Villanova Game

[westchesterjoe]

Tough loss.. I dislike Pointer and Greene in the game together for any sort of down the stretch time. They cannot be relied on for making plays and this game proved it.

I wish people would stop grouping Greene and Pointer together. Greene wasn't even a top 100 recruit, but he has competed since day one with a stable of top 75 talent. He is limited, but he does help this team with his shooting and hustle. At the very least, he doesn't make many mistakes. Dom is an unqualified bust that displays a shockingly low basketball IQ and a complete disregard for hustle. This was the #35 recruit in the country. I'm going to start calling him Dom Pointless.

That play he got T'd up on was one of the most pointless things I've ever witnessed in a basketball game. Not only do you blow an easy layup off sensational pass, but you decided to hang on the rim while reaching out to slam back your miss? WTF? Then he sits on the bench bitching and moaning about the call. His act is getting so old. Dom the defender got baked yet again by anyone he tried to cover inside or out.

Harrison's shot was off and he was getting bumped and manhandled all night, but did anyone else notice his hustle? The kid was everywhere and he has a fraction of the size and physical gifts of Pointer. Three offensive rebounds from Harrison and he was crashing in late on the defensive end and it was needed.

That's your opinion and that's fine. I disagree. Having Pointer and Greene in the game at the same time is having 2 non scoring, poor shooting, poor shot selection guys on the floor.Both are not good defenders either. and, when you need a hoop or a big play, neither of them will get it for you.
I have little problem with Greene getting 10-12 minutes a game, with other players in the line up, just not DOM and he on the floor together. 31 is ridiculous for Phil in a big game.

And, I thought Lavin reverted to early season poor Coaching by Playing these guys so much. GG did not get any meaningful time and we were getting killed on the Boards.

NOVA scored 27 points on 3's. We scored 9. That was the game. We have no consistent 3 point player on the team.. Until we get a 3 point threat we will not get to the next level, contending for a BE Title and National Recognition. That's my opinion, not a fact.













because he can make the uncontested shot, some times.

 

[TX Redman]

just watched the game on dvr. that sucked. we could not get over the hump. Phil not taking that shot on the feed from D Lo was atrocious. Rysheed was ok but he was trying too hard out there. we got away from getting the ball to Sampson in the paint. D Lo needed more touches in the last 7 minutes. Sir Dom's head was not in this game at all. . Obekpa did all he could with a bum ankle. I'm glad we fought and didn't fold when we were down 8 and 6 points but we seriously should have won this game. In the absence of top 50 rpi wins, we need to win out and take 1 or 2 in the BET to feel comfortable on selection sunday.

Good summary. I might not be able to sleep tonight due to flashbacks of Dom hanging on the rim (why?), PG IV turning away from the basket when 2 and a foul seemed certain and Arch-Diocese's bleeping banked 3.

They did a heck of a job of sticking a paw in D'Lo's face, whether it was called or not,

 

[mjmaherjr]

I just want to say that despite our tough loss today, kudos to the students and other fans who went to today's game in Philly. I wish they all had something to celebrate after the game, but they made their presence known during the game. And I'm sure our guys were appreciative.

Thanks to all who went today! Hats off to all of you!

we were sitting in their section. sec 221 up top behind the basket. Very loud section. Kids did a great job

 

[Marillac]

I just want to say that despite our tough loss today, kudos to the students and other fans who went to today's game in Philly. I wish they all had something to celebrate after the game, but they made their presence known during the game. And I'm sure our guys were appreciative.

Thanks to all who went today! Hats off to all of you!

we were sitting in their section. sec 221 up top behind the basket. Very loud section. Kids did a great

job

That is awesome to hear. This team deserves it..wasn't easy today but they were gutsy and really played hard. Obekpa was clearly hobbled and we could have used Sanchez.

This game had the feel of an old-school Big East grudge match. It was physical, close, both teams played their arses off, and we couldn't ask for a better duo calling the game. The connection these guys have to St. John's and the Big East is remarkable.

These are the types of experiences that will help this team advance in March. Just take it one game a time now so we get there. Hats off to Nova in a hardly fought battle. I hope they know that if this game was at MSG it is a St. John's W

 

[lawmanfan]

Lavin coached a good game today within the limitations of what he does. He played his players, finally. While I'm not a fan of Gift, this is a game I would have rolled the dice with him on the floor and seen whether you could get some decent time out of him.

