Jan. 11, 2005

Villanova vs. Providence Game Notes
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VILLANOVA, Pa.--Men's Basketball Game Notes for Tuesday night's game between Villanova (8-2, 1-1 Big East) and Providence (9-5, 0-1 Big East). Game time from the Dunkin Donuts Center is 7:35 p.m. The game will air on WFMZ TV (Ch. 69)/ESPN Regional Television, as well as on WNTP 990 AM Radio. Click on the PDF link at the top of this release for complete game notes.

Villanova (8-2, 1-1 Big East)

Providence (9-5, 0-1 Big East)

TOP STORIES

Junior guard Randy Foye notched a new career high with the 26 points he posted in a 78-72 loss at Notre Dame on Saturday. The native of Newark, N.J. helped key a second half rally that saw the Wildcats pull ahead of the Irish 67-66 with 4:05 left in the game. Foye's previous career high of 25 points came on Nov. 22, 2003 at the University of the Redlands.

The Wildcats were without their leading scorer and rebounder at Notre Dame, Curtis Sumpter. The junior forward suffered a sprained right knee near the end of a practice session at the Joyce Center on Friday afternoon. He was to evaluated by Villanova team orthopedist Dr. Rob Good at Bryn Mawr Hospital on Monday, where it was confirmed that he had suffered a sprained right knee.

This weekend Villanova celebrates the 20th anniversary of its 1985 NCAA championship. On Friday evening, a reception will be held on campus at the Connelly Center to view the premiere of a DVD titled A Family's Legacy: The Stories Behind Villanova's 1985 NCAA Championship. All of the returning players and coaches from that team will be available to the media from 6-7:15 p.m. On Saturday the team will be honored at halftime of the Georgetown game and then will be saluted at a Gala Dinner at 6:00 p.m. at the Hilton Philadelphia that evening.

VILLANOVA NOTEBOOK

Rally Falls Short at Notre Dame: With Curtis Sumpter unavailable due to a knee injury suffered in practice on Friday, Villanova had its work cut out for it at Notre Dame on Saturday.

In six of its first nine games, Sumpter led the Wildcats in scoring. In seven of those nine contests, he was Villanova's top rebounder. He ranked second on the squad in minutes played and 3-point field goal percentage.

Thus, his absence figured to be a prominent feature of Saturday's matinee at the Joyce Center.

Yet thanks to a surge from a deficit that swelled to 10 points early in the second half, Villanova found itself holding a 67-66 edge with 4:05 left.

In the end, though, it was the star that was present that made the difference for Notre Dame. Senior guard Chris Thomas dropped in a rainbow baseline jumper with 57 seconds left to cap off a 25-point afternoon and give the Irish a 78-72 victory.

"It was one of those games where someone was going to step up and make a big play," said Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "He did that for them."

After the `Cats pushed out to an early 16-10 lead, Notre Dame went on a 31-18 run over the final 15 minutes of the first half to build a 41-34 edge at intermission. Notre Dame's attack was keyed by the 3-point field goal, as the Irish sank 7-of-13 (.538) from deep in the first half.

A 3-point field goal by Chris Quinn with 18:52 to go in the game gave the Irish its biggest lead of the day at 44-34. However, Villanova stubbornly remained in the game mostly due to the yeoman's work of junior guard Randy Foye. A pair of Foye free throws with 4:29 left got the `Cats to within 66-65 and a Mike Nardi basket gave VU the lead. Another Foye free throw tied the game at 70 with 2:53 left.

But Dennis Latimore sank a pair of free throws to give the Irish the lead back with 1:47 before Thomas made his big shot.

The win was Notre Dame's second in a row over Villanova after losing the first eight games the two schools played since the Irish joined the Big East Conference in 1995-96.

Defensive Doings: After nine games of excellent defensive work, Villanova encountered some challenges at that end of the floor at Notre Dame. Although the Wildcats limited the Irish to a very respectable .414 overall field goal percentage, they were hurt by the long ball: the Irish sank 11 triples in 20 attempts. It tied a season high for most 3-point field goals by an opponent and ranks as the highest 3-point shooting percentage by a VU foe this year.

In addition, the 78 points surrendered were 14 more than the previous season high (64 against Penn on Dec. 31).

Yet defense remains a cornerstone of VU's early success.

The seeds for Villanova's defensive development could be seen last season. Only two opponents - Providence and Connecticut - converted better than 50 percent of their field goal attempts in 35 games. But small breakdowns at inopportune moments, especially from the perimeter, undercut the `Cats.

In 2003-04, VU ranked 12th in the Big East in scoring defense (68.7 ppg). It was ninth in blocked shots (4.17 bpg) and ninth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.336).

With another year of experience, Villanova has effectively reduced those errors.

"Villanova," stated Penn coach Fran Dunphy," is a very good defensive team."

The numbers back that up.

Opponents have made just 183-of-508 field goal attempts (.360) against Villanova. Teams are 56-of-178 (.315) from beyond the 3-point arc against Villanova.

Sumpter Summary: Sumpter suffered his injury near the end of practice on Friday at the Joyce Center. A preliminary examination indicated that the native of Brooklyn, N.Y. had suffered a sprained right knee. Sumpter was examined by team orthopedist Dr. Rob Good at Bryn Mawr Hospital on Monday. The examination confirmed the preliminary diagnosis of a sprained right knee. According to Good, the typical recovery period for such injuries is 3-6 weeks. Sumpter will be reevaulated by Good in one week.