The Holy Land of Hoops

The Big East has 3 games Saturday:

#8 Villanova at St John's, 1pm on FS1 (at MSG).
Seton Hall at Marquette, 2pm.
Georgetown at Butler, 7pm on FS1.

3 more great matchups.
- The Johnnies return home after tough road games to start their BE slate.
- Villanova has had another great week after dismantling PC last Sunday and winning at Seton Hall last night.
- Seton Hall has played both Creighton and Villanova tough at home. Didn't have Edwin last night.
- Marquette trying to build on their momentum after beating DePaul.
- Georgetown in their second of three straight tough road games. Not sure if Josh Smith returns yet.
- Butler playing great ball all year, have had a tough schedule so far in conference.

billyjack wrote:The Big East has 3 games Saturday:

#8 Villanova at St John's, 1pm on FS1 (at MSG).
Seton Hall at Marquette, 2pm.
Georgetown at Butler, 7pm on FS1.

3 more great matchups.
- The Johnnies return home after tough road games to start their BE slate.
- Villanova has had another great week after dismantling PC last Sunday and winning at Seton Hall last night.
- Seton Hall has played both Creighton and Villanova tough at home. Didn't have Edwin last night.
- Marquette trying to build on their momentum after beating DePaul.
- Georgetown in their second of three straight tough road games. Not sure if Josh Smith returns yet.
- Butler playing great ball all year, have had a tough schedule so far in conference.

Huge game for Georgetown/Butler I think after last night. The Nova/St John's game really important for St John's.

Will be at the game on Saturday. Hearing lots of Villanova fans going, i'd say it will be 50/50 for each team

would also throw in the Sunday game- Xavier @ Creighton 3pm on CBSSN. By far the game of the year so far in the conference(kind of comical it's on CBSSN).

stever20 wrote:would also throw in the Sunday game- Xavier @ Creighton 3pm on CBSSN. By far the game of the year so far in the conference(kind of comical it's on CBSSN).

Seriously man, take a chill pill. You've posted in the last 10 threads. I know a lot of readers that won't post because they see you monopolizing this board. Not to say that you shouldn't post, but just dial it back, please.

CTYankee10 wrote:

stever20 wrote:would also throw in the Sunday game- Xavier @ Creighton 3pm on CBSSN. By far the game of the year so far in the conference(kind of comical it's on CBSSN).

Seriously man, take a chill pill. You've posted in the last 10 threads. I know a lot of readers that won't post because they see you monopolizing this board. Not to say that you shouldn't post, but just dial it back, please.

ignore button is good.

mel ott wrote:

CTYankee10 wrote:

stever20 wrote:would also throw in the Sunday game- Xavier @ Creighton 3pm on CBSSN. By far the game of the year so far in the conference(kind of comical it's on CBSSN).

Seriously man, take a chill pill. You've posted in the last 10 threads. I know a lot of readers that won't post because they see you monopolizing this board. Not to say that you shouldn't post, but just dial it back, please.

ignore button is good.

We want the board to be enjoyable for everyone but we are going to start employing some additional moderation to help reduce the noise here.

I just feel like SJ is long overdue to win a game they have no business winning. We are typically good for 1 of those each year. In the past even with bad teams we would still knock off a ranked Cincy or Notre Dame team...or UConn who wasn't ranked but very good. It's going to be hard for Nova not to slip at all. Only 1 loss to #2 Cuse...in this league that will change it's only a matter of when. Not taking anything away from Nova they are clearly the best team, but at some point SJ is going to pull an upset. That's just what happens in the Big East. But as I said before I also won't be surprised if we lose by 30. I just think this team is maddeningly inconsistent and coming off 2 ice cold shooting losses and too many close calls we lost, I think the pendulum will be swinging on our side.

By the way, at work just heard a guy talking about how he likes going to SJ games at the Garden. A good omen maybe?

Lavinwood wrote:I just feel like SJ is long overdue to win a game they have no business winning. We are typically good for 1 of those each year. In the past even with bad teams we would still knock off a ranked Cincy or Notre Dame team...or UConn who wasn't ranked but very good. It's going to be hard for Nova not to slip at all. Only 1 loss to #2 Cuse...in this league that will change it's only a matter of when. Not taking anything away from Nova they are clearly the best team, but at some point SJ is going to pull an upset. That's just what happens in the Big East. But as I said before I also won't be surprised if we lose by 30. I just think this team is maddeningly inconsistent and coming off 2 ice cold shooting losses and too many close calls we lost, I think the pendulum will be swinging on our side.

By the way, at work just heard a guy talking about how he likes going to SJ games at the Garden. A good omen maybe?

