Heading into the 2010-2011 season, no one knew exactly just how good Villanova and Texas were going to be. Both were coming off of up and down seasons and after losing a pair of longtime program stalwarts like Scotty Reynolds and Damion James to graduation, there appeared to be more questions than answers for the 2 heavyweight basketball programs. But so far this season, both clubs are making a case that they belong among the NCAA’s elite teams alongside Ohio State, Duke, and Kansas in part by coming up with big time wins against two Top 5 ranked foes this weekend.
Villanova 83, Syracuse 72
Last season’s ‘09-’10 team was supposed to be one of coach Jay Wright’s deepest squads in years featuring a bevy of talent led by the program’s #2 all-time scorer in senior Scottie Reynolds and juniors Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, and Antonio Pena, along with an infusion of talented freshmen including Top 10 recruit Mouph Yarou, Maalik Wayns, and Dominic Cheek. But around this time last season, Nova appeared to fizzle out late when they lost in a blowout to the Wes Johnson led Syracuse Orangemen, seemingly sending coach Jay Wright’s crew into a tailspin over the final 10 games of the season, playing only .500 basketball and sending the Wildcats home early in the NCAA Tournament at the hands of the St. Mary’s Gaels.
Flash forward to this season as the team relies more on a group effort, rather than giving the rock to the now departed Reynolds with the shot clock winding down, and Nova is once again rounding into form, ranked #7 in the country with their lone 2 defeats coming at the hands of the once mighty Tennessee Vols(with Pearl) and Kemba Walker hitting on a game winning shot last weekend.
As for the 2010 contest, the Wildcats came out on fire nailing 8 first half threes, led by sophomore Maalik Wayns, doing his best Kemba Walker impersonation, either knifing through or shooting over the Cuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone, finishing with a team high 21 points, including 3 from long distance. But Wayns wasn’t alone as his sharpshooting backcourt mates Fisher and Stokes each connected on treys and chipping in with 16 points a piece in the winning cause.
Off the bench, Nova got a big boost from sophomore big man Maurice Sutton(8 pts, 5 reb, 2 blks in 15 mins), who played excellent defense on Big East’s leading rebounder Rick Jackson(16 pts, 15 reb, 3 blk) and providing excellent energy and several key blocked shots down the stretch. Over the final 4 minutes, with the Orangemen forced to continually foul, the Wildcats sank 14 straight from the free throw line to seal another precious Big East victory.
The Big East may now turn into 2 team race between Pittsburgh(7-0) and Villanova(5-1), who have a collossal match-up on Feb 12th which may decide who wins the conference’s regular season crown. With such great outstanding guard-play on both squads, look for Pitt and Nova to go deep in the NCAA Tourney.
Check out some highlights of the game here.
Texas 74, Kansas 63
The nation’s current longest consecutive homecourt winning streak(69 games) is over as the upstart Texas Longhorns won for the first time under coach Rick Barnes at the legendary Phog Allen Fieldhouse. The loss also knocked the Jayhawks from the ranks of the unbeatens as Ohio State and San Diego State now remain as the nation’s lone unblemished teams.
Despite getting overpowered early, mostly by an 18-3 spurt by Kansas to begin the game and being down 35-23 at half time, the Horns were led by a spirited effort by 2nd year guards J’Covan Brown’s outstanding perimeter shooting(23 pts) and leading scorer Jordan Hamilton’s all around play(16 pts, 7 reb). They got a boost from their youngsters as well as freshmen Tristian Thompson(12 pts, 5 blks) and Corey Joseph(11 pts, 9 reb) seemed unfazed by the mystique of playing their first contest at the Phog, with each making key contributions late, helping Texas overcome a 15 point lead to emerge victorious.
In the 2nd half, the Jayhawks were plagued by poor shooting and untimely fouls as the Longhorns continually made big stops and made seemingly un-ending trips to the foul line. Brown, Hamilton, and Thompson(a 50% FT shooter) came up especially big at the charity stripe, connecting on 21 of 25 attempts combined.
Kansas was led by a Tyrel Reed’s 17 points and Marcus Morris with 16 points and 7 boards but seemed to lose composure late in the game. Freshman sensation Josh Selby chipped in only 4 points on 2 of 9 shooting as the Jayhawks as a whole faltered big time from the free throw line, making barely 60% of attempts. They were also plagued by foul problems as Selby, starting point Tyshaun Taylor, and big man Thomas Robinson each sat large portions of the game, all finishing with 4 fouls.
The win will surely vault the Longhorns into the Top 10 in the rankings and may even now make them a contender in not only the Big 12 but as a darkhorse in the national title picture. But not all is rosey as star Jordan Hamilton could be seen late in the game in a heated exchange with coach Barnes where both had to be separated. No word on if there will be any disciplinary action.
Check out highlights of Texas’ huge win here.
Do you think Villanova and Texas deserve mention among this year’s elite NCAA squads like Duke, Ohio State, and Kansas?
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