My problem with the coaching remains the same as it has been from the beginning, which is that we do not run anything for anyone (unless you want to count a pick-and-roll and a pick-and-pop). The result is that all of our scoring (other than in the open court) comes from somebody having to make a play for themselves. IMHO the result of that shows up in the poor shooting stats.

Big props to Obekpa for gutting it out. Jordan did some good things but unfortunately also tried to do too much and hurt the team in spots. Harrison took a lot of shots and for a low percentage. I thought going in we would need a good shooting night from him for us to win, and we didn't get it. His numbers would probably be better if he got to play in a system where he could spot up for open 3s and get the chance to run off something and get the ball on the move. He ends up with a crappy shooting percentage because he has to create everything for himself. It's ironic that the one time he should have taken the shot himself (at the end of the game), he passed the ball.

I don't get the hate people have for Phil. He seems to get a disproportionate share of the blame for everything from the posters. He was clearly the best offensive option in the first half, and his early shots quite possibly prevented us from getting run out of the gym. He also would have had three or four assists if the guys he gave the ball to hit their shots. He went cold in the second half, and the travel call at the end obviously hurt us. He wasn't ready for the pass, though I'm not actually sure he traveled. The game didn't necessarily turn on that play, since we blew a bunch of opportunities down the stretch, but it was a killer.

The answer to why Phil plays more than Branch is that Phil does everything Branch does better than Branch, except for run the point - and with Jordan running the point Branch has no spot.

How Dom has played less intelligent basketball and been less effective every year since he's been here is a mystery to me. It's very unfortunate, but his play today was just indefensible. Sad. He has a lot of ability, but it certainly did not show up in today's game and in several others.

Win the last 3 and a game in the BE tournament and I think we're still a bubble team. Looking at the potential tournament matchups, I don't; think you can mark down a first down win by any means. To be sure about an NCAA bid we will need to win the conference tournament. To have some confidence about it, we will need to win the last three plus 2 games in the tourney, IMHO.

Xavier game is huge. The nice thing about Lavin is that his strength will be having the team mentally ready for that one despite today's loss.

 

[redstorm80]

Still venting so can someone please explain to me why Gift was redshirted?

If he doesn't play w a hobbling CO and no Sanchez, this a great question.

All about match ups

Matchups is exactly the reason why Gift should have played
They had a front line of Pinkston, Ofechku (sp) and Bell
When Obekpa was out of the game, we countered with Sampson, Pointer and a guard
That's a recipe for getting killed inside
Obekpa or Gift should have been on the court throughout the game IMO
In hindsight, Gift got royally screwed
Not all of it is St John's fault - they didn't expect Sanchez would be forced to sit out last year
But, as things turned out, Gift would have played a lot last year and has not played much this year
I believe that Gift has been very productive in the limited time he has played this year

I dont disagree with that. I would of liked to see him get some burn but I understand why he didn't down the stretch and dont think him sitting is a reason we lost

 

[logen]

Huge thread that I can't read all of but IMO this game was lost in the backcourt play. I only saw the second half live but the incessent dribbling leading to standing around watching a one on one move, mostly by Jordan and Greene, with some Harrison thrown in for good measure was tough to watch. Our lack of temwork was atrocious. Prime example, on the play late when Nova handed the ball to Greene, a simple dropoff to Harrison would have resulted in a layin. Instead he puts his head down looking for his and allows Nova to foul and prevent the goal. Misses one..... Did Sampson play because our guards sure acted like he was in RI with Sanchez, did he post even once all game? Say what you want about Arch, he took the ball where he wanted, when he wanted and broke us down almost at will, none of our guards could keep him in front of them. The game was won and lost in the backcourt plain and simple. Saw Pointer's T on DVR; that and the foul at midcourt with the shot clock running out says it all; he and we just played dumb again and it cost us. We obviously still have a shot but I am afraid this is going to turn out to be one of the most talented teams I've ever seen that doesn't make the tournament; not sure we can endure another loss except in th BET final. Very disappointing, I am way past taking solace in a good effort; losing to Nova on the road is no disgrace for sure but IMO beating yourself by reverting back to an AAU offense and stupid, selfish play is.

 

[blackpeter24]

I don't understand the support for Jamal Branch. He does nothing well. His ball handling is pointless, his lack of fundamental passing always leads to turnovers, his shot selection is poor but worst of all is his defense. Besides Hooper, he is the worst man to man defender we put on the court. Phil Greene has shortcomings but, at least, he isn't prone to stupid turnovers and, at least, he works as a defender.

