou both scored 17 points, picking the slack for the injured Wayns. Bell had a team high 8 assists to pace the Wildcats.

 

Providence had four players in double figures. Bryce Cotton had 20, but only 2 in the second half. Vincent Council had 17 points and had  7 assists (he also had 7 turnovers). Gerard Coleman contributed 16 points, and LaDontae Henton chipped in 13.

Villanova outrebounded Providence 34-31. The Wildcats had 18 assists and committed 11 turnovers (only 2 in the second half). Villanova had 6 blocks compared to 3 for the Friars. Overall, Villanova shot 45% from the field, hitting 27 of 60 shots. Villanova hit 6 triples in 17 attempts, with Cheek hitting 4 of 8. Perhaps most revealing, was the Friars, who shot 60% in the first half, were held to 32.3% shooting in the second half.

With the win, Villanova improved its record to 11-13, 4-8 Big East. Providence dropped to 13-12, 2-10 Big East. Villanova next plays at South Florida on February 15th. The Friars’ next game is also against South Florida in Providence on February 11.

To view the post game press conference with coach Jay Wright, Dom Cheek, and JayVaughn Pinkston,

CLICK HERE!

To view 40+ additional photos from the game,

CLICK HERE!

 

Wildcats Get Juiced by Orange, Growing Pains Continue for Villanova as Syracuse Remains Unbeaten

Here’s the Scoop, Fair or not, every game this season has been like Christmas for fans of the 18-0 Syracuse Orange. It’s been far from the same for Villanova Wildcat faithful this season and after getting served so badly tonight that they might as well have been playing a team of Waiters, there’s little else to do but try to Melo out and accept that this is going to be an off year.

Villanova came into the game on Wednesday with a record of 8-8, having just won their first Big East game of the season on Sunday against DePaul. Syracuse entered the game 17-0, ranked as the #1 team in the country.

Just a year or two ago, this game at the Wells-Fargo Center would have been a complete sell-out. It would have been a clash of Big East powerhouses, clawing for a spot atop the Conference. But that was then, and this is now. Tonight’s crowd of almost 15,000 was weighted in Syracuse’s favor (several loud chants of “Let’s Go Orange” could be heard throughout the game), and large sections of the upper level were completely empty.

At first it seemed as if the Wildcats were unaware that they weren’t supposed to hang with the Orange. Villanova came out strong and, after trailing Syracuse by two buckets, tied the game at 14-14. Unfortunately for Nova Nation, the Wildcats have been much like the weather in the Philadelphia area this winter. Although they started the game  on a warm streak, they suddenly went icy cold without warning. Syracuse rattled off twelve straight points, and closed out the half on a 29-10 run, to stretch their lead to nineteen, 43-24.

Dion Waiters led Syracuse in the first half, hitting 5 of 7 field-goal attempts (including two from down-town) for 14 points. He also led the team in rebounds in the first half with 4. As a team, Syracuse shot just over 47% from the field in the first half, hit 7 of 10 free-throw attempts, pulled down 24 rebounds, and had 9 assists to 5 turnovers.

Mouph Yarou led Villanova in scoring and rebounding at the break with 8 points and 6 boards. Ty Johnson connected on both of his three-point attempts but the rest of the team went 0 for 7. Nova shot just under 27% from the field, hit 8 of 13 free-throws, tallied 17 rebounds, and had 8 turnovers to just 5 assists.

Things began to look up for the Wildcats about seven minutes into the second half. Nova cut the lead from 19 to 12 and had the ball, but were unable to capitalize. Syracuse quickly regained a firm control of the game and increased the lead to 20. Despite better play in the second half (37% from the field, 4 of 11 three-pointers, 12 of 15 free-throws, 8 assists to 6 turnovers, and 24 rebounds) Villanova was clearly outmatched and eventually lost the game 79-66.

Waiters was the game’s leading scoring, finishing with 20 points. James Southerland also chipped in 15 points for the Orange. Baye Moussa Kelta finished with 7 rebounds to lead the team, and Scoop Jardine had five assists (to go along with his 8 points).

For Villanova,  Yarou led the way with a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds). Despite hitting just 2 of 10 from the field, Yarou connected on 8 of his 9 free-throw attempts. Dominic Cheek and JayVaughn Pinkston each added 12 points of their own. Cheek also led the team in assists with 4. Maalik Wayns had a rough night, missing all 7 shots he attempted. He finished with 3 points.

Things won’t get any easier for Villanova. After losing to the conference leaders, the Wildcats now sit at 1-4 in the Big East and must  travel to Cincinnati (3rd in Big East) this Saturday before returning to the Pavilion next Wednesday to host Seton Hall (2nd in Big East).

Syracuse now returns home where they will host Providence on Saturday and Pittsburgh on Monday.

To view the full photo-gallery from this game,

CLICK HERE!

Box Score:

Wildcats Rebound From USF Loss, Turnover New Leaf for 2011-12 Season

Villanova jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never trailed as they beat the DePaul Blue Demons 87-71 at the Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.

DePaul cut Villanova’s lead to 20-19 with 10:11 to go in the first half, but the Wildcats went on an eight point run to expand their lead to 28-19, and never looked back.

The Wildcats were led by juniors Maalik Wayns with 21 points, Dominic Cheek with 20, and Mouph Yarou with 14. Villanova dominated the boards, holding a 45-23 rebounding edge over the Blue Demons. For the second straight game, Wayns led the team in rebounding.

More astonishingly, the Wildcats overcame 28 turnovers (to 14 assists) to defeat DePaul and earn their first Big East win of the season.

Villanova led at intermission 48-36 and outscored DePaul in the second half 39-35. Overall Villanova shot 56% (28 of 50), including 40% from three-point range (4 of 10).

