The Holy Land of Hoops

Two weekend games in the tourney this weekend, with a Sweet Sixteen on the line...!

Villanova vs Connecticut, Saturday at 9:40pm from Buffalo NY.

The old Big East rivals face each other. Both teams are very familiar with one another. I haven't watched much of UConn this year, because I boycott ESPN stations so I missed their games vs Central Florida and South Florida. But from what I remember, UConn's main man is senior Shabazz Napier, their go-to guy. And their guard Boatwright is another great player, giving them a great backcourt. UConn's frontcourt has some holes, I think.

Anyway, Villanova took some time to settle in before blowing out Milwaukee on Thursday night. I love VU's potential for a deep run this tourney, with a ton of scorers and ballhandlers. Their Final Four road goes through UConn in Buffalo, and then two games in their "home" court of Madison Square Garden vs either Iowa State or UNC first, and then possibly Michigan State or Memphis in the Elite-8 game.

This UConn game concerns me. They've got 4 players---Giffey, Daniels, Boatright and Napier--who can fill it up from 3. Add that to a penetrating guard in Napier who is comparable to someone like Cotton in his ability to finish. And theyve got some length upfront. Nova struggles against teams that: a). Shoot the 3 well, b). Have front court length that can neutralize Pinkston, c). Have quick penetrating and experienced guards who can move the ball quickly to find open looks. I think it'll be a knock down, drag out old time BE battle but the matchup is not ideal IMO. Hope I am wrong.

I think both CU and Nova were unlucky in their 3rd round matchups. Baylor has the athleticism that SJU has with big guys who can really finish.

Essentially the same exact Nova and UConn teams from last year, except Nova is greatly improved -and they beat the Huskies by 9 on the road shooting abysmally for the first half. Bell definitely has to get back on the 3pt wagon - 0-8 last game and choked hard in the Seton Hall game. Growing up a UConn fan, currently living in CT and having attended Nova and am now a Nova fan I think Nova will take this comfortably. Not irrational confidence - that would be what Huskies fans have been preaching for the last 2 days.

Great start Nova!!

Nova looks good. Let's get two BE teams to the sweet 16.

Nova hasn't scored in 8 minutes.... wow.

10 minutes without scoring, wow. Don't think I've seen that before.

ljay wrote:10 minutes without scoring, wow. Don't think I've seen that before.

Jeezzzzus c'mon.

This game is really close...

yeah Nova has looked awful for the past hour. Creighton really needs to win tomorrow now.