yes one more, great job big fella!!!

First thing he says after the game "that's not the same Providence that beat us, Bentil was not the same player". Bentil scored 20 today. Never mentions that are SR big didn't even play. Just about any other coaching the country would have led with the fact we played that well in spite of not having our big man.

Saw this on Twitter after the game...

"With today's win, the Villanova seniors tie the 2009 class for most wins, at 102. Chance to become the winningest class with a W on Tuesday."

all is good when you are in first place, a project #1 seed BET & NCAA, #1 in kenpom and #1 in RPI ... if the Polls rank 'Nova #1 on Monday it will be a clean sweep:
https://villanova.n.rivals.com/news/2015-16-big-east-tracker

Ok 2
VU 3

just watching now. 15 minute mark of second half. Josh hart gets stripped he's on the floor and out of the play as Lindsey heads down court for an easy layup. somehow hart ends up blocking the shot. He really is a tremendous basketball player who never takes 1 second off.

*Disclaimer: This is not a bashing thread. This team is amazing. Jay is amazing. Hugs and Kisses*

I am excited about this team because there is still room for improvement. As Jay consistently says the goal is to get better everyday. I see several areas for [marginal] improvement to have this team firing on all cylinders come March.

1. Booth's play -- he has been underwhelming this year but he has skills. IMO this is the biggest area for improvement....can we get more out of him? Even defensively he has room for improvement. 13 mins yesterday with only 7 players is evidence that Jay was not happy with his play.

2. TO's vs good defensive teams. 16 TO's yesterday was not good. Inbounding the ball still remains a concern. Even Arch who traditionally has been great had a couple head scratcher. Eliminating those basic mistakes pays dividends in tight March Madness games.

3. Mikal Bridges -- his game has been fantastic to-date but his potential is obvious. He has been improving as the season progresses and as the adage goes freshman arent freshman come March. Excited about his continued development this season.

4. Brunson -- similar to Bridges comment above I think he can improve this year as well. He is certainly playing within himself and has been generally making good offensive decisions. He has had some poor defensive rotations/losing his man which leads to open 3's.

I am sure there are a few others...

Booth and Brunson seem to do this alot. Booth has been called on it the last couple of games especially. I personally think the call is correct (though inconsistently called throughout college basketball). Can someone enlighten me on the nuances of this rule? Can any coach's chime in on how to balance off hand ball protection while avoiding extensive contact?

The amount these players improve year over year is truly impressive and a credit to Jay Wright.

It is likely a combo of finding guys with great work ethic in recruiting and then having the coaching acumen to show them the way. But I see Darryl Reynolds taking mid range jumpers on the road against a top 15 team; Josh Hart blowing by guys; Kris Jenkins swatting a guy from behind. These are plays that don't happen last year.

Those who want to bash Booth or Brunson, I suggest you slow your roll. These guys will get better. I will go on record that Brunson is going to be an absolute stud next season. An offseason in the program will prove huge. Look at Bridges.

I seldom complain about officiating because it is self serving, subjective, and not particularly useful.
That being said (and I am saying this because we won anyway) how is it when Providence plays a very physical game they foul us with 50 seconds left in the second half and we are inbounding rather than going to the line ?
What is that about?
Were the refs shy, reticent, unobservant?
They seems to have been the reason this game was ever in doubt.
Not their best game?

They still command fully 2/3 of page two of the New York Times sports section devoted to college basketball. A big picture of Grayson Allen (the archetypal Dukie you love to hate?) highlights an article why Coach K's return will bring them back to the rankings.

The lower 1/6 of the page is a recap of what has been a rather monumental saturday in Div 1 men's basketball, even beyond Villanova's win over Providence. Numbers one and two have fallen but the two games only amount to six paragraphs combined.

I admire what K has done at Duke, it is truly amazing, for sure. Give the man his due. A real dynasty capable of grabbing headlines due to their uncharacteristic lack of success on the court. But think about what Jay is doing at Villanova in our newly reorganized Big East. Someone recently posted Jay's win/loss record since the formation of the league and it is astounding. We are the luckiest team in all of college basketball to have Jay as our coach. I wouldn't trade him for Izzo or Shaka or Cooley or McCaffrey or whomever.

Tomorrow we'll likely be crowned number 1 - the hunted. Yes, a heavy crown as pointed out already, but I believe Jay will wear it well.

What a week. It started with Villanova emerging as a national university and ended with our number 1 ranking in men's basketball. Fun day for a Super Bowl party. Thanks to Jay and Father Peter.

but the inbounding is still a goat screw. Haven't seen a single change yet.

If we were all to go back to preseason posts almost every one discussed concern over two things: can we play elite D and can we hold our own on the boards.

Most proud that this team is #4 in defensive efficiency and one of the top rebounding teams in the BE. If we can continue, I think those two things will serve us very well in March.

Just a tremendous, tremendous job by Jay and staff this year. Additionally the work ethic of individual players is so evident and very much appreciated by this alum.

i believe St Johns game was that game this year. My criteria would be tough situation that we pulled thru adversity, played horribly and turned things around after that!. Pitt game in the 85 season clearly comes to mind as that situation.

Maybe it could be a Team Teaching moment!

Any other games come to mind like that? Tom

Maybe we don't have the best or toughest big man or
The tallest or most athletic 4 man or
The quickest or most athletic backcourt or
The deepest bench or
The ability to stop quick guards from getting In the lane or
A lottery pick in our lineup

I'm sure I could continue the list....but I do know we have a better than 11 point per game scoring differential against their BE opponents. Next closest? Xavier at 6. I doubt there are 20-30 teams in the country who could replicate that differential. It's truly amazing how consistent we have been in dominating our new league. It starts with team defense, but our team rebounding has been equally amazing. Lastly, our offense, while not always pretty, consistently gets the job done. Truly one of the best coaching staffs in the game and some of the hardest working players.

NOVA WILL BE NO ONE...ON MONDAY...

Is there an issue with the board updating posts?

I know this is our football board but the time is here to congratulate Coach Talley's good friend Coach Wright.
What a super achievement. Tomorrow at least one of the national polls will have our Cats #1. Most likely #2 in the other. Congrats to coach Wright, his staff and the players. After Coach T's retirement press conference Jay had a long segment about Coach T on his TV show. Good buddies and two great coaches.

Reynolds is going to be battle tested for March. It could cost us a win or two in the regular season, but the minutes Reynolds is getting may prove to be the difference in a tight game when it counts.

HATES US!

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How long has it been since the Cats have had 3 players with double doubles in the same game?

Never thought it would end like this when I woke up this morning.

That is what we have had the past 2 games but I do not recall hearing the announcers mention it once. If someone got hurt or in foul trouble we were screwed. Just so many impressive things about not just today but the past 2 games.