This will be a HUGE test for Nova, no question. All the circumstances for this game point to SJU making their stand.
1).SJU has been preparing for a week. This will be Nova's 2nd road game, just 3 days apart.
2). SJU's first home conf game, and they have yet to win.
3. SJU needs a signature win to take a step forward and they've got the highest ranked team that they will face for the rest of the year coming to their home. If not now, then when?
4. Nova just came off a game in which we shot 50+% from 3. When we have success from 3 we tend to force it up the next game. I could foresee a 7 for 25 from 3 type game (if Nova ends up losing).
5. I think SJU is the only team in the BE that can definitively "out-athletic" Nova. If SJU decides to hustle and match Nova's intensity that will neutralize one of Nova's big strengths.

Now there are things that Nova does that will cause SJU a lot of discomfort. I think we are the best team in the BE in terms of consistent defensive pressure. They lose to teams that are disciplined (prob not SJU) and teams that can both beat you with a big front line and good 3 pt shooting (prob not a description of SJU). They force teams into bad shots and SJU tends to rely on lots of jump shots. The crowd will have lots of Nova alums in attendance, including yours truly. I don't know if that it will be as many as The Cuse brought, but it def will not be a huge SJU-only crowd.

This is going to be a good one. Hoping for a spirited, highly competitive, old time BE battle in the Garden. Hoping Nova wins but that the game helps SJU figure some things out that propels them towards the top of the league and get back in the tourney discussion.

GumbyDamnit! wrote:

Lavinwood wrote:I just feel like SJ is long overdue to win a game they have no business winning. We are typically good for 1 of those each year. In the past even with bad teams we would still knock off a ranked Cincy or Notre Dame team...or UConn who wasn't ranked but very good. It's going to be hard for Nova not to slip at all. Only 1 loss to #2 Cuse...in this league that will change it's only a matter of when. Not taking anything away from Nova they are clearly the best team, but at some point SJ is going to pull an upset. That's just what happens in the Big East. But as I said before I also won't be surprised if we lose by 30. I just think this team is maddeningly inconsistent and coming off 2 ice cold shooting losses and too many close calls we lost, I think the pendulum will be swinging on our side.

By the way, at work just heard a guy talking about how he likes going to SJ games at the Garden. A good omen maybe?

This will be a HUGE test for Nova, no question. All the circumstances for this game point to SJU making their stand.
1).SJU has been preparing for a week. This will be Nova's 2nd road game, just 3 days apart.
2). SJU's first home conf game, and they have yet to win.
3. SJU needs a signature win to take a step forward and they've got the highest ranked team that they will face for the rest of the year coming to their home. If not now, then when?
4. Nova just came off a game in which we shot 50+% from 3. When we have success from 3 we tend to force it up the next game. I could foresee a 7 for 25 from 3 type game (if Nova ends up losing).
5. I think SJU is the only team in the BE that can definitively "out-athletic" Nova. If SJU decides to hustle and match Nova's intensity that will neutralize one of Nova's big strengths.

Now there are things that Nova does that will cause SJU a lot of discomfort. I think we are the best team in the BE in terms of consistent defensive pressure. They lose to teams that are disciplined (prob not SJU) and teams that can both beat you with a big front line and good 3 pt shooting (prob not a description of SJU). They force teams into bad shots and SJU tends to rely on lots of jump shots. The crowd will have lots of Nova alums in attendance, including yours truly. I don't know if that it will be as many as The Cuse brought, but it def will not be a huge SJU-only crowd.

This is going to be a good one. Hoping for a spirited, highly competitive, old time BE battle in the Garden. Hoping Nova wins but that the game helps SJU figure some things out that propels them towards the top of the league and get back in the tourney discussion.

Agreed. Good analysis. I have always respected and admired Nova from afar...if I were to pick a program to be like in our conference program wise it would be Nova. Great coach, great recruiting, great facilities (you guys are getting the new arena), great reputation, a national championship and consistent winning almost every single year. Nova always tends to be gritty too...they put in the work and I like that. It definitely won't be a big SJU crowd...many have given up on this team already anticipating another loss. The fanbase is just so tired of watching SJ teams go nowhere every year. 5 tourney berths in 20 years...that says it all. I really thought SJ was WAY overdue for a win over Cuse and it made complete sense we almost stole one from them...it's the law of averages. The way I see it, the luck has to be on our side. Nova is coming off red-hot shooting blowing out PC and only 1 loss to Cuse. We are coming off back to back blowouts shooting ice cold. Harrison had maybe his worst game ever. He was like 1-15. We are also fighting for our lives while Nova is a pencil-in for the tourney. It's the classic trap game. The game most would say is a 20+ pt win for Nova. But then SJ comes out of nowhere at home and lights it up. I predict either a small SJ win or a Nova blowout. This team has basically flipped tails 500x in a row...at some point it has to land on heads. Time for a big win we haven't gotten all year. We are ripe for the win. But it will be interesting to see what happens.