Final: The Worst Villanova Game Ever
by Chris Lane on Feb 15, 2012 9:30 PM EST
in Basketball Game Recaps
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PrintVillanova lost to South Florida tonight (and has now lost 3 straight against the former doormat of the conference). Does that make us the doormat?
- Maalik Wayns was out injured with a sprained MCL.
- The referees single-handedly took Mouphtaou Yarou out of the game with soft fouls while letting a war go on everywhere else.
- JayVaughn Pinkston was 1-13 from the field, was continually hacked all night, and got 1 foul called for him, when he was 20 feet from the basket.
- James Bell for all intents and purposes tried to injure an opponent, wasn't thrown out of the game, and Jay Wright kept him in for the remainder of it anyways.
That last one has me partially embarrassed to be a Villanova fan tonight.
This season if nothing else is a serious test of my fandom. Oh, and Big East refs? They all suck. Not just in Villanova games either. It's an embarassment to our proud basketball conference how much fun they've taken out of watching the game this year.
/Rant.
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Team really needs
a wake up call. From the coaching staff all the way to the 12th man.
Fouls are Fouls, and yes the refs can blow calls, but Mouph gets into foul trouble every game it seems. I don’t know if it his him or the coaching but he has not made the strides that is needed. Probably the combination of the two.
Johnson never looked to shoot the ball until the the game was already over.
Kennedy for some reason got only 9 minutes tonight.
After Bells bush league foul, in which he should of been thrown out of the game, I don’t recall him playing again. He totaled 17 minutes.
You would of thought after 8 days between games this team would of came out and played decent ball. I understand USF is much better, 11-1 on there home court, but the Cats got pushed around.
Nova has no direction at this point. For some reason it appears Jay is not reaching these kids, or it could be what he is preaching is the same sermon we have heard for a long while and the league knows it.
It could also..
be that they whiffed on some guys like Yarou and Cheek and clearly didn’t use Mo Sutton to his full abilities.
I agree about the wake up call. There is no sense of urgency with this team. Every step forward (the Providence game) results in two steps back. I don’t know how you have a week off and not come out ready to play.
"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room." - Churchill
by Esteban d' Amur on Feb 16, 2012 7:37 AM EST up reply actions
Could be with Cheek and Yarou.
Combination of the coaches and the kids. Either way it is gut check time for the basketball program. Last two years of flame outs late in the season and now this year.
The year...
we lost to St. Mary’s I don’t consider a flameout. Good year coming off a final four. We met a team we didn’t matchup well with and who got every break that game. It’s not your day when guys are banking in three’s after they fumble the ball and trip over their own feet. Last year was a disaster.
Cheek doesn’t have a high b-ball IQ but he has adapted his game recently. He’s just not a guy that is going to give you 15 points a night. Yarou has no feel for the game at all. Mo should start over him and Yarou should come in off the bench. He’s improved while he has been at Nova, but he was too far behind when he got here to ever get to the point where he needs to be.
"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room." - Churchill
by Esteban d' Amur on Feb 16, 2012 11:39 AM EST up reply actions
OTOH, you'll recall that Villanova was lucky to be a 2 seed that year
and didn’t exactly put up a stellar performance against #15 Robert Morris. Had they been a 3 or 4 seed like we were all expecting, they lose in round 1.
I’m not usually a fan of “multiple endpoint” analysis, but Villanova was 20-1 at one point…and they skidded badly when their SOS went up. All of the sketchy “teaching points.” It was a weird way to end a promising year.
\V/ for Villanova
by dees ees en drama on Feb 16, 2012 11:48 AM EST up reply actions
I didn't have the expectations...
others had. They had a back loaded scheduled and played about .500 ball down the stretch. I wasn’t expecting much more than a 2nd round or sweet 16 run after a final four year.
"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room." - Churchill
by Esteban d' Amur on Feb 16, 2012 1:31 PM EST up reply actions
Completely agree
I was at the St. Mary’s game in Providence and they seriously caught every single break. We easily could have won that game, not that we would have won another…. :)
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
It was gut-check time in early-January
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
I don't put last night on Cheek so much
He wasn’t aggressive enough after a hot start…that was my biggest criticism of him.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
Bell never left the game right after that horror foul
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
"how much fun they've taken out of watching the game this year."
I’d argue they don’t have so much fun left to ruin, after taking Villanova’s record into account. That would be like your annoying co-worker taking the joy and epic thrill out of studying for the CPA exam.
At least Scottie Reynolds is putting up good numbers in the Turkish Basketball League. That’s…something.
\V/ for Villanova
by dees ees en drama on Feb 16, 2012 11:44 AM EST reply actions
I still enjoy watching them play
Because it’s college basketball, and it’s awesome. And more importantly, it’s my alma mater and I still know guys in and around the program.
The refs are ruining the game though. Even though it was an offensive crapfest, it was a great defensive battle since there were no fouls being called on either team. Then, there was a lot on one team, and they were soft fouls. THAT is what kills a good game. Lots of whistles with no merit.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
Hard to Watch...
I haven’t really had much to add this year, so I’ve sat back and kept quiet. Yes that sounds like the same attitude the team has taken into this season, but what are you going to do? It’s hard to admit I even feel lost and don’t even know where this team/coaches need to start.
Any ideas?
There are clearly guys on this team that are future leaders
If Wayns is healthy, he and JVP can carry a big load of the team. Ty Johnson looks like a TRUE PG that will play lockdown D for all 4 years that he is here. Markus Kennedy, when given a chance, plays his ass off. There are guys that are hungry.
And there are guys like Mouph, that are just soft and don’t have the edge demanded by the coaches. If Wayns is back next year, I like the foundation of the team because Arch, Ochefu and (Godwilling) Jefferson are the real deal. As is JVP.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
Sutton needs to play more...
He blocks and alters shots. He can get up and down the court. Why he doesn’t get 20 minutes a game boggles my mind.
"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room." - Churchill
by Esteban d' Amur on Feb 16, 2012 3:25 PM EST up reply actions
With how he is playing, I agree
He’s got a good attitude out there and works his tail off.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
He led us..
in scoring against USF. Read that again. Slowly.
"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room." - Churchill
by Esteban d' Amur on Feb 17, 2012 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
Jesus really?
I was afraid to look at the box score, and still am.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
This year clearly sucks
and yes Cheek and Mouph are disappointing. However, I agree that we are in fine shape for the coming years. This is incredibly frustrating to watch, but I am also getting tired of the doomsdayers (primarily on other blogs) calling for Jay’s head. Would we even care about a year like this if it weren’t for the last 7 that Jay has coached? As the infamous 50 Cent once said “Sunny days wouldn’t be special, if it wasn’t for rain”
by stokesfromfisher on Feb 16, 2012 4:11 PM EST up reply actions
I'm...
no domsdayer, but next year they have to be much better than this. If this shit show continues next year then Jay has a ton to answer for.
"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room." - Churchill
by Esteban d' Amur on Feb 17, 2012 8:27 AM EST up reply actions
I agree
Roy Williams had a bad year at UNC, he rebounded and hasn’t looked back.
Where Jay has taken this program, a down year is understandable. Two is not.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
Is Jefferson a possibility Chris?
That would be a great sign if it happens. I like Johnson to. I just wish he would look for his shot more. I guess freshman jitters. Jay needs to play Kennedy more.
Still in the hunt
But the smart money says Duke (out of nowhere) right now.
Leading Man at The Nova Blog, SB Nation's Villanova Wildcats blog.
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