A couple things to take away from this game. First is that it is clear we have some potential. As
with Georgetown we were very capable of hanging with Villanova as we did for most of the game. However, the inexperience was on full display. Whether it was Greedy’s ill-advised finger roll charge in the first half or one of the numerous turnovers we looked like a young team… which is ok. We had flashes, but a more experienced Providence team could have faired better. That said, we were right in this game… until Sharaud got his fifth foul. We are not very big on saying things about refs, but this time we think it might be warranted. On contact that Scottie Reynolds initiated, Sharuad was run out of bounds and certainly didn’t get the fair treatment. Having seen plenty of Villanova games over the last four years it is pretty clear that Reynolds gets away with some stuff, but this one was a bit much. It at least had to be a double foul, considering Reynolds was the one holding on. And then for the ref to T up Curry was crazy. From everything we have read, and the footage we saw, and having gotten to know Curry over the last five years, it did not look like he did something to warrant a T. His genuine shock at the terrible call was in check and under control. But apparently Doug Shows has the most T’s given in college basketball this year. When he re-watches the game tape we think he will see where he messed up. And of course it still would have been difficult to win, but taking Sharaud out for us is essentially the equivilant of taking Reynolds out for the Wildcats. The leader and most experienced player on the floor for us was out for almost eight minutes. And as we said in the pregame, despite Reynolds essentially only getting his name right on the SATs, he is a crafty player on the court and fooled the refs once again.
The good news is that PC was back on the ESPN Top 10 at #2. But this time it was not Greedy, who had a lack luster game. It was Bilal who is continuing to show improvement. And there is no way around it… Bilal posterized fellow freshman Mouph Yarou, who has made a full recovery from Hep B earlier this season, but has not lived up to his high billing even a little bit.
Check out this gem as well from VUHoops.com as well
The critical turning point in the game came with 8:07 to play as the Friar’s 5-10 PG, Sharaud Curry (19 points), fouled Scotty Reynolds, riding him 10 feet out of bounds. He snapped at the referee after being called for the foul, adding insult to injury with a technical foul and disqualification from the game. Scottie hit three of the four ensuing free throws to give the Cats a 67-60 lead and, more importantly, the momentum. Afterwards, Scottie said of the play, “”I just made a cut to the basket and we got tangled up. Away from the play, we’re still tangled. We got untangled and he did what he did.”
Not sure where this guy was sitting but Sharaud neither rode Scottie 10 feet out of bounds or snapped at the ref. Like we said before, Scottie was the one running and Scottie was the one holding on. And you will note that Pat Forde of ESPN was also surprised Curry’s reaction got him a T:
“…his reaction to that particular call didn’t look like an obvious technical response.”
So yes it may have been another ho-hum double-digit win for the Cats, but we would like to think the pattern of the game would have continued if our best player hadn’t had to sit down and there wasn’t the following six point swing… but whatever helps Mike at VUHoops sleep at night.
BIG EAST
What you should know about the Wildcats: The Wildcats come into the game with only one BIG EAST loss, to Georgetown. They are an impressive 21-2 overall and have a lot of young talent. Granted the Wildcats have just begun the first difficult part of their schedule this year, however, they are a legitimate power this year. As always Jay Wright has the cats playing guard heavy in his one-in four-out offense, which has been working out just fine for them. Antonia Pena is showing improvement and works well as the big down low. Highly touted freshman Mouph Yarou, has been less than impressive in the limited time he has received, but the other freshman have been playing well.
PFB Perspective: Yet another game against a top opponent. Villanova is a very good team with a lot of scoring options, and considering we really aren’t into defense… it could be a long game. But than again we could hang tight, we did against Georgetown. If we were to hang tight this is what would need to happen:
