Villanova Moves On: Dominates Duke

Total domination from start to finish.  Nova came out with a chip on their shoulder and locked down the Dukies beginning on their first possession.

The Wildcats beat Duke to advance to the Elite Eight, getting 14 points and 11 boards from Dante Cunningham.  Nova now draws Big East rival and #1 seed Pittsburgh on Saturday for a trip to the Final Four. The Wildcats beat the Panthers 67-57 in their regular-season meeting in Philly.

Shane Clark and Reggie Redding held Duke star Gerald Henderson in check all night, holding him to 1 of 14 shooting and only 7 points.  Scottie Reynolds paced the Cats with 16 points while Reggie Redding added 11 points and 9 boards.

Jay Wright now lands his squad back in the Elite Eight for the second time in the past 3 seasons, but can he take them to the Final Four.  It would be his first and Villanova’s first since their championship season.

Tyreke Evans – Next Star or Next Murder Victim?

Tyreke Evans put Philadelphia high school basketball back on the map last night as he won the MVP award of the McDonald’s All-American in Milwaukee.

Evans, a scoring machine who combines a variety of playground moves and unlimited range, truly brought his ‘A’ game as he finished with 21 points and 10 boards.  Evans added his name to select company in winning the John R. Wooden MVP Award. Past winners include Michael Beasley (2007), Kevin Durant and Chase Budinger ( both in 2006), LeBron James (2003), Dwight Howard (2004) and Kevin Garnett (1995).

Tyreke is currently undecided on where he will be attending school in the fall with his top suitors being Memphis, Texas, and Villanova.  Personally if I was this kid, I’d get as far away from this city as possible. Why you ask?  Back in November Tyreke witnessed the shooting death of of 19-year-old Marcus Reason by the hands of his 16 year old cousin, Jamar “Mar Mar” Evans.  Mar Mar now faces one count of first degree murder, and one count of third degree murder. 

Here’s the detailed account of the incident:

The fatal shooting occurred at about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 25 in Chester’s Toby Farms section, according to a police affidavit. Tyreke Evans, Jamar Evans, Rasheen “Ra-Ra” Blackwell and Tyreke’s American Christian teammate, Dwayne Davis, had watched the end of the Chicago-Denver NFL game at Tyreke’s aunt’s home when his mother called his cell to tell him some pies she had baked were ready.

Tyreke Evans, according to the affidavit, got behind the wheel of a gold Ford Expedition with chrome rims and dark-tinted windows. Jamar Evans sat in the front passenger’s seat, and Blackwell and Davis sat in back. They were heading to Tyreke Evans’ mother’s house, when Blackwell and Davis noticed someone with a gun coming from an alley, the affidavit said.

According to Tyreke Evans’ account, Blackwell and Davis began yelling, “Go, he’s about to shoot.”

Tyreke almost drove into a fire hydrant to escape the shooting, family sources said.

“Davis and Blackwell said they saw [Reason] coming out of an alleyway with a handgun and yelled at Tyreke to get moving, because there was going to be shooting,” Delaware County Detective Michael Palmer confirmed.

“They said they heard a gunshot fired. Tyreke said he ducked behind the wheel and hit the gas.

“Tyreke went on to say he heard a second shot fired that was louder, but he didn’t know where the second shot came from, and he didn’t even know Jamar Evans had a gun until he saw him put it in the front pocket of his hoodie jacket. When they got back to his mother’s house, they started getting calls from friends telling them that someone was shot.”

My dad is a high school basketball coach in the area and through his network of coaching associates and friends, he has heard that this kid has to have a bodyguard with him at all times.  Now that the (215), Philadelphia, has become the murder capital of the world, I would get the F outta here if I was this kid.  As far away as possible. 

Evans hasnt had any run ins yet since the incident back in November, but rest assured these thugs have not forgotten what happened to their friend.  Tyreke is quickly acquiring lots of national recognition and fame due to his play on the court but if hes not careful, he might be remembered for the bullseye on his back off of it. 

The Big 5 SHUT-out?

