Final: Saint Louis Uses 3-Point Barrage To Down Villanova 80-68
by jhulax22 on Nov 25, 2011 5:30 PM EST
in Basketball Game Recaps
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In the semifinals of the 76 Classic in Anaheim, CA, the Villanova Wildcats lost to the St. Louis Billikens 80-68. In turn, Nova drops to 4-1 on the young season, while Rick Majerus' St. Louis squad improves to 5-0. Maalik Wayns led Villanova with 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, and James Bell and Mouphtaou Yarou contributed 16 and 8 points, respectively.
The Cats came out of the gates strong, as they jumped out to a quick 13-5 lead five minutes into the contest. Powered by the offensive prowess of Wayns, the advantage was extended to 26-16 halfway through the opening stanza, but it all went downhill after that. With Yarou sidelined by foul trouble and Villanova unable to guard the 3 point shot, St. Louis caught fire from deep and the Billikens owned a 4 point lead at intermission.
More after the jump...
Whatever Jay Wright said at halftime to counter the perimeter shooting of St. Louis did not work, because the opponents started the second half drilling a few triples in a row. As a result, the Billikens lead quickly ballooned to double digits. Villanova was able to cut the lead to 8 points once or twice in the second half, but St. Louis responded each time. Overall, St. Louis hit 14-27 from downtown, good for a 52% clip. On the flip side, Villanova only shot 33% from behind the arc on 5-15 shooting. Besides the 3 pointers, the rest of the stats were essentially even.
Not to mention the obvious, but Villanova has a lot of work to do on the defensive end, which isn't surprising for such a young squad. Unfortunately, today's game looked all too familiar from Nova teams of recent memory in terms of defending the 3 ball.
Dominic Cheek and JayVaughn Pinkston should assume some of the blame for this one as well, because their lack of productivity killed the Cats. They combined to manage a meager 9 points on 3-13 shooting. Simply put, this team has virtually zero chance to win with numbers like that. Props to James Bell though, who seems confident and poised at all times. The development of a consistent outside shot from him has been a welcome sight.
Next up, Villanova will play in the 3rd place game of the tournament against either Santa Clara or Oklahoma on Sunday night.
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Does anything wright says at halftime ever work? Going to be another year of beating cupcakes and losing to marginally talented teams with a better coach.
by Jog73 on Nov 25, 2011 7:24 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
Well..
Steve Lappas isn’t walking through that door, so I guess we are stuck with Wright.
11/9/11 - the day the music died.
The bitter with the better.
by Esteban d' Amur on Nov 25, 2011 7:35 PM EST up reply actions
Sorry but the guy is just a great recruiter who cant adjust at all in games. Its the players who mask it. If fran dunphy coached these same kids the last 5-7 years there would have been more than one final four appearance.
by Jog73 on Nov 25, 2011 8:14 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
when teams win...
the reason is the players. when teams lose, the reason is the coach. winning cures all though.
Yeah I like Jay.
But there does linger some doubt lately, especially the last two years of his coaching ability. But careful what we wish for.
This team is young. I give Jay at least the next two years to get this team tougher and start winning some games against quality opponents.
Curious to see the development of Hillard, Johnson and Pinkston.
Cheek concerns me. Lesser talent he can dominate, but games like today when they need him, he is a no show.
I'm sorry...
but Fran Dunphy is not the bees knees. Recruiting is the name of the game and if Fran Dunphy was so great, he wouldn’t be at Temple. You think Carolina/Duke/UConn et al win because their coaches are supreme X and O tacticians? No.
Wright’s so bad, he has had a great record against ‘Cuse, went 2-0 in 2009 against Pitt’s best team ever, has been to a final four, 2 elite 8’s, and 4 sweet 16’s – including being knocked out of the tournament 3 or 4 times by the eventual national champion – outside of the Izzo/Williams/Coach Ks of the world, there aren’t many with that kind of resume. And if Wright leaves, you aren’t getting a coach of his caliber to replace him.
11/9/11 - the day the music died.
The bitter with the better.
by Esteban d' Amur on Nov 25, 2011 9:45 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Where is Jay going? Nobody wants him.
by Jog73 on Nov 25, 2011 10:04 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
one game
If you had one game that meant life or death who would u rather have? Thought so.
by Jog73 on Nov 25, 2011 10:05 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Jay Wright 1000x
Dunphy is a good coach but as it’s been mentioned there is a reason he is at Temple. If he was that good he would overtake Villanova and make Temple the best program in Philly. Or he’d be hired elsewhere.
Neither of those things has happened.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
If the main goal for nova is to be the best team in philly thats certainly some low expectations you set for yourself.
by Jog73 on Nov 26, 2011 2:46 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Who said that was the main goal?
I’m just saying it’s pretty obvious who the best program in Philly is, which is a clear indicator of what JAY WRIGHT has built. He brought the program back from crap.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
If im not mistaken, he has sent more playeres to the nba in the last 2 seasons as mr wright
by Jog73 on Nov 26, 2011 2:50 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
You proved my point.
Jay with less players in the NBA and is winning more. Go troll somewhere else please
Oh so temple has had more talent than nova? And im trolling? You are a dope my friend.
by Jog73 on Nov 26, 2011 4:40 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Ive been following nova since the 70s. So go troll this douchebag. I have forgotten more about nova hoops than you even know.
by Jog73 on Nov 26, 2011 4:42 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
This is your first and last warning.
No namecalling here. Do it again and you’re gone.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
Im gone dont worry. I cant deal with koolaid drinking fools
by Jog73 on Nov 26, 2011 5:25 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Fran Dunphy has...
like 1 tournament win ever. He’s an ok coach who’s never really played in a big boy league.
11/9/11 - the day the music died.
The bitter with the better.
by Esteban d' Amur on Nov 26, 2011 9:03 PM EST up reply actions
Esteban just hit the nail on the head.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
Fellas
I’m rewatching the 2nd half now – I’ll have Cheers & Facepalms up later today and our preview of the Santa Clara game up tomorrow.
I don’t think anybody should overreact to this loss. Saint Louis shot the ball extremely well. A lot of that was bad defense on our part, but they made some contested shots as well. When you shoot like that, you aren’t going to lose many.
We’re a good defensive team. Saint Louis is going to give teams fits all year. They’re very experienced and very well coached. They know what they are good at and stick to it.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
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