Feb. 11, 2005
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VILLANOVA, Pa.--Men's Basketball Game Notes for Saturday afternoon's game between No. 22 Villanova (14-5, 5-4 Big East) and No. 8 Syracuse (21-3, 8-2 Big East). Game time from the Wachovia Center is slated for 12:04 p.m. The game is being televised locally on WB 17 / ESPN Regional and will also air on WNTP 990-AM Radio.
No. 22 Villanova (14-5, 5-4 Big East)
vs.No. 8 Syracuse (21-3, 8-2 Big East)
TOP STORIES
Defense was the story for Villanova on Monday night at the Palestra. The Wildcats limited the host Saint Joseph's to 4-of-25 (.160) shooting in the first half and 15-of-51 (.294) for the game. It marked the ninth time this season that the Wildcats limited an opponent to 35 percent shooting or less from the field. Villanova is 8-1 in those games.
Villanova has been adroit at forcing turnovers and converting them into points. Over the last six games it owns a 139-75 advantage over the opposition in points off of turnovers.
Another sign of Villanova's progress can be found in this statistic: The Wildcats are 5-4 (.555) in 2004-05 in games in which they shoot 40 percent or less from the field. In the previous two seasons, Villanova was 2-18 (.100) in that circumstance.
Today's game is a sellout. It marks the first time since the 1996-97 season that Villanova has sold out a game at the Wachovia Center. The largest crowd to watch Villanova host a game in Philadelphia was on hand on Feb. 16, 1997, when VU downed Notre Dame 75-70 before 19,372 at the then Core States Center.
VILLANOVA NOTEBOOK
A Victory Over Saint Joseph's: A national television audience on ESPN2 was treated to old school basketball, Philadelphia style. Saint Joseph's played host to Villanova at one of the sport's most storied venues, the Palestra. A sellout crowd of 8,622 was on hand and mostly aligned against the Wildcats (it was a SJU home game).
Yet Villanova got scores from Randy Foye and Curtis Sumpter in the game's first 1:12 and the Wildcats held the advantage the rest of the way. By night's end, Villanova had picked up a gritty 67-52 victory over the Hawks.
"It was a very tough, physical game," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "Saint Joe's is as physical as any team we have played.
"Our guys are exhausted from chasing them around."
The primary focus of Villanova's defensive energy was Hawk senior forward Pat Carroll. Carroll entered the contest on a shooting tear, having locked up the Philadelphia Big Five player of the week award in the process. But Randy Foye and his teammates paid close attention to the Hawks' leading scorer and it helped the `Cats grab control early.
Despite shooting just 10-of-34 from the floor (.294) in the first half, the `Cats held a 25-16 lead at intermission. That had much to do with the fact that Saint Joseph's managed to convert on 4-of-25 (.160) from the field. The Hawks sank just one basket in the final 12 minutes of the first half.
Villanova got its offense untracked early in the second half and built a 41-20 advantage with 12:41 left on the clock.
Carroll found the range midway through the second half, however. He drained three 3-point field goals and the Hawks pulled to within eight with 7:02 left in regulation. But a Curtis Sumpter triple pushed VU's lead back into double digits and the Wildcats worked their way to a 67-52 verdict.
"We knew what this game was going to be," sated Wright. "It's Villanova-Saint Joseph's, you don't have to say anything more than that."
Villanova completed the Big Five portion of its schedule with a 3-1 record. It is 6-2 in Big Five play the last two seasons.
t's Worth Noting: In 2001-02 Villanova endured 11 games of 20 turnovers or more. In 2002-03, there were five such games and in 2003-04 six outings of 20 plus turnovers.
Through 19 games in 2005, Villanova has yet to suffer through a game of 20 or more turnovers.
The Wildcats committed only 11 turnovers against Saint Joseph's and are averaging 13.4 per game. A year ago the Wildcats averaged 16.3 tpg.
Ray: Junior guard Allan Ray is Villanova's foremost offensive weapon.
After being held scoreless in the first half and playing only nine minutes due to foul trouble, the Bronx, N.Y., native came on strong in the second half. A baseline jumper and 3-point field goal in the first 1:04 of the second half expanded Villanova's lead to 32-16.
