Sleeping with the Enemy: The Wildcats of Villanova

Here we go. Georgetown! Villanova! Big East supremacy on the line!  Here with us to dish on all things Wildcats are our bros at VUHoops.com, your trusted source for all things Villanova.  Let's do this!

Big bad Villanova, you so fancy with your top 5 ranking.  We're not afraid of you!

Did you see Saturday's slopfest against Penn? Maybe you shouldn't be. Although the story with Villanova this year has been to sleepwalk through the RPI killers but turn it on for real competition. I don't think they'll have any intensity issues on Monday night given the opponent.

Really though, we know you are thankful for us. Somebody has to make sure the Big East has an elite team.


How is it that you guys are blowing everyone out so far but everyone else is playing in battles to the death?

Villanova's defense doesn't get as much credit from the media as it should. They've got seven guys that can guard just about anybody on the floor and then Daniel Ochefu to protect the rim if there are any breakdowns. The defense allows them to absorb any cold stretches on offense, and when the shots do start falling, they can build double-digit leads very quickly.

They've had some trouble keep the pedal to the floor for the whole game, and the foul shooting has been suspect, so a few of their games have felt much closer than they really were when looking at the final score.


What are your expectations for this Villanova team in March? How far can you go?

It's hard to say I wasn't feeling this way last season, but the maturity level of the team feels different this season. I think that makes the Final 4 a realistic goal, whereas last season I think most fans would have said the second weekend in March was the ceiling. 

Villanova still hasn't faced a Top 10 quality team this season, so it's hard to know how they will respond if they run in to a Duke/Wisconsin/Louisville type of team in the tournament, but the style of play, and the defense, leads me to believe they have the makeup to succeed against a team at their level more often than not.


Scottie Reynolds has provided a spark for the Wildcats this season.  How do you see him impacting this game against the Hoyas?

This will never get old, but I'm disappointed you posed nine questions without taking a shot at Ryan Arcidiacono, who will definitely enter Reynolds-like longevity next season (if he isn't there already) in the minds of Big East fans. Arch did channel the ghost of Reynolds earlier this year by executing an end-of-half set play to perfection for a cool bucket.


Your 'Jay Wright Suit Watch' feature after every game is probably the 3rd best thing on the internet behind our Document Your Lunch and Qasual Questions.  Has Jay met your expectations this season with his sideline attire? Is it possible for him to raise the bar?

Thank you! That's all MikeJ. and his immense knowledge (or at least Googling ability) of men's fashion. I'm a big DYL fan and as you know sometimes participate when I catch it happening. 

I'd say more often than not the fanbase has been disappointed with Wright his season. He's been overusing the three-piece, three button suit in my opinion, but he makes it look good. I'd like to see him go with a more modern two-button suit more often, personally.


What schools other than Georgetown did you apply and not get into?

I had the good fortune of being a soccer player that was recruited, so I only applied to schools that wanted me which made the stress stay low. Georgetown didn't recruit me (thank God), but I did get one surprise when I was rejected from Dartmouth having verbally committed there and applying Early Decision. Long story short, the somebody in admissions ended up getting canned because they were widely rejecting athletics applications across the board.

In case anyone was wondering, I had nowhere near the grades to get in to Dartmouth with the athletics, so I had little to complain about.


Let's say I'm coming to Philly for a Villanova game and I have time for three meals during my trip.  Where am I going and what am I ordering?

I'll give this the breakfast/lunch/dinner treatment. I'm a huge supporter of Joe's Place in Wayne which gives you a great dirty-spoon diner breakfast and less of a crowd than the overhyped Minella's. For lunch you have to hit up Jim's on South Street for a cheesesteak (again, avoid the media-hyped Pat/Geno's frenzy). For dinner we're going upscale. Head over to Fork in Old City. I had the good fortune of getting treated to a birthday dinner here a while back and the lamb made an impression on me.


Prediction time: How many Big East teams make the Dance and who are they?

The conference is going to bring way too much carnage for seven or eight, so I'm going to go with six - Villanova, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence, Xavier, St. John's. Sorry Butler, but I can't in good conscience unleash Kellen Dunham on the rest of the college basketball world.


Final score prediction?

Yesterday was the first time I watched Georgetown play since Atlantis, so I really don't have a good feel for what form they're in. I think Villanova is going to do everything they can to take DSR out of the game, so it will come down to other players. I think Villanova rotation > Georgetown's, and with a weird start time on MLK, I don't anticipate a raucous atmosphere to deal with. Villanova wins by 11, 78-67.