Heading to Pubb Webb on Cecil B Moore Ave. to meet some friends and down some beverages. Go Cats!

Latest update to the BE Tracker:
https://villanova.n.rivals.com/news/2015-16-big-east-tracker

I will add the link to the tracker to the top of the pinned News Roundup thread so that you can always find it. You could choose to bookmark the link because it stays the same every update.

Creighton plays at Butler tonight at 7PM on FS1.

If the goal is for the league to position as many teams as possible for NCAA bids then a Butler win is preferred here. It also may have the side effect of making Butler a little less likely to grind all the way to the buzzer against 'Nova in the scenario where the Cats open a decent lead in the second half on Saturday. A 6-8 Butler team is probably more "desperate" than a 7-7 one. They finish the season @GTown and then with two home games against SHU and Marq. If they fall to 7-8 after VU game, they are probably thinking they can still end the BE regular season .500 or better.
A Creighton win at Butler would be huge for them and move them to 9-5 in league play - which gives them a chance to get to 11 wins PRIOR to there two closing road games against Prov and X. Creighton hosts Marq and SJU before that final road trip.

Nova Nut,

I'll be there around 6. Couple others meeting me there too.

Anyone else going?

I came up to Philly this past weekend for the game and had an interesting conversation with one of my old college roommates that I couldn't help but raise here. Full disclosure, I live in Atlanta and talk regularly to only one or two of my buddies from Nova, so at least 90% of my conversations about the team and program are within the bubble of this board and the die-hards that live here. This, of course, excludes the conversations with my wife which are typically very one-sided.

I went to a party after the game Saturday night and my old friend asked if I would get rid of Jay Wright if we don't get past the 1st weekend again this year. My immediate reaction was, "Jay Wright could murder children and I wouldn't get rid of him. Are you crazy?" We had a bit of a debate about it and what it came down to was he felt I was accepting a bit of a rich-man's "we do okay" at this point. He felt that Jay couldn't get us to the promised land but turned the program into a desirable one for a coach that may be able to.

Let me also say that this guy is not some stupid spoiled Nova fan. He's very knowledgable (usually) and I haven't known him to be a nutjob.

So I bring this to you guys as most of you here are exposed to more fans on a regular basis and I'm curious if you think this point of view is more common than I initially thought. I'm sure there are a handful of people on this board laying in wait that feel this way as well.

Anyway, curious of your comments and sick of reading about how great Temple is already.

I would like to welcome Wildcat legend, Tom Greis as a recurring columnist for VUSports.

In his first article, he takes a look back at when his 1988 team played at #1 ranked Temple:
https://villanova.n.rivals.com/news/what-goes-around-comes-around-

My latest work. Please share.

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http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...ski__Ochefu_crucial_to_Villanova_success.html

Good article! Let's hope The Chef tears it up tomorrow night!

Here are the most prolific rebounders, all-time, among Villanova players who were predominantly viewed as guards during their career:
Hubie White - 755
Kerry Kittles - 715
Lance Miller - 674
Bob Schafer - 638
Doug West - 630
Randy Foye - 625
Chris Ford - 548 (3 seasons)
...
Josh Hart - 499

if Josh Hart returns for his Senior season, he should end up around Kerry Kittles on that list.

Note: I think Jay Wright would have loved coaching a player like Hubie White.

Terrific write up by Tommy Greis. Thank you Eric for posting.

Tommy was the first player I can recall remembering and watching as a child. Granted, I was 5 years old at the time. But I was hooked for ever after.

When I got home from one of the games, I had my mother tape on 33 on the back of my V sweatshirt. I must've worn it for weeks. TG was my first favorite player.

Thanks TG for your write up.

Article in the Inquirer about Ron's 6'7" son at Bonner. Sadly he has been diagnosed with Marfans so his career is done. The paper says he was a D1 prospect.

For veteran Board members, I started posting a Lexicon of Villanova Basketball around President's Weekend starting in 2007.....the last couple of years I passed as there were very few new terms....

Over the years we had "Glue Guys"....less talented contributors that did the little things to help win...Reggie Redding was the prototype glue guy...sometimes the Board over appreciates a glue guy and sometimes he is undervalued...

We had discussions of Tyreke Evans and mama's fresh baked pies...lots of recruiting stuff starting with Ellington and Henderson to that great transformational class of Yarou, Armwood, Cheek and Wayns...how did that work out??

