Villanova stunned by St. Mary’s, 75-68

The Villanova Wildcats couldn’t get big baskets down the stretch and were upset by Saint Mary’s, 75-68. 

Villanova got off to a slow start, but they finally started to hit their stride midway through the second half.

In the end, the Wildcats simply let Saint Mary’s hang around for far too long, and it came back to bite them.

Scottie Reynolds had another rough day, and the Wildcats couldn’t overcome it against a quality opponent.

It’s a disappointing loss for Villanova, which still believed they were a Final Four caliber team.

Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8:46 am by steve

Wildcats’ slump comes at costly time as ‘Nova bounced from NCAAs

By Bud L. Ellis

February and March is not the time of the year to lose six out of nine. The Villanova Wildcats now realize that better than anybody in the country.

The No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s South Regional and once a contender for the national championship, the Wildcats couldn’t make it out of the second round. No. 10-seed Saint Mary’s stunned the Wildcats 75-68 in the second round of the NCAAs at Providence, R.I. on Saturday.

For Villanova (25-8), it was a crushing end to what once held the promise of a run to Indianapolis and the Final Four. First, the Wildcats has to go to overtime to hold off No. 15 seed Robert Morris in the tournament opener.

There would be no escaping the Gaels in round two. Saint Mary’s shot 50 percent from the field while Villanova hit on 36 percent of its shots. Tied at 65 with under two minutes left, the Wildcats were outscored 10-3 the rest of the way.

Corey Stokes led the Wildcats with 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers. Maalik Wayns added 10 points off the bench.

—30—

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 7:55 pm by bud

Tags: Corey Stokes, Final Four, Maalik Wayns, NCAA Tournament, Robert Morris, Saint Mary’s, Villanova Wildcats

Villanova crushed by Syracuse, 95-77

The No. 8 Villanova Wildcats wilted under the pressure of a record-breaking crowd in a 95-77 loss to the No. 4 Syracuse Orange.

Syracuse set an attendance record at the Carrier Dome for the largest on-campus crowd to ever watch a college basketball game.

Point guard Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 16 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome Syracuse’ height on the inside.

Villanova once again proved that they can beat most teams, but those opponents with a lot of height on the interior give them huge problems.

They were outrebounded 48-36, and turned the ball over six more times than Syracuse. That isn’t a formula to beat great teams on their home floor.

Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 9:31 am by steve