Villanova is generally recognized as one of the glamour
programs of the Big East. The 25th ranked Wildcats will enter
the RAC sporting an overall 13-3 record. They are once again an extremely
athletic team that plays with a passion for the game, but most importantly plays
together at both ends of the court. Although they are led by explosive
sophomore star Scottie Reynolds, Villanova has a very balanced scoring attack
which usually features contributions from at least nine different players. Four
of the nine, including Reynolds, are legitimate three point threats. They
are one of the younger teams in the Big East with absolutely no senior players
to be found amongst their group of thirteen.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
G - #1 - Scottie Reynolds (6’2”
190 SO) – 17.5ppg, three pt threat, good foul shooter, a real
team leader
G - #3 - Malcolm Grant (6’0” 175 FR) - 7.3ppg,
is 24-49 on 3’s, hits 82% of ft’s.
F - #0 - Antonio Pena (6’8”
235 rsFR) – 7.1ppg, a solid overall player, hitting 57% from the
paint
F - #33 – Dante Cunningham (6’8” 230
JR) – 10.8ppg, big time rebounder, shooting 55% from the paint
F - #20 – Shane Clark
(6’7” 205 JR) – 9.9ppg, good rebounder, another three
point threat
BENCH RELIEF:
G - #10 – Corey Fisher
(6’1” 200 FR) – 11.7ppg, three pt threat, first off the
bench, budding star from St Pats
G - #15 – Reggie Redding (6’5”
205 SO) - 5.9ppg, second guard off the bench
G - #24 – Corey Stokes
(6’5” 220 FR) – 2.9ppg, working his way onto the floor,
former St Benedicts star
C - #5 - Casiem Drummond (6’10” 270 SO) –
6.3ppg, from Bloomfield Tech, dominates in the paint while on the floor
The Scarlet Knights proved they really can shoot the ball during
an exciting 73-75 loss to DePaul. They have played relentless defense throughout
the year. They have caused some problems for some highly ranked teams and at
times they have been fun to watch. JR Inman and Anthony Farmer have
been the emerging stars for the Scarlet and must be the leaders against the Wildcats.
Plagued by mental and physical lapses during the season,
Rutgers as a team, needs to feel and believe they are on the verge of playing a
“complete” game. They’ve shown bits and pieces
everywhere, but just need to fit them together.
The early schedule for Villanova was not very difficult
indeed, and currently they have struggled at times while recording a 3-2 Big
East mark. They are a very young team which can be disrupted and forced
into making mistakes.
Maybe the Knights have been pressuring themselves.
Maybe they need to get into a flow and have fun. Play for pride and play
to win. See you at the game.