Sat 1/11 BE Game Thread (3 Games).

[BluejaysForThree]

Nice win for Villanova... even though they had a cold shooting day on the road - they still get the win. Nova is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the Big East - and if Creighton can take care of business at home tomorrow (which is probably a stretch, as tomorrow's game is going to be a very tough one against X - even at home), win Tuesday night vs. Butler, and win at Providence - that would set up a huge match-up on Monday the 20th between what will almost surely be a Top 10 'Cats squad and a possible Top 20 Bluejay team (if things fall right). Could end up one of the premier games for the conference season if the cards fall right.

Back on topic, this was a big win for Nova to go into MSG and get the win. St John's certainly had plenty of chances in this one, and I agree that there were some brutal calls by the refs (went both ways, but the missed technical was a biggie - I think that is a flagrant in almost every other conference but for some reason the refs didn't see it that way). Either way Nova is certainly the team to beat in the BE... and if they can keep this up the whole conference season - Nova looks like they could be a solid 2 seed (if not a 1), and definitely a Top 5 team.

Now on to Marquette vs. Seton Hall, Marquette secures a solid home win over the Hall... big win to hold serve at home and hope they get things back on track.

[ivet]

Lavinwood, I thought the refs for the most part called a consistent game. They definitely let both teams play. Some of those hand check calls for both teams, but there were a lot of drives with contact with a no call. I'm fine with that - it's part of the big East. They certainly missed that Pinkston walk. SJU lost because an inability to score the ball, nothing more nefarious than that.

Villanova played a C- game and won on the road. I'll take it. We might be for real.

I agree. If st johns didn't miss so many layups they could have won. They had the opportunity in 1st half to creat a cushion but failed to do so. That being said the refs did not help them out on their home court. A 16 ft differential is also very large.

You would think the one thing that team would be good at are layups, I mean they spend most of practice doing layups right? I kid, I kid.

[Hall2012]

Ugh...again, Seton Hall showed great heart coming back in the 2nd half to only lose by 1, but at this point valiant efforts aren't enough. They need results and today they just let a game that they should have won get away.

[Lavinwood]

Really complaining about the refs, that's what your hanging your hat on? There were bad & missed calls going both ways, Harrison got like 3 complete BS blocking calls driving to the hoop, especially on the one to foul Bell out. Yes they missed the Pinkston travel and Hart got a cheapie 3 pt. shooting foul, but for the most part Nova did a better job of playing smart D and not bailing the shooter/driver out.

Nova seems to get a chance for 30+ points a game just from the charity stripe many times. I just don't see that granted to any other Big East team. The missed travel right in front of Lavin just cemented the fact that the refs were awful but a lot of BS happened before that too. The refs had no bearing on the final result…it was SJ missing bunnies. That's what it came down to. Nova was ripe to get beaten…even handily and we missed the opportunity. This program will give people heart attacks. I shut the game off in the middle of the first half once I saw how the refs were calling the game. I was confident in how the flow of the game would go. Nova sucked in the first half shooting but they were confident they'd make shots in the 2nd half and they did when they had to. SJ sucked shooting in the first half, but they just kept sucking in the 2nd half. This is a team that cannot come back. 7 pt deficits feel like 20 with this team. The only positive for this program is that they put the fans out of their misery early ending the season in early January.

[admin]

Marquette survives 67-66. Wow.

[Westbrook36]

Well Nova gets so many FT's because they don't settle for mid-range jumpers and quick 3's like a majority of the rest of the BE does. This has been our MO since last year, it's no news flash if you drive to the hoop under control your chances of getting fouled or scoring are pretty good.

[billyfa]

Lavinwood, I thought the refs for the most part called a consistent game. They definitely let both teams play. Some of those hand check calls for both teams, but there were a lot of drives with contact with a no call. I'm fine with that - it's part of the big East. They certainly missed that Pinkston walk. SJU lost because an inability to score the ball, nothing more nefarious than that.

Villanova played a C- game and won on the road. I'll take it. We might be for real.

I agree. If st johns didn't miss so many layups they could have won. They had the opportunity in 1st half to creat a cushion but failed to do so. That being said the refs did not help them out on their home court. A 16 ft differential is also very large.

St. John's put VU in the bonus with 16 minutes left in the second half. Of those 7 fouls, one was questionable, one was a good play but was a foul, and five were dumb fouls 25-30 feet from the basket. Even Raf and Gus commented on how undisciplined St. John's was. There is a fine line between aggressive and careless. St. John's spent a lot of time on the wrong side of that line, particularly in the second half.

I don't disagree. Teams put themselves in positions to get calls. I am not blaming the game on that. St John's couldn't finish plays. Nova won it. My only point was I thought the refs were terrible and I felt (although I am biased) that there were bad calls and non calls that didn't go our way. Winning teams don't put themselves in that position though. They take control of the game. I am just bitter they are 0-3 when I thought this year has alot of potential. Not giving up yet. There are still 15 games left, but if they lose on Tuesday the wheels come off.

[Lavinwood]

SJ can drive to the hoop every time and never come close to 30 or 40 attempts from the line. Refs love Nova. I noticed this last year too, not just this year. I think they won a game last year with 50 FT attempts…that is INSANE. It's not an automatic foul if someone drives on you. But for Nova it seems to be. Definitely a badly called game, but SJ did no better with missing 10 gimmes. And Billy, not giving up? 9-6 0-3. Finished. Done. Caput. Finito. Door closed. Over. This is a team that still has to play Creighton twice along with Nova and G'Town 1 more time. That's at least 4 guaranteed losses. Then there will be the random ones like DePaul or SHU that don't make sense. The wheels aren't off yet? The way I see it the SJ bandwagon has its wheels off and the car's on cinderblocks being roasted in the desert sun reeking of death.

[Westbrook36]

Drive under control, different than putting your head down and barreling to the hoop. But your right, the refs love Nova, Jay must give them envelopes full of cash prior to each game. You're on to us now, damn, Nova is only good because we have the refs on our side. We play 8 on 5 every time we take the court.

[XUFan09]

SJ can drive to the hoop every time and never come close to 30 or 40 attempts from the line.

Because they're not that good...