Feb. 4, 2000

Villanova Wildcats
(11-8 overall, 2-5 Big East)
vs.
Georgetown Hoyas
(12-8 overall, 3-5 Big East)

Saturday, Feb. 5, 2000
MCI Center
12:05 p.m.
Aired Live On:
Fox Philadelphia TV
(Don Criqui & Doris Burke)
WPHT Radio-1210 AM
(Ryan Fannon & Whitey Rigsby)

Today's Top Stories

Champs Were Too Much: In their only regular season encounter with defending NCAA and Big East titleholder Connecticut, Villanova dropped a 74-60 decision to the Huskies. UConn connected on .547 percent of its attempts from the field, including six of seven from beyond the 3-point arc. Entering the game Villanova had permitted oppponents to make .301 of its shots from beyond the line.

Allen's Revival: Senior Malik Allen bounced back from a tough afternoon from the field on Sunday against Georgia. Allen scored 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor.

Irish Eyes on Philly: Standout Troy Murphy leads the Notre Dame Fighting Irish into the First Union Center to face the Cats on Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m.

Villanova Probable Starters

No.	Pos	Name	Height/Class	Hometown	PPG	RPG
21	F	Brian Lynch	6-6/Senior	Belmar, N.J.	12.3	4.2
32	F	Brooks Sales	6-10/Sophomore	Bloomfield, Conn.	8.8	7.4
15	C	Malik Allen	6-10/Senior	Medford, N.J.	14.1	7.0
3	G	Bobby Smith	6-2/Sophomore	Chicago, Ill.	6.3	3.3
22	G	Gary Buchanan	6-3/Freshman	St. Louis, Mo.	9.6	2.2

Off the Bench

No.	Pos	Name	Height/Class	Hometown	PPG	RPG
50	F	T.J. Caouette	6-7/Senior	Winthrop, Me.	2.9	1.7
5	F	Ricky Wright	6-7/Freshman	East Chicago, Ind.	3.7	3.5
10	G	Jermaine Medley	6-0/Junior	Wilmington, Del.	5.1	1.5
4	F	Aaron Matthews	6-7/Freshman	Seaford, Del.	3.8	2.1
12	F	Andrew Sullivan	6-7/Freshman	London, England	2.6	2.1

Head Coach: Steve Lappas (147-91 at VU, 8th season)

Husky Blues
It was, in the end, a simple formula.

Villanova would muster its forces in the second half. Minutes of sharp execution would cut into the 12 point margin the defending NCAA champions held at halftime.

And then Connecticut, usually in the person of juniors Albert Mouring or Khalid El-Amin, connected on a major field goal to help rebuild the Huskies' cushion.

"Somebody made a shot every time they needed one," said Villanova head coach Steve Lappas.

So the result was a 74-60 Connecticut win and a Big East loss for the Wildcats.

Albert Mouring did the most damage, scoring 22 points and making 8-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-4 from beyond the 3-point line.

Malik Stands Tall
Throughout the '99-00 campaign he has been in the crosshairs of every opposing coach the Wildcats have faced.

Constantly double-teammed, often from a variety of directions, senior center/forward Malik Allen has nonetheless stood tall at Villanova.

For one thing, he leads the 'Cats in scoring at 14.1 ppg. In addition he is tops in minues played at 647 (an average of 34 per game.) He also leads the club in shots blocked with 29 (1.45 per outing) and is second in rebounding (7.0 rpg).

"Malik is one of the best big men in the Big East," said Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker after watching Allen score 25 points and grab 15 rebounds in a contest played earlier this season.

Board Room Dilemma
During a five game stretch in January, beginning against La Salle and ending at Rutgers, Villanova owned the boards. In that stretch the Wildcats outrebounded the opposition by nearly eight rebounds a game (41-33).

Lately, though the Cats have found the going much rougher. In each of their last thre outings Villanova has been outrebounded.

Opponents have held the edge by a 132-104. That breaks down to a 44.0-34.7 rebounding disadvantage.

