+2
The major sportsbooks are loving Villanova in tonight’s “Holy War” between the Wildcats and the St. Joe’s Hawks. The line is Villanova by 20. That makes Nova the biggest favorite in any college basketball game tonight by some margin. The next biggest spread is Iona, who is a 10.5 favorite over Canisus.
So is this some disrespect for the Hawk? Will this game be the blowout everyone is expecting?
A week ago, the Villanova Wildcats were dealt their first loss of the season after being upset in the finals of the preseason NIT by the Tennessee Volunteers. The loss, their first of the season, dropped Nova out of the top 10. Now, with a week of rest the Wildcats face their first Big 5 opponent of the season against the St. Josephs Hawks.
The game pits the Catholic school Villanova vs the Jesuit St. Joes, which is where the "Holy War" nickname for this game comes from. This will be the 68th time these schools have met with Nova winning 48 of those contest including five of the last six meetings.
St. Joe's played their first Big 5 opponent of the season just two days ago when they lost to Drexel 62-50. That loss halted a three game win streak by the Hawks. The Joes will be Villanova's first of three straight city series games, with Penn and LaSalle being the next two. The Hawks are young and Villanova coach Jay Wright knows that youth makes them unpredictable.
"What is scary is that they have a lot of talented young guys that can have games like Rutgers when they are really good. We've gone through this. And, they can have games when they can be real inconsistent because they're young. We just don't want to catch them on a night when they're really good. St. Joe's-Villanova is usually one of those nights."
That said, Villanova is pretty young as well and St. Joes head coach Phil Martelli has taken note of the faces on the Main Line.
"The change really is this guy inside [Mouphtaou Yarou] is a body, clearly different," Martelli said. "But the engine is run by Maalik Wayns and Corey Fisher. It does cause you to pause after so long and now saying 'Where's Scottie Reynolds in this?' Because he was around forever and such a wonderful player."
The Nova Blog says we'll learn a lot about this Villanova team seeing them play this game after the disappointment in New York last week.
Over the course of Jay Wright's tenure, you can usually tell a lot about a Villanova squad in how they perform after a loss. Losing last week at Madison Square Garden was a surprise to some, but the game tomorrow night is what will stand out to me. Can this Cats team put a bad performance in the rearview mirror and focus on the task at hand? I can't guarantee anything, but I think the veterans and the coaching staff will have this team chomping at the bit tomorrow night against a hated rival.
Corey Stokes Leads Villanova Over St Joe's 71-60
Villanova, PA (Sports Network) – Corey Stokes paced Villanova with 17 points and eight rebounds, and the 12th-ranked Wildcats edged Big 5 rival Saint Joseph’s, 71-60, at the Pavilion.
Antonio Pena contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Dominic Cheek and Corey Fisher also scored 14 points apiece for ’Nova (6-1), which was coming off a loss to Tennessee in the NIT Season-Tip Off finale last Friday.
Carl Jones tallied 19 points for Saint Joseph’s (3-4), which has dropped two straight on the heels of a three-game winning streak.
The Hawks shot better from the field than their counterparts (41 percent to 38.5 percent), but made just 2-of-7 free throws compared to the Wildcats’ 14-of-19 effort from the stripe.
Stokes and Fisher carried the load during a 10-2 run that turned an early deficit into a 20-13 Villanova lead with 11 1/2 minutes left in the first half.
The Hawks trailed 38-28 at the break, and Daryus Quarles’ three-pointer two minutes into the second stanza cut the deficit to 41-33.
The Wildcats stepped on the gas from there, scoring the next 13 points — the last two coming from Fisher at the foul line for a 21-point lead with 14 1/2 minutes remaining.
St. Joseph’s fought back, and Jones got a tough runner to fall to get to within 67-56 with 2:17 remaining.
Stokes answered with an 18-footer at the other end, and there wasn’t enough time for the Hawks to stage a comeback.
Villanova leads the all-time series, 44-24, in a rivalry that dates to 1921…Fisher made just 3-of-13 from the field…Mouphtaou Yarou grabbed 12 rebounds for Villanova, which won the battle on the glass, 48-34…Quarles scored 12 points in defeat…Villanova has fellow city rivals Penn and La Salle on tap over the next week-plus, while Saint Joseph’s heads to Princeton for a game with the Tigers on Sunday.
Dec 04 10:21a by Jason Brewer - 0 comments