 

[Muse]

Wonder if we had played Gift some and rested Sampson some if it would have been a win win and a win

 

[Avon Barksdale]

Was at the game yesterday...

We DID NOT play well at all. We were missing Sanchez. Bad officiating down the stretch. A miracle bank shot 3 pointer by them. We were sloppy and we missed a ton of easy shots. Over all it was a very UNDERWHELMING performance by us, yet we had a chance to win against a Top-10 team in the country.

With all that said, i cant find any silver lining in the loss yesterday. We really should have had that one and it was really heart break city walking out of the Wells Fargo Center yesterday.

Yesterday was not a must win, but it would have been really nice to have it in our pocket as a quality win for the NCAAs, but i believe that the next three games are must wins. As tough as Xavier and Marquette will be, we cannot go out and lay an egg against those teams. I do not want to leave our NCAA fate up to a great performance in the Big East Tournament. A loss to Xavier puts us at 1-5 against the top 3 in the Big East. Not a good look on Selection Sunday. And our out of conference schedule has losses to Wisconsin and Syracuse, but other than that it looks like we scheduled more cupcakes than we need.

Going forward we have to schedule better out of conference now that the BE has less quality teams. I would like to play Syracuse plus another ACC team, a Big 10, PAC 12, AAC and SEC team every year. I know that we played two ACC and two Big 10 teams this year, but GTech & Penn State do not have the quality that we need - I would like to see plus a loss (like Penn State) is a bad loss for us to the NCAA committee. Why not do an annual home and home with UConn? or Cinci? or Louisville? Duke will not play us anymore but we can easily find a substitute for them...play in the Maui Classic...or the PreSeason NIT. Going forward we will need to compensate for lack of quality opponents in our conference schedule and we can only do that by scheduling big time games out of conference.

 

[Jack Williams]

Was at the game yesterday...

We DID NOT play well at all. We were missing Sanchez. Bad officiating down the stretch. A miracle bank shot 3 pointer by them. We were sloppy and we missed a ton of easy shots. Over all it was a very UNDERWHELMING performance by us, yet we had a chance to win against a Top-10 team in the country.

With all that said, i cant find any silver lining in the loss yesterday. We really should have had that one and it was really heart break city walking out of the Wells Fargo Center yesterday.

Yesterday was not a must win, but it would have been really nice to have it in our pocket as a quality win for the NCAAs, but i believe that the next three games are must wins. As tough as Xavier and Marquette will be, we cannot go out and lay an egg against those teams. I do not want to leave our NCAA fate up to a great performance in the Big East Tournament. A loss to Xavier puts us at 1-5 against the top 3 in the Big East. Not a good look on Selection Sunday. And our out of conference schedule has losses to Wisconsin and Syracuse, but other than that it looks like we scheduled more cupcakes than we need.

Going forward we have to schedule better out of conference now that the BE has less quality teams. I would like to play Syracuse plus another ACC team, a Big 10, PAC 12, AAC and SEC team every year. I know that we played two ACC and two Big 10 teams this year, but GTech & Penn State do not have the quality that we need - I would like to see plus a loss (like Penn State) is a bad loss for us to the NCAA committee. Why not do an annual home and home with UConn? or Cinci? or Louisville? Duke will not play us anymore but we can easily find a substitute for them...play in the Maui Classic...or the PreSeason NIT. Going forward we will need to compensate for lack of quality opponents in our conference schedule and we can only do that by scheduling big time games out of conference.

Agree with the last paragraph 100%. Xavier has done the exact same things as us in conference this year. Yet, they are in the tournament and we aren't. That's because they notched wins against Cincy and Tennessee. We already are playing at the carrier dome next year, and I believe Gonzaga is in the preseason nit next year with us. But we have to schedule some better teams.

 

[usguard]

Huge thread that I can't read all of but IMO this game was lost in the backcourt play. I only saw the second half live but the incessent dribbling leading to standing around watching a one on one move, mostly by Jordan and Greene, with some Harrison thrown in for good measure was tough to watch. Our lack of temwork was atrocious. Prime example, on the play late when Nova handed the ball to Greene, a simple dropoff to Harrison would have resulted in a layin. Instead he puts his head down looking for his and allows Nova to foul and prevent the goal. Misses one..... Did Sampson play because our guards sure acted like he was in RI with Sanchez, did he post even once all game? Say what you want about Arch, he took the ball where he wanted, when he wanted and broke us down almost at will, none of our guards could keep him in front of them. The game was won and lost in the backcourt plain and simple. Saw Pointer's T on DVR; that and the foul at midcourt with the shot clock running out says it all; he and we just played dumb again and it cost us. We obviously still have a shot but I am afraid this is going to turn out to be one of the most talented teams I've ever seen that doesn't make the tournament; not sure we can endure another loss except in th BET final. Very disappointing, I am way past taking solace in a good effort; losing to Nova on the road is no disgrace for sure but IMO beating yourself by reverting back to an AAU offense and stupid, selfish play is.

