Villanova backed into must win situation against Seton Hall |
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Preview for Seton Hall @ Villanova, Sat. Feb. 9thJust two weeks ago, Villanova was ranked in the Top 25 poll. The Wildcats stormed out of the gate, starting out 13-3. Since then, Villanova has lost five in a row and their season has spiraled completely out of control. Forget making the NCAA Tournament, there’s a very real chance Villanova could miss the Big East tournament altogether. The Wildcats’ season is on the line, and if this isn’t a must-win game on Saturday against Seton Hall, then I’m not sure what qualifies as a must-win. When it goes bad, it really goes bad, and the bottom has begun to fall out for the Wildcats. The five-game losing streak is trouble in itself, but it’s the way the Villanova has lost. They’ve surrendered 80 or more points in three of their five losses, culminating a 22-point blowout to Big Five rival St. Joe’s on Monday night. Villanova trailed by 19 at halftime, and never mounted a charge in the second half, falling 77-55. Villanova has fallen all the way to 13 th in the Big East standings at 3-6, 13-8 overall. In their five straight defeats, the Wildcats have lost by an average of 13.2 points per game. They’re giving up just over 80 ppg (80.6) and scoring 66.6 ppg. Defensively, the Wildcats are a mess right now. They’re allowing teams to get easy, high percentage shots from the floor, as well as allowing their opponents to get to the free throw line; during the five-game slide, their opponents have averaged 51 percent shooting from the field, and have gotten to the line an average of 35 times per game.
Scottie Reynolds leads the Wildcats in scoring (17.6 ppg) and assists (3.7 apg), but outside of Reynolds’ play, there hasn’t been a consistent, dependable second or third option on offense. The two Coreys, Fisher and Stokes, have had a difficult transition to the level of college play. Fisher is second on the team in scoring with 11.2 ppg, while Stokes is averaging just 3.3 ppg. Head coach Jay Wright continues to search for the right starting combination to jumpstart the listless Wildcats. Only Reynolds, and Dante Cunningham have started all nine games in Big East play. Seton Hall has been a pleasant surprise this season in the Big East. They’re currently ninth in the Big East standings at 5-5, and the Pirates are 15-8 overall. Seton Hall will be looking to avoid their third straight loss, after having won five in a row. Their last two defeats have come at the hands of the upper-tier teams in the Big East, losing to Georgetown 73-61 on Feb.2 nd, and 95-69 to Notre Dame on Feb.6 th. The Hoyas and the Irish are one and two respectively in the Big East standings. Seton Hall has already surpassed their win total of 13 from a year ago and the Pirates didn’t win consecutive Big East games. Two of their five conference wins have come against Big East cellar dwellers Rutgers and South Florida, and they’ve picked up wins against Cincinnati and Providence, two teams in the muddle middle of the Big East standings. Their signature conference win, or signature win of the year thus far, came at home back in January against Louisville 92-82. What is impressive for a team that won only four conference games last year, if the season ended today, Seton Hall would be playing in the Big East tournament. The Pirates enter the contest with four players averaging in double figures in scoring. Senior center Brian Laing leads Seton Hall in scoring and tied in rebounding, averaging 19.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Eugene Harvey is the second leading scorer with 15.1 ppg, and leads the team in assists with 4.7 per game. Jeremy Hazell and Jamar Nutter are averaging 12.4 and 10.5 ppg respectively. While Villanova has given up an average of 80.6 ppg in their five consecutive losses, that bodes well for a Seton Hall squad that scores 80.3 ppg. The Pirates boast an impressive 10-3 home record, however, they’re a different team away from the Prudential Center, going just 3-5 on the road.
by Frank Minniti
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