By Bud L. Ellis
The Villanova Wildcats looked like a contender for the national championship just five weeks ago.
My, how things turned south in a hurry. The final step down for the Wildcats came Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Providence, R.I. The second seed in the South Regional, the Wildcats were outscored 10-3 in the final two minutes and fell to No. 10-seed Saint Mary’s, 75-68.
It was a fitting end for a Villanova team that dropped six of its final nine games. It nearly was six out of its final eight, but the Wildcats wiggled away from No. 15-seed Robert Morris in overtime in their NCAA opener.
Saint Mary’s didn’t let the Wildcats off the hook. Tied at 65-65 with just under two minutes to go, the Gaels scored the game’s next five points and that was that.
Corey Stokes led Villanova with 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers on a day where the Wildcats shot a dreadful 36 percent from the field. Maalik Wayns came off the bench to add 10 points.
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 6:57 pm by bud
Tags: Corey Stokes, Final Four, Maalik Wayns, NCAA Tournament, Robert Morris, Saint Mary’s, Villanova Wildcats
In the always dangerous Big East, the hardest part about losing one game is getting right back on your feet and not having those losses begin compiling. (Ask Georgetown, circa last year, about how quickly that can happen.)
Villanova’s now on its first two-game losing streak in 70 games, after falling on the road at Pittsburgh on Sunday, 70-65.
Villanova hadn’t lost two straight games since February of 2008, but after losing to tourney-desperate UConn on Monday, ‘Nova found themselves out-hustled by the hungry Panthers on Sunday. Senior guard Scottie Reynolds, who’s been mentioned in the Big East Player of the Year conversation, finished with 20 points on the day.
“It’s been a long time since we lost back-to-back games,” Reynolds said. “I can’t hang my head and I can’t let the other guys hang their [heads] either.”
‘Nova kept clawing back in the second half, largely with some clutch shots from Reynolds, but Pitt always managed to stay ahead through the end.
“I think the good thing about our team is that they understand how to move on to the next game,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “When we were winning, that’s what we told them. It’s what we always talk about.”
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 9:22 pm by bryan