Ray went on to finish with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and a season-high five assists in 23 minutes.
Over the course of his three seasons at Villanova, Ray has emerged as one of the Big East's top deep threats. The 20 points he scored against Providence marked the 22nd time in his career on the Main Line that he has scored 20 points or better in a game.
This junior guard has flourished in Big East play thus far. In nine games, he is averaging 19.4 ppg and is 28-of-66 (.424) from beyond the 3-point arc. On the season Ray averages 17.6 ppg and is connecting on .855 of his attempts from the free throw line.
Ray now has 1,250 points in his career at Villanova, leaving him in 32nd place on the Wildcats' all-time list. Next up in 31st place with 1,263 points is Jack Devine (1951-55).
Board Room: One reason Villanova picked up victories when its offense hasn't clicked is owed to its work on the glass. The Wildcats owned solid rebounding advantages over both Providence and Saint Joseph's that allowed them to earn wins.
Villanova out-rebounded SJU 47-38 on Monday night and owns a 94-73 over its last two opponents. On the season VU holds a 38.3-31.9 rebounding advantage. Four players - Curtis Sumpter, Jason Fraser, Will Sheridan and Randy Foye - average five or more boards per game.
Jason's Journey: Jason Fraser's first three seasons have included an odyssey that only Homer could appreciate. It has been filled with four surgical procedures and a litany of health setbacks.
In his first two seasons, he missed time with stress fractures in his feet and knee tendonitis. This season (Oct. 22), Fraser underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. In January, just days after enjoying the best game of his career at Providence (25 points, 13 rebounds), Fraser fractured the right navicular bone in his hand. He subsequently missed Villanova's next four games (VU was 2-2 in that period) after surgery on Jan. 14 to have a screw inserted in the fracture.
One sign of how injuries have impacted Fraser is this: in 66 career games, he has logged more than 30 minutes just 16 times and just twice in 19 games of 2004-05. He has sat out 20 games over the course of his Villanova career.
In the win over Saint Joseph's, though, Fraser was exceptional. He entered the game to replace a foul-plagued Will Sheridan with 17:00 in the first half. From that point on, Fraser was a force on the interior. At game's end he had scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and collected 14 rebounds.
"Today, his knees were good," stated Wright of the effort from Fraser. "It's really nice for him. He's an incredible kid ... It's amazing what the kid goes through."
Due to his balky knees, Fraser receives daily treatment from the Villanova sports medicine staff and is available for practice on a limited basis.
"What he is able to do is amazing," Wright says. "He doesn't get to practice with us that much but he gets in there and knows what we are doing."
Fraser averages 7.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per outing. The native of Amityville, N.Y., is connecting on .643 of his field goal attempts.
Catching Up With Curtis: Curtis Sumpter produced another solid effort in the win over Saint Joseph's. VU's second leading scorer contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one blocked shots in the win.
It is possible that Sumpter will become the third member of Villanova's junior class to move into the 1,000 point club this season. The product of Bishop Loughlin High School now has 932 career points and averages 16.0 ppg this season.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Sumpter leads Villanova in rebounding (7.9 rpg). He ranks third in the Big East in offensive rebounding (3.71 per game) behind only Josh Boone of Connecticut (4.08).
Injury Index: It has been a busy season already for Villanova's medical staff. In the last 22 months Wildcat players have undergone eight surgical procedures. Included are five knee operations (with a pair of ACL reconstructions), two operations to repair a broken bone in the foot and one to correct a broken bone in the hand.
Thus far in 2004-05, Kyle Lowry missed seven games recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee; Curtis Sumpter two with a sprained knee; and Jason Fraser four with a fractured right hand. In each of VU's five losses in 2004-05 it was without one of those three. Lowry was sidelined against Temple (a 53-52 loss); Sumpter at Notre Dame (a 78-72 setback); and Fraser against Georgetown (66-64) and Boston College (67-66).
The Wildcats have lost 35 man games to injury so far in 2004-05.
Will of Grace: Wildcat walk-on Tom Grace has made one field goal in each of his four seasons in a Villanova uniform. Each one of those has been a 3-point field goal. Grace's latest triple came on Jan. 29, in a 94-61 win at Rutgers.