.
They played pretty good being on the road against a top ten team. We were not 100% healthy but we could have and should won ...Harrison did not shoot well. Overall. teams offensive was below what they did against Creighton . .They did not look for that extra pass We are a better team than Nova . Hope we play them when we are healthy in the in BGT

 

[lawmanfan]

Huge thread that I can't read all of but IMO this game was lost in the backcourt play. I only saw the second half live but the incessent dribbling leading to standing around watching a one on one move, mostly by Jordan and Greene, with some Harrison thrown in for good measure was tough to watch. Our lack of temwork was atrocious. Prime example, on the play late when Nova handed the ball to Greene, a simple dropoff to Harrison would have resulted in a layin. Instead he puts his head down looking for his and allows Nova to foul and prevent the goal. Misses one..... Did Sampson play because our guards sure acted like he was in RI with Sanchez, did he post even once all game? Say what you want about Arch, he took the ball where he wanted, when he wanted and broke us down almost at will, none of our guards could keep him in front of them. The game was won and lost in the backcourt plain and simple. Saw Pointer's T on DVR; that and the foul at midcourt with the shot clock running out says it all; he and we just played dumb again and it cost us. We obviously still have a shot but I am afraid this is going to turn out to be one of the most talented teams I've ever seen that doesn't make the tournament; not sure we can endure another loss except in th BET final. Very disappointing, I am way past taking solace in a good effort; losing to Nova on the road is no disgrace for sure but IMO beating yourself by reverting back to an AAU offense and stupid, selfish play is.

We stop nobody on the dribble. It's a chronic deficiency. Sometimes it almost seems as though the guards are told to funnel the dribbler to Obekpa instead of trying to stop them.

 

[lawmanfan]

Wonder if we had played Gift some and rested Sampson some if it would have been a win win and a win

Or Gift for Obekpa in spots to give him a break with the bum ankle.

 

[ras]

Wonder if we had played Gift some and rested Sampson some if it would have been a win win and a win

I was thinking a similar thought. I think Harrison and Sampson should have had a breather. They were probably dead tired at the end. It's not like those 2 were lighting it up. I also believe Gift should have played C ,even w Sampson in , for some minutes. Tough loss, it was there for the taking.

 

[Section3]

This was a tough one to watch with so many missed shots at the rim down the stretch and key missed free throws.
But from what I've seen, at full strength, we are now the best team in the big east. I say bring it on at the Garden. We can definitely win the Bid East Tournament.

we have no right to the claim of "best team in the big east." please, stop.

Frankly I can claim whatever I like. Free country, remember? Anyway, I'm not claiming anything. I am saying that from what I see on the court, at full strength, we are the best team in the league right now and I believe we will see it in the tourney.

We split with Creighton and we just played Villanova to the last second without Sanchez and having Obekpa half lame much of the game. Who else is better than us? Look for the Johnnies in the BET Championship game!

My eye test tells me Creighton/Nova/SJ are 3 top BE teams and,records aside, at this point in time are evenly matched...

FWIW, today's game was further evidence that Greene should live exclusively on perimeter as catch and shoot option for which he is one of our best..he cannot lead a fast break and should never drive to closer than 5 feet of basket as he has absolutely no ability to finish at the rim...

 

[westchesterjoe]

Obviously, Wagner, USF, Longwood, Monmouth, Fordham, Dartmouth provided us 6 of our 18 wins but, is the OOC schedule for a team with Top 25 aspirations? We'll pay the price for these cupcakes, already have in rankings, LUNARDI,ETC.

The fact still remains we have only 1 win against a top 50 team. Close losses mean losses nothing else.

While i think we have all been pleased with our recent winning streak, the fact remains we lose a lot of in conference games, 7 so far. And, losing to Depaul away, and Providence at home are haunting our record.