That area is particularly relevant this afternoon. Georgetown leads the Big East Conference in rebounding margin, averaging 6.4 more rebounds than its opponents.

In contrast, the Wildcats rank 10th in that department.

One of the pivotal players for Villanova on the glass is Brooks Sales. The sophomore from Bloomfield, Conn., leads the squad with 7.4 rpg and has had six double figure rebounding games this season.

It is also worth noting that in the Wildcats two most recent defeats, at Pittsburgh and versus Connecticut, Sales was held without a first half rebound. In games when Sales fails to collect five or more rebounds this season, Villanova is 1-4.

Last year Sales responded to the Georgetown challenge on the glass with the best game of his freshman year, grabbing 17 rebounds, adding 13 rebounds and contributing the key steal that set Jermaine Medley up for the 3-point desperation heave that dropped through the nets to give the Wildcats a thrilling 93-90 win in the Jan. 30, 1999 meeting between these two squads.

G Man
Freshman guard Gary Buchanan has begun to amass a few superlatives lately.

On Monday he was named Big East co-Rookie of the Week along with Seton Hall guard Darius Lane. It marked the second time this year that the rookie from St. Louis by way of the St. Thomas More School in Connecticut was honored as Rookie of the Week by the Big East.

A day later his exploits earned him the Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Week nod. This was the second time a Villanova player was cited by the historic alliance. Last month Malik Allen was Player of the Week.

Over the last three games Buchanan has been Villanova's most reliable marksman from beyond the 3-point arc. In that stretch he has made 11-of-28 (.393) attempts from 3-point territory.

Against Georgia his 24 points were one removed from his career high. Buchanan notched 25 points earlier this season in a game against Bradley at the Outrigger Rainbow Classic.

His 37 three-point field goals on the season place him only 10 away from the Villanova school record for freshman. Tim Thomas, now of the Milwaukee Bucks, owns that mark.

What's more, Buchanan's playing time is on the rise as well. He has played at least 20 minutes in each of the last four games, with a high of 30 at Pittsburgh. In that span he has averaged 25 minutes per game.

"I didn't think he could shoot that well," said Georgia's D.A. Layne of Buchanan. "He showed me. I played against him at Nike camp. He's a great shooter, and he proved it."

A New Magic Number?
In years past the magic number at Villanova was 75 points. Since Steve Lappas took over as head coach in 1992, the Wildcats are 94-17 (.847) when they reach that point plateau.

To date in the '99-00 campaign, Villanova has reached that number only three times - vs. South Carolina State in December (a 77-71 win), on Jan. 12 vs. La Salle (an 80-72 triumph), and against Georgia at the Pavilion on Jan. 30 (a 78-75 win).

This is a different kind of Villanova team and that is reflected on the stat sheet.

In the '99-00 season the Wildcats are 9-3 (.750) when scoring 65 points or better.

Conversely they are 2-5 (.286) when they fail to reach that number.

Wright Moves
Buchanan is hardly the only freshman giving Villanova a lift these days.

Classmate Ricky Wright has been in the thick of things too.

In his last two outings, Wright, a 6-7 forward from Chicago, Ill., has delivered 17 points (8.5 per game) and 11 rebounds (5.5 per game). In the second half of the win over Georgia last Sunday Wright contributed three major baskets.

On Wednesday he saw 22 minutes of action and came down with six rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. There were also seven points next to his name on the final boxscore.

Wright's rebounding assets will be sorely needed as the Wildcats hope to rebound against Georgetown. Aaron Matthews

Fans at the Pavilion have made this man into something of a cult hero, chanting his name rythmically.

"This is all new to me, and I'm overwhelmed by it," Matthews said recently. "It's pretty wild. It's almost like a dream, that I want to pinch myself sometimes. The first time they started chanting my name I looked up and I was almost embarrassed. It was so cool."

That cheer began in earnest on Jan. 12 against La Salle. The freshman from Seaford, Del., set his career high with 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Last Sunday Matthews prospered in the 78-75 win over Georgia, adding ten points and two rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. On Wednesday he spent some time guarding Khalid El-Amin and also contributed two pretty assists in the lane, feeding Sales for a pair of easy dunks.

