by Paul Casey Gotham
Setting: Whoa Nellie! It’s gonna be a barn burner at the Wachovia Center when Jay Wright’s #3 seed Villanova Wildcats tangle with Ben Howland’s #6 UCLA Bruins in the second round of the East Region.
Villanova should enjoy some home-cooking and home support.
Plots: Which team will be respond to the alarm clock that went off in the first round? Both teams are coming off first-round scares. After trailing by 14 early in the second half Villanova outlasted American University 80-67. The Bruins held off a late rally by Eric Maynor and the VCU Rams to advance 65-64.
Sub Plots: UCLA outrebounded VCU 32-29. It seemed like a lot more than that. Or maybe it was that the Bruins decided to get active on the offensive glass in the second half. Josh Shipp pulled down three offensive boards in the second stanza – all of which directly led to points. In all the senior grabbed 8 boards as did Alfred Aboya. Nikola Dragovic led the way with 13.
All five Bruin starters scored double figures – Shipp had 16.
Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson each chipped in a quarter for the Wildcats. Corey Fisher had 11 off the bench.
Will 6’8″ Cunningham have the same success against the more athletic Bruins?
Conflict: Darren Collison vs. Scottie Reynolds.
Reynolds is a master at drawing contact, and Collison picked up four fouls versus Eric Maynor. Can Collison contain Reynolds without foul trouble AND run an offense. The Wildcats will put plenty of guards on the floor and force the Bruins to start their offense further from the basket than usual. Can Collison get it done?
‘Nova guards mugged UCLA. I loved the physical play from everyone, especially Reynolds. They really made it their priority to keep UCLA’s lengthy guards from getting to the basket. Wildcats to the sweet 16! Temple is eliminated so I’m stuck rooting for our fellow big 5 member.
C’mon Rey – no love for the fellow A10 schools? Gotta pull for Dayton and Xavier – conference pride. 🙂
Somebody mugging the UCLA guards? Hmmmm…any surprise there? Collison is soooo average.
Bye bye to the SEC!
My apologies to the Mrs. and your eldest daughter, Casey. I will now also be pulling for Dayton and Xavier. Need some respect for the A-10! Did you know how long ago you predicted a first round Dayton win? Check out your bleacher report profile when you get a chance.