As we steamroll towards the final  weekend of the regular season of college basketball and prepare for the major conference tournaments to start next week, all of the Big 5 schools are in danger of failing to make the big dance.  This would make the city of Philadelphia un-represented in the NCAA tournament for the first time in over three decades.  Here is the tale of the tape for the Big 5 (6 schools) and their chances at getting into the field of 65.

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way:

• U of Penn  OUT – Cornell wrapped up the Ivy League title last week. The Ivy League has never sent multiple participants to the Tournament.
• Drexel  OUT — The Dragons are 12-19, sitting in the 11th seed in the Colonial Athletic Conference at 5-13. The only way they can cash in a ticket to the dance is by winning 4 games in 4 nights next week at the CAA conference tournament to capture the automatic berth.
• La Salle  DOUBTFUL — The Explorers still have an outside shot at a first round bye in the A-10 tournament in Atlantic City next week, and that will be a helpful boast. The only way we see La Salle making into the field of 65 is with a conference tournament title as well.

Now, the three semi-legit contenders:

• Villanova  QUESTIONABLE — The ‘Cats too, will need to do some work in their conference tournament next week in the Big Apple. Of all the Big 5 teams, Villanova being in the Big East tournament gives the Wildcats the best opportunity to make a splash with a couple wins.  With only two quality wins over ranked opponents this year (Pitt and UCONN) combined with a weak strength of schedule and a recent double digit loss to city rival St Joe’s, ‘Nova’s bubble might have already burst. 
• St. Joseph’s  QUESTIONABLE — The Hawks have been playing themselves right out of the big dance the past couple weeks. Once a solid number two in the Atlantic Ten, a recent slide has moved the Hawks out of that position. Combat that with a low RPI, and a handful of embarrassing loses (at Creighton & Holy Cross) and it all might be too much to overcome. The silver lining is the Hawks still appear to have their fate in their own hands, with two strong opponents left on the Hawks schedule (Xavier and Dayton).  If St. Joe’s can run the table all the way to the A-10 final, they could find themselves in the field of 65.
• Temple  QUESTIONABLE — Lead by senior co-captain Mark Tyndale, junior Dionte Christmas, and Suburban One League’s own Pennsbury grad, freshman LaVoy Allen, the Owls are playing their best basketball at the right time. A classic victory over St. Joe’s followed up with win Wednesday night vs. Duquesne and the Owls have a decent chance to finish 11-5 and in sole possession of second place in the Altantic Ten. Their win over Duquense last night clinched a first round bye next week in Atlantic City.  An impressive 35th ranked strength of schedule might be filled with too many loses (7) to carry much weight, and again it might take a run to the A-10 final for the Owls to be invited to the dance.  Of all the Big 5 teams, the Owls have the best shot at representing the city when the field of 65 is revealed Sunday March 16th.

‘Nova’s Hopes Still Alive

‘Nova, who is right on the bubble as we near March Madness needed this win, and when I woke up today (2:30 pm, rough night), to my surprise, found them to be winners by 2.

The Villanova Wildcats came up with a huge victory Saturday morning against Big East rival, #13 Connecticut Huskies.  Freshman Corey Stokes and sophomore Scottie Reynolds both scored 18 points and the Wildcats beat Connecticut 67-65 on Saturday, snapping the Huskies’ 10-game winning streak.

After a 22-point loss to city rival Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 4 extended the Wildcats’ losing streak to five games and dropped them to 13-8 overall, they have rebounded in a big way. Villanova has won four of five since then with the only loss being a heartbreaking 55-53 defeat at Georgetown that was decided on a foul call 75 feet from the basket with .1 seconds to play, WHICH WAS COMPLETE BULLSHIT.  How that ref made that call, but not on Scottie Reynolds’ drive prior, blows my mind.

In my opinion Villanova needs to win out to perhaps have a legitimate shot at a NCAA tournament berth.  With a sub-par record (17-9), by recent standards, and .500 in the Big East it’s pretty obvious the ‘Cats need to finish strong against some very formidable upcoming opponents.

Coming up on their schedule is #24 Marquette at home on Monday and then they go to #23 Louisville next Sunday; two tough games that Villanova really needs to win.  They finish up the regular season with South Florida and then at Providence which have to be wins in order for them to have a strong case for on Selection Sunday.