First Round (Wednesday) Discussion

[DFW HOYA]

There's usually one big upset every year in the opening round that stirs the crowd, but I don't see it (yet) this year.

12 Noon: DePaul/Villanova: A closer game than people might expect, but Villanova will win. The next round could be the toughest game Georgetown could have all weekend.

2:00: UConn/Syracuse: A first round game, no less. Syracuse could make this a rout. Does the Husky Horde even come to MSG for this one?

7:00: W. Virginia-Providence: Probably the only upset possibility, though PC really laid an egg Sunday. I still see West Virginia advancing.

9:00 Marquette-St. John's: The battle of the lost nicknames: After three years out of the tournament (yes, three) the Redmen are just happy to be there, but it should be a short stay; the Warriors are looking at a third game with Pitt on Thursday night if they win.

[jerseyhoya34]

I could see SJU coming up with a win. Don't know why, but I think MU could be in for a letdown after the emotional win yesterday.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

U conn beat syracuse before i can see that happening again.

[Just Cos]

DePaul over 'Nova. That's the only one that would shock me, yet seems possible. I just don't see St. John's taking down MU. The other two games would not surprise no matter the outcome.

[geedell]

I'll be rooting hard for DePaul. I'm done with Nova and want no more.

[Nevada Hoya]

geedell said:

I'll be rooting hard for DePaul. I'm done with Nova and want no more.

Amen!

[RockawayHoya]

Of the 8 teams playing on Wed., Nova far and away scares me the most, and it sucks they could be our opening game. They have been able to effectively erase Roy in not one, but two games this year and we would have been in serious trouble at Wachovia if Jeff didn't turn in a superhuman effort. Their pressure has also given us the most trouble out of any team trying to do so. And say what you want about Reynolds, but the guy WILL have a good game against us and WILL be motivated to play harder than most others. That will be an extremely dangerous game.

[miracles87]

Novanovanova. A little more fire to hone our edge. What could be better for potential matchups such as A&M, or the Twerps, or UK, then another scrimmage with nova? I would like to think the Hoyas will work hard enough to punish nova for their focus on Roy. Welcome to one and done, fellas. The toughest matchup available, hooray! I, for one, welcome it. This team will only win their last six by being razor sharp mentally, forty minutes at a time. We'll need that to beat 'nova.

Let's go Hoyas!!!

[bmartin]

Don't fear Nova. Georgetown will cruise. The juniors will be on.

[GIGAFAN99]

rockawayhoya said:

Of the 8 teams playing on Wed., Nova far and away scares me the most, and it sucks they could be our opening game. They have been able to effectively erase Roy in not one, but two games this year and we would have been in serious trouble at Wachovia if Jeff didn't turn in a superhuman effort. Their pressure has also given us the most trouble out of any team trying to do so. And say what you want about Reynolds, but the guy WILL have a good game against us and WILL be motivated to play harder than most others. That will be an extremely dangerous game.

Two things here:

1. Depaul beat Villanova and they're both 9-7. If Depaul had their first two games of the season back (losses at Bradley and Northwestern), they'd be right where the Wildcats are. Oh by the way, they've won 5 of 6 including ND and Marquette. If this game is "closer than I expect" it will be surprisingly won by less than one point. These teams are very close and Depaul is a good basketball team.

2. We have beaten 'Nova, everyone here realizes, right? Yes the two games were close and we had trouble with them but we went 1-1. I wouldn't mind seeing them with the significant handicap of shooting their jumpshots and running their press 24 hours after playing an extremely athletic bunch of Blue Demons.

[Just Cos]

Blue Demons need this win a lot more than Nova does. That's your upset for Wednesday.

[Big Dog]

jerseyhoya34 said:

I could see SJU coming up with a win. Don't know why, but I think MU could be in for a letdown after the emotional win yesterday.

I agree completely Jersey. MU won last night's game on emotion alone. I've never seen a place more excited for a college basketball game and uniformly in favor of one team over another--it was the loudest thing I've ever been a part of. More intense even than Gtown-Duke last year.

Fast forward to playing Wednesday at a half-empty MSG against the home team playing with nothing to lose, and start to mix in the loss that could be felt by Jerel McNeal's broken thumb, and you've got a prime chance at an SJU win. Marquette has also lost its opening conference tournament game for four consecutive years.

To be honest, I wouldn't want to bet on any of the first round games. Crazy things have a way of happening. Don't underestimate DePaul.

[jackdog74]

I'm with Giga. I would much rather face the 'Nova press with four days rest as opposed to 22 hrs. We've all been talking about the benefits of the bye and with Nova's pressing style, it should definitely play a big factor on Thursday.

[lichoya68]

nova a depaul quadruple ot and then very very tired for thurs yes yes yes

[RDF]

I'm SICK of hearing "I don't want to face......."--it's going to take Hoyas beating some very good/great teams to win BET and NCAA any year--why worry about who you play--just play your game and one thing to point out--Nova is focused on shooting the 3--the minute they are prevented from doing that--you can handle them--any team that is. Hoyas showed grit in the win and played lousy in a game they should've won by double digits if they had played half as good as they did in Philly.