Then there were "the shots" first by Dwayne Anderson v. Seton Hall...then Scottie Reynolds in the Elite 8...

Then there was the ever present "Guard U" and SIXE debate (size for others than BEEFER) and no more "midget guards".

However, the Board circa 2007 was a battle between the Leg Humpers and Negatoids....

The Leg Humpers defended EVERYTHING Jay Wright did (including his wardrobe)....Nova was always on the cusp of greatness....the Negatoids back then were very negative by 2016 standards...many questioned whether Jay could coach or was just an empty suit. After the succeses of 2005 and 2006 it was whether Jay was a one class wonder....some of the most Negatoid were "Lappas Lovers" or in the most extreme the long forgotten TURBAN COWBOY!

The Board circa 2016 is reasonably tame by those standards...the success of the past three years has moderated some of the vitriol but as political movements mature then fragment....so has the Leg Humper v. Negatoid battle....Today's battle is about balancing EXCITEMENT with EXPECTATIONS....the competing camps now look like this...

The most extreme, unrepentant Leg Humpers are now the PEACOCK'S (until last week I would call them the Proud MacGoos) but the #1 ranking has them strutting around like peacocks, feathers gleaming ...proclaiming we are #1, thus nothing can possibly be bad. How dare anybody post anything bad after a win. The most minimal criticism over silly little things such as inbounding the basketball sounds out cries of near treason..a PEACOCK if challenged in a Presidential debate just spouts off 89-11 or "YOU ARE LUCKY TO HAVE JAY WRIGHT"....

On the other extreme on the old NEGATOID fringe are the CHICKEN LITTLES. Until Jay Wright brings home the university's second national championship every flaw must be exposed. The success of the past three years is built on the fraud of a New Big East that is a glorified mid major. This team is not number 1 it is lucky that it is not dwelling in fourth place in the B12, ACC or B!G. This team is too unathletic, shoots too many threes even though it is not a bunch of good shooters, lacks depth, and will get exposed when the BRIGHT LIGHTS come on...of course when do the BRIGHT LIGHTS come on? Is it the NCAA Tourney or just the second round as (Milwaukee was a bright lights game but Lafayette was not)...is it the BET? Seton Hall in 2014 was bright lights but the 2015 title was played in the dark....is it when we play top 10 teams such as Oklahoma or Virginia but not against Xavier? Or Kansas in 2014.

However most of the Board is now somewhere in the middle...we are now two categories of NERVOUS NELLIE"S.....the NELLIES probably would win any Board poll but are split in two camps. The PROUD NELLIES are actually attempting to enjoy this unprecedented run of Villanova success...the first #1 ranking, possible#1 seed again, third straight Big East title, last year's BET Title, the four year gift that is Ryan Arcidiacono, the development of Ochefu, the energy of Josh Hart, the transformation of Kris Jenkins. Daryl Reynolds and the enormous potential of Brunson, Booth and Bridges. However, we just can't stop being nervous about that damn second round NCAA game that looms ahead....our hearts can't be broken again, can they?....everything gets microanalysed from the prism of the NCAA tourney. We see flaws and are afraid of that "bad match-up" or tight sphincter. Yet, PROUD NELLIES still believe, still enjoy the ride....

Their first cousins the ENTITLED NELLIES share all that but can't seem to exorcise the demons of expectations. This group seems to enjoy pointing out the flaws and fears and poking the PEACOCK'S. This group, sometimes seems to view success as an ENTITLEMENT and seems ready to end the season with "I told you so"...maybe they are just NEGATOIDS in remission. I think they are Villanova fans that feel let down in march the past few too many years.

As this season winds down, we must all realize that this is a golden age of Villanova basketball...the Board debates will continue until the end. Heck even the vast majority of Chicken Littles are enjoying the ride privately. If you are on this Board often, you share Villanova basketball as an important part of your life. Enjoy the Ride....don't get too down after a bad game, don't get too upset about posters pointing out flaws....ENJOY...this is Special!

nm

Yes or No?

I vote yes, without a question. Do you agree?

