Feb. 22, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
VILLANOVA, Pa.-- Men's Basketball Game Notes for Thursday night's game between No. 2/2 Villanova (21-2, 11-1 Big East) and Cincinnati (18-9, 7-6 Big East). Game time is 9:00 p.m. from Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, and the contest will air live on ESPN.
Click on the PDF link at the top of this release to access complete game notes. Below are some of the top stories surrounding Villanova basketball.
First to Ten
Thanks to a 75-65 victory over No. 17 Georgetown on Sunday at the Pavilion, Villanova stretched its current winning streak to ten consecutive games. Earlier this season, Villanova won its first ten games of the campaign before falling to West Virginia 91-87 at the Pavilion. This marks the first time in school history that a Wildcat team has posted a pair of 10-game winning streaks in the same season. There have been only streaks of 10 or more victories in a row 11 times in Villanova history and two of them have taken place in 2005-06.
Big Steps in the Big East
Villanova also takes a 10-game conference winning streak into play on Thursday evening, which ties a school record for consecutive Big East wins. It last took place from Jan. 18 to Feb. 18, 1995. The Wildcats have never won 11 straight Big East games. VU has also won 16 of its last 17 in regular season conference action dating back to 2004-05.
Ray Was Ready
Senior guard Allan Ray was instrumental in VU's victories over No. 1 UConn and No. 17 Georgetown last week, averaging 22.5 ppg. It helped him earn Big East Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Polling Places
This week the Wildcats matched their highest regular season ranking ever when they moved up two places to No. 2 in the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls. The Wildcats last reached No. 2 in the national polls during the 1995-96 season. That season, Villanova spent two weeks at No. 2 (Dec. 4- Dec. 18) before dropping. The Wildcats have been ranked in the top 10 every week in 2005-06, with a low of No. 7/8 on Jan. 11 and the current high of No. 2.
