The Villanova Wildcats took down the UCLA Bruins by the score of 82-70 tonight at Madison Square Garden on Thanksgiving Eve. Any doubts we had about the 'Cats were answered tonight by Corey Fisher, Maalik Wayns, and of all people, Mouphtaou Yarou.
Yarou and Reeves Nelson of UCLA had a fascinating battle all night long. In the end, Yarou came out the better man with 13 points and 15 rebounds while teaming with Antonio Pena (2 points, but a PHENOMENAL [I cannot emphasize this enough] defensive game) to hold Nelson and Joshua Smith to 10 points each.
Corey Fisher was the star for 'Nova tonight. The Bronx native scored 26 in MSG (6-19 FG but 14-15 from the line) to lead the 'Cats. Wayns had 19 and Corey Stokes had 16 in a supporting role in the win.
The big story of the night was the Wildcat defense, once again. Stokes, Dominic Cheek, and and Isaiah Armwood shut down Tyler Honeycutt and limited him to 8 points on 3-8 shooting. The 'Cats defense was stifling once again, and it appears that this team is the real deal on that end of the floor.
Enjoy this win 'Nova Nation - we're in the Finals on Friday at 5 p.m. against the Tennessee Volunteers at 5 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden! We'll have more on tomorrow on tonight's win!