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The Syracuse Orange might have clinched the outright Big East championship on Tuesday night, but the Villanova Wildcats still had something to play for. They showed as much in Southwestern Ohio, and very possibly sent the Cincinnati Bearcats to the NIT.

The good people of Cincinnati have a decent basketball team to cheer for in 2010. Coach Mick Cronin led his UC squad to impressive non-conference wins over Vanderbilt and Maryland at the Maui Invitational back in November, and the Bearcats have also swept the Connecticut Huskies. However, a few quality wins don't quite make a full resume, and with a losing Big East record, Cincinnati needed to get off the canvas and deck Villanova if it wanted to have a truly good chance of making the NCAA Tournament.

The seasoned veterans from Philadelphia stood in the way.

Coach Jay Wright brought his Wildcats to Fifth Third Arena for this pivotal Big East battle, and even though Nova knew that it would not be able to share the conference title with Syracuse, the boys in dark blue jerseys still had a prize to pursue: a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. If you can't be No. 1, the second slot is still preferable to the other alternatives in the lower regions of a tournament bracket. Villanova had just endured an 18-point thrashing at the hands of Syracuse, so this game - while certainly more meaningful to Cincinnati - gave VU a chance to reaffirm its credentials as a second seed in March Madness.

Those credentials do indeed look better after this Cat fight became Wild instead of Bear-ish.

With 6:08 remaining, Villanova led 66-51 and had a stranglehold on the proceedings. The crowd at Fifth Third was subdued, and it appeared that Cronin's red-covered crew would fade away gently into the night. But just when this consequential clash had seemingly turned into a laugher, the Bearcats got serious. Cincy's Jaquon Parker and Deonta Vaughn hit back-to-back 3-pointers, while the Bearcats' post players crashed the offensive glass and beat Villanova's suddenly shy big men to loose balls. A 14-0 flurry ensued, and in a heartbeat, the visitors' lead had been reduced to just one point, at 66-65.

That's when Reggie Redding took over and Scottie Reynolds emerged as a heroic helper.

Redding banged in an ice-veins 3-pointer at the 1:31 mark of regulation to push Villanova's lead to 71-65 and enable the Wildcats to survive a number of careless turnovers in the final 90 seconds of game time. Redding - who finished with 11 points - saved his very best shots for the possessions his team needed more than any others.

Reynolds - a scoring stud who entered this game averaging 19 points per contest - got shut out in the first half, but he never stopped trying to make himself useful on the floor. Villanova found itself fortunate to be tied at halftime, considering the fact that its star player absorbed a big bagel. The Wildcats usually rely on Reynolds to initiate the team's offense in some form or fashion. Down the stretch, those acts of initiation took place.

It was Reynolds who assisted on Redding's game-changing triple. It was Reynolds who continually harassed Cincy's guards on the perimeter to help gum up the Bearcats' late-game possessions. It was Reynolds who hit two free throws with three seconds left to fully and finally seal the outcome.

Villanova is on pace for a No. 2 seed... in the NCAA Tournament. Now, the Cincinnati Bearcats are poised for a No. 2 seed as well... but in the NIT.

 

By: Matt Zemek
BigEast-fans.com Staff Writer