The Wildcats also sank 27 of 34 foul-shots (79.4%).

Despite the high number of turnovers, Villanova played with high energy and enthusiasm, and got key contributions from Freshman Tyrone Johnson and Markus Kennedy (both of whom started the game). Johnson had 7 points and 5 assists, and Kennedy added 3 points and 7 rebounds.

JayVaughn Pinkston chipped in 13 points off the bench, Darrun Hilliard chipped in 4 points (and three rebounds), and James Bell added 5 points, including a thunderous dunk that brought both his teammates and the crowd to their feet. Every Villanova player who saw action scored. Ach Yacoubou and Maurice Sutton did not play.

Defensively, the Wildcats held DePaul to 38.2% shooting. DePaul was also held to 29.6% shooting from behind the arc.

For the visitors, Brandon Young with 22 points, and Cleveland Melvin with 19 points, were the only players in double figures. Melvin was also their leading rebounder with 4, and Young led the team in assists with 6. DePaul’s assist to turnover ratio was on the positive side at 17 to 14.

With the badly needed win, Villanova improved its record to 8-8 overall, 1-3 Big East. With the loss, DePaul dropped to 10-5 overall, 1-2 Big East. Up next for the Wildcats is a date with the #1 team in the nation, the Syracuse Orange, at the Wells-Fargo Center on Wednesday night (7pm/ESPN). DePaul next plays at Seton Hall on January 10th.

In attendance were several former Villanova players as well as 2012-13 recruit Ryan Arcidiacono (who according to coach Jay Wright, recently had minor back surgery but is expected to be fully ready for next season).

Ryan Arcidiacono

To view an addition 25 game photos,

CLICK HERE!

[photo credits: Christian Hafer]

South Florida Bulls Gore Wildcats, Villanova Remains Winless in Big East

The struggling Villanova Wildcats were beaten convincingly by the University of South Florida Bulls at the Pavilion on Thursday night, 74-57. The loss was Villanova’s third in a row (all in the Big East) and sixth in its last eight games. Moreover, it was only the second loss for Villanova in their last 53 games at the Pavilion. Once again, the Wildcats could not overcome cold spells on offense and lapses on the defensive end. After trailing by only two points at halftime, the Wildcats could not keep pace with the Bulls, who dominated the boards and got some timely scoring from guards Jawanza Poland and Brian Nash in the second half. Consequently, Villanova lost by double digits.

Maalik Wayns led the way for the forlorn Wildcats with 17 points, and Jayvaughn Pinkston added 12, all in the second half. Wayns and Dominic Cheek did not start the game for Villanova as a result of a “minor practice issue”. Instead, Villanova fielded a starting lineup featuring four freshmen and Mouphtaou Yarou.

The Wildcats got off to a good start and led 9-2 . After Nova went out in front 12-4 on a trey by Wayns, the Bulls surged and closed the gap to 19-17. South Florida then took the lead on a three pointer by Blake Nash, 20-19. The Bulls retained the lead and went to the locker room at half-time ahead by two points, 27-25.

The Bulls started the second half on a 13-4 run to take an 11 point lead, 40-29, with 15:55 left in the game. With South Florida holding a 12 point lead at the 11:55 mark, Jayvaughn Pinkston went on a one man mini-run, scoring 7 straight points to bring the Wildcats back into contention. After Dominic Cheek scored for Villanova, the home team trailed by only 3 points. However, the Bulls were not to be deterred, and slowly built the lead back up to 12 points with under five minutes to play. South Florida built on their lead from there and won by the final score of 74-57.

South Florida improved its record to 9-7 overall, and 2-1 in the Big East. The Bulls totally dominated the Wildcats on the boards, finishing with a 38-26 advantage. Victor Rudd Jr. pulled down 10 rebounds to pace the Bulls. Jawanza Poland led South Florida in scoring with a career high 20 points. Nash had 12 points and 6 assists. South Florida shot 58.3% from the field in the second half, and 46.2% for the game. The Bulls hit 20 of the 22 foul shots they attempted.

Villanova’s record fell to 7-8 overall, 0-3 in the Big East. Villanova has never before started 0-3 in the Big East. Wayns was the leading rebounder with 5, but did not have an assist. Villanova, once again, shot poorly from distance, hitting only 4 of their 20 three point shot attempts (20%).

Villanova is clearly a struggling team this season. Aside from Wayns, they have not been able to establish a second consistent scoring option. In years previous, the Cats had several players that could drive to the basket, either scoring, drawing a foul, or kicking out to an open shooter. Due to their inability to knock down open three-pointers, teams do not have to cheat out as much while defending Villanova, making it harder to get to the rim. The Wildcats also have fewer players this season than in recent history that can handle the ball. It is somewhat puzzling that the coaching staff seems unable or unwilling to implement more set offensive plays (including setting more screens for shooters).

On the defensive end, Villanova often looks confused. They are unable to defend three-pointers, especially when trying to pick up shooters in transition. Mouph Yarou, perhaps due to injury, has not developed as a strong defensive force in the middle. Several Villanova players are frequently being beaten off the dribble and seem unable to stay in front of anyone.

While this is a young team (with no senior leadership) that shows flashes of its potential, it is going to be a long, hard, learning curve for the Wildcats if they can’t make some quick adjustments.

Next up for Villanova is another Big East conference game against the DePaul Blue Devils on Sunday, January 8th at noon at the Pavilion. DePaul is coming off a last second win last night over the Pitt Panthers.

Many former Villanova players were in attendance on Thursday evening including Tim Thomas.

To view an additional 50+ photos from the game,

CLICK HERE

To view the post-game press conference with coach Jay Wright, Wayns, and Pinkston,

CLICK HERE