Saturday, March 20, 2010

Day 3, Villanova's habits catch up to them

Last year Villanova was a tough defensive team that played 3-4 guards with a dangerous offense predicated on slashing and kick-outs. The center of this offense was Scottie Reynolds, the player who hit a driving layup to beat Pittsburgh and claim a spot in the Final Four.

This year's tournament Villanova team was a tough defensive team that played 2-3 guards with an offense that didn't seem to have an identity. Scottie Reynolds shot about 4-26 in the 2 games, and totally lost the swagger he gained from last year's Final Four run. Without their catalyst, Nova's offense wasn't consistent enough. Against 15 seed Robert Morris, their defense forced enough turnovers to keep them in the game, and their sheer talent advantage eventually was just enough to advance to the Round of 32. Against St. Mary's they ran into a team with a dominant post player (Omar Samhan) who was able to get St. Mary's a ton of bailout baskets when the rest of the team was harried by Nova's defense. Seriously, his post moves are outstanding.

That, and a couple of huge 3's in the last few mintues, were enough to send Villanova packing, and unfortunately, hand Duke the South region. If Duke doesn't make the Final Four, they should give up basketball next season, because the only possible threat in this region was Villanova.

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