I'm not worried about who Hoyas play--worried about HOW they play. As long as GU plays well, I'm not concerned. You can't achieve goals and win titles by ducking people--DePaul is a good team and Nova is as well--this is going to be a tough game, and if Hoyas don't come out ready to play--they'll be going home. They know what's at stake and it's 1 and done rest of way.

Get after it and QUIT BEING SO DANG SCARED on this board for goodness sake.

[RusskyHoya]

rdf said:

I'm SICK of hearing "I don't want to face......."--it's going to take Hoyas beating some very good/great teams to win BET and NCAA any year--why worry about who you play--just play your game and one thing to point out--Nova is focused on shooting the 3--the minute they are prevented from doing that--you can handle them--any team that is. Hoyas showed grit in the win and played lousy in a game they should've won by double digits if they had played half as good as they did in Philly.

I'm not worried about who Hoyas play--worried about HOW they play. As long as GU plays well, I'm not concerned. You can't achieve goals and win titles by ducking people--DePaul is a good team and Nova is as well--this is going to be a tough game, and if Hoyas don't come out ready to play--they'll be going home. They know what's at stake and it's 1 and done rest of way.

Get after it and QUIT BEING SO DANG SCARED on this board for goodness sake.

I don't know if it's necessarily a question of out-and-out fear. Certainly, there are certain teams that match up better against us than others. Nova seems to be one of those teams. We've already played them twice, proven we can beat them (though just barely, at least at the time). Personally, I have no desire to see them a third time.

Luck players a major factor in any successful championship run. Whether it's avoiding injuries, getting a favorable draw, weather, the other team being distracted by the proximity of their hotel to a certain Gentlemen's Club, whatever - you usually have to get a little lucky to win. I consider this as being part of the luck equation.

It's not a fear of good teams - by most objective measures, Pitt, Marquette, Louisville, and ND are better than Nova - but a preference to play teams that havn't repeatedly demonstrated the ability to give us fits. If we end up playing them, then great, bring 'em on. But I don't think there's anything wrong with wishing an easier road for yourself. I'm willing to bet the vast majority of Hoya fans were rooting for Hampton to knock off ISU in '01 - and with good reason!

[SaxaCD]

rdf said:

I'm SICK of hearing "I don't want to face......."--it's going to take Hoyas beating some very good/great teams to win BET and NCAA any year--why worry about who you play--just play your game and one thing to point out--Nova is focused on shooting the 3--the minute they are prevented from doing that--you can handle them--any team that is. Hoyas showed grit in the win and played lousy in a game they should've won by double digits if they had played half as good as they did in Philly.

I'm not worried about who Hoyas play--worried about HOW they play. As long as GU plays well, I'm not concerned. You can't achieve goals and win titles by ducking people--DePaul is a good team and Nova is as well--this is going to be a tough game, and if Hoyas don't come out ready to play--they'll be going home. They know what's at stake and it's 1 and done rest of way.

Get after it and QUIT BEING SO DANG SCARED on this board for goodness sake.

I agree -- I, for one, love to play teams that beat us earlier. I like to see them get their comeuppance during the tourney. We have a chance to do that 3 times, and that doesn't scare me, it psychs me up, as it should the team, as well. The BET is motivation enough. Throw in a little revenge, and it's what makes this week so special. The key is for our shooters to come out of their mini-slump and to keep playing tough D. I think Hibbs will be a post-season force, and I don't think Jeff will allow this team to lose games it shouldn't.

[HoyaFanNY]

don't count out uconn to beat su. if nichols or rautins struggles again like they did against nova, the game will be close. if uconn can ugly up the game long enough, they have a shot.

[TBird41]

rdf said:

I'm SICK of hearing "I don't want to face......."--it's going to take Hoyas beating some very good/great teams to win BET and NCAA any year--why worry about who you play--just play your game and one thing to point out--Nova is focused on shooting the 3--the minute they are prevented from doing that--you can handle them--any team that is. Hoyas showed grit in the win and played lousy in a game they should've won by double digits if they had played half as good as they did in Philly.

I'm not worried about who Hoyas play--worried about HOW they play. As long as GU plays well, I'm not concerned. You can't achieve goals and win titles by ducking people--DePaul is a good team and Nova is as well--this is going to be a tough game, and if Hoyas don't come out ready to play--they'll be going home. They know what's at stake and it's 1 and done rest of way.

Get after it and QUIT BEING SO DANG SCARED on this board for goodness sake.

I feel like people didn't quite get last year's WAG shirt: Respect is Back...Fear is Next is supposed to mean other teams FEAR US. Not the other way around. Bring on Nova, Bring on Cuse, Bring on Florida, UCLA, UNC and Ohio State. We need not fear anyone of them--They should AND WILL fear us.

Here's my quote: We're takin' OVER!!

;D

[Locker]

Nardi missed the second half of the Syracuse game with an ankle injury. If he doesn't play on Wednesday, I like DePaul's chances. Nardi's not that great a player, but Nova's backourt is pretty thin.