Daily Stuff
This is Villanova's third contest on a Saturday this season. So far the night has been fairly kind to the Wildcats, who have taken three of four on that day of the week.

Villanova day-by-day in 1999-2000:

Sunday	2-1
Monday	1-3
Tuesday	1-1
Wednesday	3-2
Thursday	2-1
Saturday	2-0

Assists Flow
The Wildcats have enjoyed two of their most productive passing games in their most recent outings.

Following a 21 assist effort on Sunday against Georgia, the Cats handed out 18 more assists on Wednesday. Those 39 assists look even better when you consider that there have only been 26 turnovers over the last two contests.

In the defeat to Connecticut, seven of the nine Wildcats who saw action were credited with at least two assists.

Holley's Hobbled
Johnny Holley continues to nurse a knee injured in practice at the Palestra on Jan. 8. He has practiced several times in the past week and dressed for the two most recent contests.

The injury is to his right knee, the same joint that was operated on in November 1998 and cost the native of McKinney, Tex., eight games and a chance to become a part of the rotation in 1998-99.

Holley started at small forward in the three games prior to his injury and Villanova was 2-1 in those contests, one of which was a 70-57 victory over Wake Forest in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic.

New Additions
A pair of walk-on have joined the Wildcats since the start of fall practice back on Oct. 15.

Guard B.J. Johnson is 6-3 from Greensboro, N.C. Last winter he served as a manager for the women's basketball team here at Villanova coached by Harry Perretta.

Chas Carey also joins the Wildcats this season. This junior hails from Summit, N.J., and stands 6-5.

In Wait
The Wildcats have another new face that Lappas would love to utilize on game night. However, forward Michael Bradley is sitting out this season after transferring to the Main Line from the University of Kentucky, where he helped those Wildcats win a national title in 1998.

Bradley is practicing with Villanova on a daily basis.

Last year, Bradley averaged just under 10 ppg for Kentucky while establishing a new school record for field goal percentage accuracy.

While he is anxious to resume his career as a junior in 2000-01, Bradley remains patient.

"I don't get down, that's just how I am," Bradley told the Worcester Telegram. "I'm happy with the experience I had at Kentucky. I have no regrets. Now, it's the start of a new college career. This is a great place. I'm very happy. I'm in a great situation. I like the staff and the players. School's going well. I made the right decision."

Alumni Notes
Only two other schools - Arizona and Kentucky - have produced more National Basketball Association draft choices since 1996 than have the Wildcats.

Kerry Kittles got the ball rolling in '96 when the All-American was chosen by the New Jersey Nets.

In 1997, three 'Cats heard the call from commissioner David Stern and Rod Thorn on draft night.

Tim Thomas, taken with the No. 7 pick, is presently in his third NBA season and first full year with the Milwaukee Bucks. Jason Lawson, a second round choice of the Orlando Magic that year, is now in the CBA. Guard Alvin Williams remains a Toronto Raptor. Guard John Celestand, a '99 pick of the Lakers, is on the roster in Los Angeles. Homecourt History

Villanova returns to its "home away from home" on Tuesday at the First Union Center against Notre Dame.

Lifetime, the Wildcats are 4-8 (.250) in this building.

Yet there are two items worth mentioning. Seven of those defeats came at the hands of squads ranked in the Top 25. That includes a Feb. 2 loss to No. 7 rated Connecticut at the Center.

Villanova's other home is the Pavilion, also known in local parlance as the Ski Lodge.

In the course of the past five seasons the Wildcats have suffered only six losses in the building. Since the start of the 1994-95 season the Wildcats are 54-6 (.900) in front of the Pavilion audience.

In Big East play over that span Villanova is 29-5 (.879).

The success is reflected in the attendance figures. Villanova has sold out the building the last 59 times it has hosted a contest there. In total there have been 135 sellouts in 152 games played since the building opened on Feb. 1, 1986.

