Aiming High: Villanova

[SFHoya99]

There are only three teams in the Big East currently with "must make the tourney" RPIs: BC, Syracuse and Villanova. This will likely change as certain teams win more in conference play, such as UConn or Providence.

That leaves us with very few chances to impress the tourney committee. I'll admit a tourney bid is a higher level of goal this year; I don't expect it. But it is games versus these tourney level teams that will help us see how good GU is as well.

Now Villanova is without Sumpter, but they still beat Providence, and if he comes back in the short end of his 3-6 weeks, Nova could be one of the best teams in the BE.

This is not the team's first shot at bagging a major road upset (we got that at Pitt) but it is their first shots at bagging a Top 50 RPI on the road.

If that happens, the committee will take notice.

(Edited to say that Clemson somehow has a 41 ranking in RPI. Simply because it got beat by Duke and Wake back to back).

[GIGAFAN99]

Oh man, did we just have a good chance at this one fall into our laps or what? Providence is a very bad basketball team, make no mistake about it. Still the way 'Nova came together was a bit impressive.

But who we fooling? Sumpter is a huge blow to this team. He is a truly special player. We were awful and small and downtrodden last year and nobody else on that team stepped on our necks except Sumpter. He was 9-11 for 24 points in half a game because of foul trouble. Now he wouldn't have been able to just mop the floor with us this year anyway, but it's so much nicer that he's not around.

We actually have a chance on the road in this one. If we get out early and take the oversold-out crowd out of it, we can win it.

[DuddingtonHoya]

amazing how every game suddenly looks winnable. i'll take a road victory at 'Nova, but even more I'd like to crush some orange.

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

If we can steal one of the two, nova or Cuse, we would be lined up for a great second half of the season. Cuse will be more difficult but based on how we played last year, you never know with our group.

If you asked me during the first half of last nights game, I would have told you we were going to drop the next three. We need to get out of the gates early as both the UConn & Rutgers games we dug significant holes. Rutgers just wasn't that disciplined and that allowed us back in.

What was their offensive strategy by the way? Clear out and take it to the hole?