Happy Friday Nova Nation! The Wildcats play their first road game of the Big East season tomorrow against Providence, and they’ll be looking to improve upon recent road woes this season. While the Wildcats have thrived in neutral court games , the team is just 1-2 on the road.
Nova’s three road games include coming from behind to beat winless La Salle, a shocking upset to Penn, and a close but no cigar loss at Kansas. In the Kansas game, Nova didn’t play poorly, they just didn’t play well enough to win. Luckily for them, that same solid effort may be all they need against a struggling Providence team.
To the Friars credit, they’re dealing with two major injuries to key contributors. Rookie sensation A.J. Reeves has already been declared out with a foot injury, and Emmitt Holt has missed the last eight games with undisclosed health issues. Reeves has already been named Big East Rookie of the week three times this season, but missed the second half of December with his injury. Holt missed all of last season and his health continues to be an issue for a team that could desperately use him right now.
So what does that mean for Villanova? There certainly should be high expectations. This is a winnable road game and Nova will be the favorite. But slow starts and sloppy play can derail any team on the road, and we saw a lot of that in the DePaul game. If this team wants to be playing in March, they’re going to need to win on the road. This is the first step towards the dance.
In other “news”, continued coverage of Nova’s latest win, Paschall has dropped to the 2nd round in NBA Draft predictions, and Nova is no longer the consensus favorite to win the Big East. Enjoy!
Villanova Beats DePaul
National champion Villanova rallies past DePaul, 73-68 | phillytrib.com
VILLANOVA, Pa. — The upset threat is always in play this season against Villanova. The national champions have been stunned and stymied by teams they might have squashed over the
Game recap: Wildcats chase down Blue Demons to open Big East Conference play | PHILLY SPORTS NETWORK
As the calendar turned to January and that means the start of conference play in College basketball and that is what we had on Wednesday night as the Villanova Wildcats took on the DePaul Blue Demons to open Big East Conference play from Finneran Pavilion on the campus of Villanova University.
Villanova at Providence
Shorthanded Friars dig in for national champ Wildcats | thesunchronicle.com
PROVIDENCE — Providence College men’s basketball fans are going to have to do without having freshman guard A.J. Reeves on the court for the foreseeable future.
For Friars, 3 is the Key to the D | Yur View
An analysis by Adam Finkelstein of the PC Friars defense against the 3 point shot which will aid in the improvement of the team as a whole.
Villanova Basketball
With this year’s Villanova team, it’s best not to make assumptions | Philly.com
Every game is a grind. Just don’t automatically think the Wildcats are destined for another Big East title.
2019 NBA Draft: Zion Williamson leads top 80 rankings | SI.com
With conference play on the horizon, The Crossover's Front Office reveals its updated big board and analysis for the top-80 prospects in the 2019 NBA draft. Paschall comes in at #43.
Big East Basketball Rankings: St. John's, Marquette vie for the top spot | Busting Brackets
Big East basketball is in disarray. Nobody has any idea who is good, who is bad, and who just needs more time. Still, here is where our rankings sit.
College Basketball
Bracketology: Duke leads opening field of 68 | NBC Sports
The best bracketologist in the country is back at it again.
NCAA Basketball: Biggest Winners and Losers from the 2018-19 non-conference | Busting Brackets
The NCAA Basketball season is halfway through and entering conference play. We take a look at the ten biggest winners and losers so far this year. Nova comes in as the #6 Loser :(