This question is always out there, particularly for determining if Nova is deserving of their rankings, polls/statistical/etc. Is Nova just beating up on a bunch of mediocre teams? How would BE teams do in other leagues? Well, I decided to do a comparison with the B1G, who we had our little conference match-up with and logged a total of 17 games against (going 10-7). The teams that played were:

Nova (1)
X (1)
SH (1)
Prov (2)
GTown (2)
Butler (1)
Creighton (3)
Marq, DePaul, StJ (2 each)

MSU (1)
Iowa (1)
Maryland (1)
Purdue (1)
Indiana (2)
Mich (1)
Wiscy (2)
Nebraska (2)
Rutgers (3)
PSU, NW, IL (1 each)

(Seems balanced to me)

The average "raw" points per possession tracked by kenpom for the BE teams weighted for the 17 games against the B1G was 102.65. The average "raw" points per tracked by kenpom for the same 17 team weighting against BE competition is 100.48. What this means is the same BE teams performed slightly better offensively against the B1G than they do on average against BE teams.

The average "raw" PPP for B1G teams in the 17 games against the BE was 100.59. The same weighting against B1G teams was 104.95. So this means the B1G teams performed worse against the BE competition offensively than they do against their own conference.

Nebraska, who averages a raw 111.4 PPP against B1G teams averaged 87.5 against the BE. Wiscy, who is 8-4 in conference play but 0-2 against BE, averages 107.9 in B1G but 91.5 against BE teams.

The BE in conference play ranks near the bottom of the 32 ranked conferences in eFG% and efficiency, but near the top in tempo, turnover %, steal %, block %, Assist %, and FT %. So the conclusion I keep coming to is the BE plays a tougher, more physical defensive-minded brand of basketball than a conference like the B1G. If a team like Nebraska can average 111 points per possession in that league, what would Nova or Xavier or SH or Butler do? Does it also prove that Nova's defensive stats are legit and would hold up against any other conference? I think so.

Just some food for thought.

If you're looking for somewhere to watch the Villanova-Temple game, a bunch of us will be getting together at Gullifty's (http://www.gulliftys.com/) at 1149 Lancaster Ave. in Rosemont. Although the game isn't scheduled to start until just after 7 p.m. on ESPN2, we'll have a large portion of the bar area reserved starting at 6:30 p.m.

All ages are welcome.

I'm not sure if this is as clear-cut as adp's question, but I'm sure he'll tell us.

so I heard the score was 213 - 196

Burrsies must have loved that. No defense, just easy baskets. He hates defense.

Nova - Temple.......

http://mobile.philly.com/beta?wss=/philly/sports/colleges/temple&id=368850951

So, GOP leaders removed the lottery system last night and filled the auditorium with an anti-Trump audience.

Man, they really must be worried about this guy.

Discuss...

http://www.colleyrankings.com/hcurconf.html

Comparing the top 6 conferences performance against each other just on W/L's:

B12: 28-15 (65%)
BE: 26-18 (59%)
ACC: 31-28 (53%)
B1G: 26-26 (50%)
P12: 15-15 (50%)
SEC: 19-43 (31%)

• The B12 has winning records against every other league, though many small sample sizes.
• The BE has winning records against all but the B12. Thanks to Gtown, they have a losing record to the Big South.
• The ACC played 39 games against the B1G and SEC, plus another 16 against the A10.
• The Pac-12 played 46 games against the MWC, West Coast and Big West conferences

The Pac-12 has the #2 rated RPI while playing significantly less than half their OOC games against major conference opponents. The SEC is a joke.

I'll miss her.

the luncheon start time is now 11:15 and the end time is 1:30.

I moved it to allow everyone to enjoy the luncheon without having to worry about getting to the Pavilion on time for the Senior Day activities which begin at 2:00.

I expect the first guest speaker to be there sometime between 11:45 and 12:30 and the second speaker to be there around 12:45.

I'm surprised this didn't get brought up over the weekend. If the story is to be believed, Peyton Manning tea bagged a respected female U of Tenn trainer, had her fired then libelled her in his book resulting in her getting fired again.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...eaky-clean-image-built-lies-article-1.2530395

we're probably gonna get for our #1 ranking from the likes of Gottlieb, Davis, Bilas etc. Some of those guys do have an agenda and a bias toward the power conferences, although obviously they're still entitled to their opinions. However when the media, the coaches and the computer (RPI) all agree that Nova right now is the #1 team in the country I think their opinions will carry much less weight since Nova was a "unanimous" choice by all the major polls. Had it been a split vote, or if the margin for the number one spot was not so large, then there would be some room for debate, but that just wasnt the case this week!
So when those comments are posted on this board, lets just roll with it, consider the source, and realize and understand that the people who really count and have a vote in the process (media and coaches) have determined that Villanova is the best team in the country "right now"--------and the RPI confirms it!!