Lifetime Villanova is 116-38 (.754) in the 6,500 seat structure. Since Lappas became head coach in 1992 the Cats are 67-16 (.807) in the building.

Big Five Update
This marks the first complete round-robin season in the Philadelphia Big Five since 1991. The Wildcats are 2-1 in the alliance with one game left, on Feb. 17, when St. Joseph's visits the Pavilion.

Here is a look at the present standings:

School	Big Five	Overall
Temple	3-0	15-4
Villanova	2-1	11-8
La Salle	1-2	7-11
Pennsylvania	1-3	9-7
St. Joseph's	0-1	9-10

Lappas Honored
Last Monday evening Lappas and his colleagues in the Philadelphia Big Five were accorded a unique distinction: they were feted for their efforts on behalf of cancer research.

The head coaches at the Big Five schools - La Salle, Pennsylvania, St. Joseph's, Temple and Villanova - pooled their resources several years ago under the auspices of Coaches vs. Cancer.

There are annual fundraising events, such as a golf outing each October and a March Madness kickoff luncheon, held to raise awareness and donations in the Philadelphia area for cancer research.

"There isn't a family that hasn't been touched by this," said Lappas.

Lappas, Speedy Morris, Phil Martelli, John Chaney, Fran Dunphy and Drexel's Steve Seymour were cited by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association at its 95th annual awards dinner in Cherry Hill, N.J., on Monday with the Humanitarian Award.

Lappas, Dunphy and Seymour represented the coaches at the function.

Milestone Markers
Malik Allen now has 931 points in his college career. Brian Lynch moved past the 800 point mark in the 67-59 win over Boston College on Jan. 15. He presently stands at 865 points for his career.

The Series'
Vital Statistics
vs. Georgetown

Overall Series: Georgetown leads 32-20.
Lappas vs. Georgetown: 6-6
Last meeting: Jan. 30, 1999
Outcome: Villanova 93, Georgetown 90

Of Note: In one of the most memorable endings in recent Wildcat history, Villanova rallied from a 90-87 deficit with 2.4 seconds left to defeat the Hoyas 93-90 in double overtime.

Howard Brown's jumper from the corner knotted matters at 90. On the subsequent inbounds play Brooks Sales intercepted the inbounds pass, handed the basketball to Jermaine Medley, who promptly heaved a shot in from 30 feet in front of the Villanova bench.

Villanova has won three of the last four meetings between the schools

LAPTOP FAVORITES

Fast Facts From The Steve Lappas File

With a 73-59 (.553) record Lappas is one of only 11 coaches in Big East history with a winning mark in league play.

At the dawn of his eighth season at Villanova Lappas now stands seventh in all-time Big East Conference victories (81).

1.	Jim Boeheim (Sryacuse)	246
2.	John Thompson (Georgetown)	231
3.	Jim Calhoun (Connecticut)	161
4.	Lou Carnesecca (St. John's)	139
5.	Rollie Massimino (Villanova)	123
6.	P.J. Carlesimo (Seton Hall)	90
7.	Steve Lappas (Villanova)	81
8.	Paul Evans (Pittsburgh)	76
9.	Jim O'Brien (Boston College)	74
10.	Leonard Hamilton (Miami)	70

Under Lappas the Wildcats have reached the 20-win mark in five of the past six seasons.

Lappas By The Numbers

Lifetime:	203-154 (.568)
Villanova (1992-present):	147-92 (.618)
Manhattan (1988-1992):	56-62 (.475)
Big East Regular Season:	73-59 (.553)
Metro Atlantic Athletic Regular Season:	31-31 (.500)
NCAA Record:	2-4 (.333), four appearances
NIT Record:	7-1 (.875), two appearances
Big East Tournament:	8-7 (.533)

UNDER STEVE LAPPAS Villanova has

• Made 4 NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 5 seasons.
• Reached the 20-win plateau in 5 of the past 6 years.
• Won the 1994 NIT Championship.
• Won the the 1995 Big East Tournament.
• Won the 1997 Big East regular season crown.
• Seen 5 players selected in the National Basketball Association Draft since 1996.