Dec. 12, 2008
Recap | Box Score | Quotes
PAVILION WINNING STREAK
With tonight's win, Villanova extends its second-longest winning streak inside The Pavilion to 21 games. The last loss for the Wildcats in the building came to DePaul, 73-65, on January 6, 2007. Eleven days later, Villanova defeated Notre Dame to begin the current streak. The longest win streak for the Wildcats in their on-campus home is 23 games. That streak began with a win over Pittsburgh on January 18, 1995 and culminated with a 64-46 win over Oral Roberts on January 8, 1997. The streak ended when Villanova fell to Miami (Fla.), 61-59, on January 11.
BIG FIVE RECORD
Villanova has won 16 of its last 17 games against Philadelphia Big Five opponents and won its second straight City Series game this season. The Wildcats had a record 14-game Big Five winning streak snapped last season in a 77-55 loss to Saint Joseph's at The Palestra on February 4, 2008.
VILLANOVA-SAINT JOSEPH'S SERIES NOTES
Prior to tonight's game, six of the last seven games in the series had been decided by 13 or more points. The exception as a 74-67 win by undefeated Saint Joseph's in The Pavilion on February 2, 2004. The last time a game in the series was decided by as few as three points came in a 78-75 win for Villanova at The Palestra exactly eight years ago on December 11, 2000. The last game between the teams decided by a closer margin was Villanova's 83-82 victory at the Wachovia Spectrum on December 8, 1990.
CUNNINGHAM EXTENDS DOUBLE FIGURE STREAK
Senior forward Dante Cunningham has now scored in double figures in 12 straight games, including all 10 contests this season and the final two games of the 2007-08 campaign. The streak is the longest of his career. The last time a Villanova player had a longer stretch of double-figure scoring games came when junior guard Scottie Reynolds had a 14-game streak that spanned the end of his freshman and beginning of his sophomore years. Reynolds scored in double figures in the final eight games of his freshman campaign and the first six games of his sophomore season.
WINNING A GAME IN FINAL SECONDS
Villanova technically did not win tonight's game on its final possession, as senior forward Dante Cunningham chipped in two free throws after junior guard Scottie Reynolds had made two foul shots of his own with 4.8 seconds left to tie the score and put the Wildcats in the lead. Still, this was the latest that Villanova had won a game since February 9, 2008 of last season when the Wildcats defeated Seton Hall, 72-70, with the decisive points coming on their final possession of the game. A three-pointer by Dwayne Anderson with 12 seconds remaining turned a 70-69 deficit into a 72-70 lead. Seton Hall missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer.
A FAMILIAR SIGHT
Seeing a Villanova player make a game-tying and game-winning free throw in the waning seconds of a game is a familiar sight for Pavilion fans. Last season on January 6, 2008 the Wildcats defeated Pittsburgh in this manner when Dante Cunningham made a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to turn a 63-62 deficit into a 64-63 lead. That proved to be the final score in a Villanova win as the Panthers committed a turnover on their final possession. The Wildcats trailed Pittsburgh by as many as eight points in the second half of that contest. Tonight, Villanova trailed by as many as nine points in the second half.
SHORT ON SCORING
Prior to tonight's game, the last time that Villanova won a game in which it scored fewer than 60 points was also against Saint Joseph's. The Wildcats defeated the Hawks, 56-39, at The Pavilion on February 6, 2007. Villanova had also defeated Louisville, 57-53, in the game prior to that matchup with Saint Joseph's. Under eighth year head coach Jay Wright, the Wildcats are just 11-30 when failing to score at least 60 points.
