Jay Wright met with the media today for what was supposed to be a pregame session ahead of the UConn game. Obviously, the tone of the session changed now that the UConn game has been postponed.
First, Wright expressed disappointment and sympathy for UConn. “Obviously this is disappointing," Wright said. "I feel bad for Connecticut. It’s tough to tell the kids.” Wright said that while the players were disappointed, they were grateful that they were at least able to practice and look forward to (hopefully) another game on Saturday. Wright said he tried to make practice more of a fun one this afternoon in light of the disappointing news and that the team did more scrimmaging than usual.
As for the schedule, Villanova remains down four games at this point with plenty of uncertainty looming over how the last six weeks of the season will play out. Nova still hasn't reached the 13-game threshold required for NCAA tournament eligibility, and the program had hoped to play as close to the 27-game maximum as possible. Wright said he is unsure if any or all of the missed games so far will be made up, but that the team would be willing to play three games in a week to try to make up as many games as possible. “We would agree to play a third game in a week, we just have to be careful about how we do it, how much travel," Wright said. "We have to look forward and see where can we fit a game in. I’m sure they’ll be a week where we play three, if not a couple weeks.”
Wright also said that the program attempted to find a replacement game for tomorrow night but nothing could be worked out. First it checked with the Big East, and then with the local schools, but teams had either just played or were about to play.
Bryan Antoine is healthy and is just trying to play catch up at this point. Wright didn't want to take any possibilities off the table, but it sounds like Antoine is still pretty far away. Wright praised Anotoine's mental toughness and work ethic and said he is completely confident Antoine will get where he needs to be.
First, Wright expressed disappointment and sympathy for UConn. “Obviously this is disappointing," Wright said. "I feel bad for Connecticut. It’s tough to tell the kids.” Wright said that while the players were disappointed, they were grateful that they were at least able to practice and look forward to (hopefully) another game on Saturday. Wright said he tried to make practice more of a fun one this afternoon in light of the disappointing news and that the team did more scrimmaging than usual.
As for the schedule, Villanova remains down four games at this point with plenty of uncertainty looming over how the last six weeks of the season will play out. Nova still hasn't reached the 13-game threshold required for NCAA tournament eligibility, and the program had hoped to play as close to the 27-game maximum as possible. Wright said he is unsure if any or all of the missed games so far will be made up, but that the team would be willing to play three games in a week to try to make up as many games as possible. “We would agree to play a third game in a week, we just have to be careful about how we do it, how much travel," Wright said. "We have to look forward and see where can we fit a game in. I’m sure they’ll be a week where we play three, if not a couple weeks.”
Wright also said that the program attempted to find a replacement game for tomorrow night but nothing could be worked out. First it checked with the Big East, and then with the local schools, but teams had either just played or were about to play.
Bryan Antoine is healthy and is just trying to play catch up at this point. Wright didn't want to take any possibilities off the table, but it sounds like Antoine is still pretty far away. Wright praised Anotoine's mental toughness and work ethic and said he is completely confident Antoine will get where he needs to be.