Villanova junior guard Maalik Wayns has been named one of the 65 finalists for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, as announced today by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. This is the 3rd straight year that a Villanova guard is a candidate for the annual award; Scottie Reynolds made the list in 2009-2010, while Corey Fisher was selected in 2010-2011. The list will be trimmed down to 20 on Jan. 1st, 10 on Feb. 1st, and a final 5 on March 1st.
Kemba Walker of Connecticut University took home the award last year. Other Big East candidates joining Wayns on the list this year include Shabazz Napier (Connecticut), Peyton Siva (Louisville), Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh), Scoop Jardine (Syracuse), and Brandon Triche (Syracuse).
More news from around the conference after the jump...
The updated Top 25 rankings came out today; the rankings include 6 Big East squads, including Syracuse, Louisville, Connecticut, Marquette, Pittsburgh, and Georgetown. Seton Hall falls into the "other receiving votes" category for the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Dana O'Neil, a writer for ESPN, came up with her Big East power rankings as of December 19th, 2011. Villanova is ranked 12th in the 16 team league by O'Neil. In regards to the Wildcats, she states,
In disarray seems an apt description of the Wildcats about now. Their first trip to the St. Joe’s campus ended up in a beatdown, with the Hawks throwing down enough thunder dunks to fill a highlight reel. Disjointed on defense, Nova also is a mess on offense. The Cats, who are at their best when they drive to the hoop, instead opted for 27 3-pointers against St. Joe’s and made just five of them.
O'Neil's assessment of Nova is spot on, and I think most, if not all, Villanova fans would concur.