Villanova Defeats Pittsburgh By 10 As Wildcats Look to Make Run to End Season

Villanova broke out of the middle of the Big East pack last night by defeating Pittsburgh 67-57.  The game was the last college basketball game played at the storied Philadelphia Spectrum.  It was a memorable game in which No. 21-ranked Villanova defeated another tough Pennsylvania school, No. 3-ranked Pittsburgh.

Coming into the game, Villanova was 3-3 in the Big East.  They were in the middle of the Big East pack.  The Big East coaches picked Villanova to come in number five in the conference in the preseason poll.  Villanova has had many of the pundits scratching their heads while they played a soft pre-conference schedule and turned in a mediocre 3-3 record in their first six Big East games.

Wednesday night, they were outrebounded 38-32 but outshot Pitt 44.7 percent to 40.7 percent from the field.  They outshot them 40.0 percent to 18.8 percent from three-point range and 67.9 percent to 58.8 percent from the free throw line.  Shooting well is what Villanova needs to do to improve in the Big East.

Without a tree (disgruntled 6'10" Caseim Drummond has transferred), Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena are up against it in the brutal Big East frontcourts.  Cunningham is holding his own, but Pena is still a work in progress.

For that matter, Villanova is a work in progress.  They feature two young, star quality guards in 6'1" point guard Corey Fisher and 6'5" shooting guard Corey Stokes.  Fisher and Stokes both average 9.9 points per game but will surpass that substantially as they continue to grow.  The question is: How much will they grow by March 2009?

The remainder of the eight-man rotation is pretty well developed, although foul-prone 6'8" strongman Antonio Pena is still rough.  With the other six players in the rotation pretty much cooked, whether Villanova is a powerhouse in March or a bubble team depends on the development of Pena and "The Coreys."

Corey Stokes is doing pretty much what he was recruited to do.  He is shooting 45 percent (44/98) from three-point range.  He also shoots 84 percent from the free throw line.

Corey Fisher is a greatly talented point guard.  He is an excellent shooter, penetrator, and he dishes the ball well.  Sometimes he is out of control and throws it away.  He will get there, but he is not there yet.  His near-term development is key to this Villanova team.

At 4-3 in the Big East, Villanova is tied with West Virginia for sixth place.  Before last night's game, I was seeing 'Nova as a 10-8 Big East Team.  Today, they are looking 11-7.  If they shore up some of their key areas, they could finish the conference regular season at 12-6 or better.

If 'Nova peaks going into the Big East conference championships, the combination of a long Big East season and a deep run into Big East post season play could earn them a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament.  However, there are several "ifs."