Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the Villanova Wildcats play their first official game at the newly named Wells Fargo Center, or The Well. They'll host the Delaware Blue Hens, their big-time football rivals in what's becoming a yearly event in basketball as well.
Delaware sports a 5-2 record on the year and they look as though they've moved into the competitive level after struggling in recent years. Local product Jawan Carter leads the team in scoring at 16 points a game. The diminutive guard is not afraid to hoist it from deep either, having taken 14, 10, and 12 shots from beyond the arc in back-to-back-to-back games this year. Carter is supported by back-court mate Devon Saddler (leading the team in assists) and Jamelle Hagins (leading the team in rebounds).
Delaware's best win this year was over Old Dominion, a team that took the Georgetown Hoyas to the wire. Both the 'Cats and the Hens have beaten the Lafayette Leopards this year, although by much different margins.
For more coverage, see you after The Jump.
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA
TV: ESPN3
Blogosphere Coverage:
The View From Vegas:
The Nova Blog's Take:
I'm done taking games for granted. La Salle gave us all we could handle. Clearly, there is an issue with the chemistry on offense right now, but the defense was downright disgraceful until the last 5 minutes. We'll need to get that fixed in a hurry as conference play is right around the corner.
Delaware isn't as good as La Salle so we shouldn't look for another panic scenario, but they are also not the pushover they've been the last few seasons. They've got guys that can score and the longer we let them hang around, the more they'll believe.
Corey Fisher is who I'm most worried about. I thought the FG% would be better by now, but it's not. He needs to relax. This is a good opportunity to do so.
I think we're all excited to get back to The Well as it's a true homecourt advantage for us, but I'll be interested to see the turnout for a non-marquee matchup. We'll have Pops Holman in the house for this game, so look for his thoughts afterwards.