I, like others, put the rose colored glasses on during our streak but, losing again to NOVA brings back a realistic assessment . We are a poor shooting, poor rebounding , mediocre defensive club with zero 3 pt consistency, and some players with no basketball IQ, Pointer. and that's a big minus in college bb today. We still are very poor defenders against the 3.. nova hit 9 for 27 points. Having no real 3 point shooters ourselves how do we practice against it? Hooper, MARCO? They aren't in the top echelon of 3 pt scorers that we see in conference.

I believe we need 3 wins, before BE tourney to be in consideration for NCAA.

How does Lavin continue with Dom in important games? He's a poor scorer, can't shoot,can't rebound, is overrated defensively and makes foolish mistakes that cost points. AT least 6 points resulted for Nova from his missed dunk, technical and next possession.. That's a lot to give up in a close game.

This team, consisting largely of all these highly rated juniors, 2 ROY players or candidates hasn't even sniffed getting anywhere near the top 25 in their careers. While a final assessment will be at season's end, only a strong finish can take the sting away from very mediocre results.

We needed the game yesterday despite the post game denials..

 

[Section3]

It's good to be good, and it's better to be lucky. Ryan A.'s bank shot 3 from straightaway was lucky.

Villanova controlling the ball for over a minute with the lead was good.

Greene's travel was horrible, but no way should Harrison deliver the ball to Greene in that possession, surrounded by trees. Also, Harrison's break to the basket when they needed a three wasn't exactly heady.

Give Lavin credit for loading up on 3 point shooters on the final possession, and then switching to rebounders with Harrison on the line.

Can't explain why Harrison gave a foul with 1.5 seconds remaining, down two and we needed a steal. Essentially ended the game

Yesterday, we had a little debate as to who should have the ball at the end, Jordan or Harrison. Today was an example why Jordan should have the ball.

What was wrong with the Harrison pass? It was a very good pass to a guy cutting to the basket. Down two points you take it up, either make it or get fouled. I have zero problem with Dlo making that pass.

Agree with you...It was very good pass but, unfortunately, the recipient does not have any ability to finish at basket and routinely avoids contact...But, from Harrison's perspective - he saw and open teammate with an opportunity to score from 2 feet...so, great look...otherwise it was an off balance shot from him...given his uncanny ability to deliver from any angle, may have been a better %

 

[Section3]

It's good to be good, and it's better to be lucky. Ryan A.'s bank shot 3 from straightaway was lucky.

Villanova controlling the ball for over a minute with the lead was good.

Greene's travel was horrible, but no way should Harrison deliver the ball to Greene in that possession, surrounded by trees. Also, Harrison's break to the basket when they needed a three wasn't exactly heady.

Give Lavin credit for loading up on 3 point shooters on the final possession, and then switching to rebounders with Harrison on the line.

Can't explain why Harrison gave a foul with 1.5 seconds remaining, down two and we needed a steal. Essentially ended the game

Yesterday, we had a little debate as to who should have the ball at the end, Jordan or Harrison. Today was an example why Jordan should have the ball.

What was wrong with the Harrison pass? It was a very good pass to a guy cutting to the basket. Down two points you take it up, either make it or get fouled. I have zero problem with Dlo making that pass.

Greene, our smallest player caught the call with his back to the basket and surrounded by three players. What could he possibly do besides kick it out or cough it up. He tried the former and succeeded in the latter.

Beast...gonna go back and watch it but IMO he was in position to put it right up...may have been blocked, may have gotten fouled but I believe he was in position...wrong guy at right time...Jordan puts that in...just not Phil's thing

 

[Section3]

just watched the game on dvr. that sucked. we could not get over the hump. Phil not taking that shot on the feed from D Lo was atrocious. Rysheed was ok but he was trying too hard out there. we got away from getting the ball to Sampson in the paint. D Lo needed more touches in the last 7 minutes. Sir Dom's head was not in this game at all. . Obekpa did all he could with a bum ankle. I'm glad we fought and didn't fold when we were down 8 and 6 points but we seriously should have won this game. In the absence of top 50 rpi wins, we need to win out and take 1 or 2 in the BET to feel comfortable on selection sunday.

Good summary. I might not be able to sleep tonight due to flashbacks of Dom hanging on the rim (why?), PG IV turning away from the basket when 2 and a foul seemed certain and Arch-Diocese's bleeping banked 3.

They did a heck of a job of sticking a paw in D'Lo's face, whether it was called or not,

And, even Raftery noted Arcidiacano's habit of using his off hand on drives...not called once