Villanova Basketball is streaking, but can’t look too far ahead

Happy Monday Nova Nation! Your Villanova Wildcats won their 10th consecutive game yesterday against Big East rival Georgetown. That gives them the third longest winning streak in the country behind only Tennessee (16) and Washington (11). Double digit win streaks are not uncommon for Villanova, especially recently. The Wildcats have gone on a 10-0 run in five of the last six seasons, which now includes 2019. But unlike those other streaks, Villanova’s pulled this one off in the first half of Big East play.

Sunday’s win tied the 2010 season for the best start to Big East play in school history at 9-0. On Wednesday they’ll have a chance to set a new school record by starting Big East play a perfect 10-0. It’s rare that you’d want a team to focus on something like that, but anything that keeps them from looking ahead to Saturday is welcome in my book.

You see this weekend Villanova will travel to the Marquette Golden Eagles for the first of their home and home meetings this season. The Big East has become a two horse race with Villanova just edging out Marquette for the current lead. The Golden Eagles lone loss on the season came on the road at St. John’s, but they’ve been on their own eight game winning streak since then. Given the state of the rest of the conference, this game could seal it for the Wildcats or bring Marquette right back into the hunt.

Nova’s handled distractions like that before, but it couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. You see, last night’s Super Bowl officially marked the opening of the college basketball window to the public. While many are still a month away from caring, this week you’ll likely see a million “here’s what you’ve missed” articles focused on catching up NFL fans that are ready to fill their time with another sport. And almost every single one of them is going to talk about how the Big East is down, but Nova at Marquette this weekend is must see.

Which, again, is why Wednesday’s game is so important. A win on the road against Marquette doesn’t mean nearly as much if Nova loses a trap game to Creighton because they were looking ahead. The Bluejays are the second most efficient offense in the Big East, and rank 14th in the country. That’s bolstered by the Nation’s 3rd best Effective Shooting Percentage (eFG%), and if they get hot it could become a foot race that the Wildcats may not be able to answer. The Georgetown game showed that a cold shooting night can happen anytime, anywhere.

So yes, celebrate this accomplishment Nova Nation. After a close loss to Kansas I don’t think anyone saw this streak coming, but here we are. That said, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One game at a time!

In other news, the NFL season is over,

Villanova defeats Georgetown

Collin Gillespie's career game carries No. 14 Villanova past Georgetown | NBC Sports Philadelphia
Collin Gillespie went off for 30 points as the No. 14 Villanova Wildcats won their 10th straight game with a 77-65 victory over Georgetown.

Booth spurs late Villanova run as Wildcats beat Georgetown, 77-65, for 10th straight win | The Inquirer
The Wildcats had their hands full with the Hoyas, who led 34-33 at halftime and were locked in a 53-53 tie before Booth sparked a 16-2 run that helped the Cats gain the victory.

With Jalen Brunson in the house for ‘Senior Day,’ Villanova takes out Georgetown | The Inquirer
What was it like to have him back? "Intimidating,'' Jay Wright said.

Villanova Basketball

College Basketball: Hahn's timely trey wins it for Villanova | delcotimes.com
Adrianna Hahn's 3-point basket with 25 seconds left in the second overtime Sunday sealed Villanova's 67-62 victory over Creighton.

AUDIO: Have you seen what Villanova is doing from 3-point range? | CBSSports.com
Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander also preview the weekend's biggest games -- including UNC at Louisville

Don't march past February and miss one of college basketball's greatest months ever | Sporting News
We know you are in terrible hurry to get to March. You're parsing through every mock bracket, trying to figure out if your team will make the tournament and whether it will be sent to Boise. (Pro tip: There’s no site in Boise this year). You’re checking the daily fluctuations of the NCAA’s NET ranking more closely than you’re monitoring the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Not Villanova Basketball

Bill Self is right: NCAA's two-year ban of Silvio De Sousa 'mean-spirited,' 'shameful' | Sporting News
The statement from the NCAA, effectively condemning Silvio De Sousa to a life without Division I basketball, illustrated plainly the folly of its eligibility department's logic.

Super Bowl 2019 score, takeaways: Patriots stifle Rams to win sixth championship in 13-3 defensive battle | CBSSports.com
One of the lowest-scoring Super Bowls in history was a defensive showdown few expected