Rolling with the punches: Villanova battling tough stretch of games heading into Syracuse
Digger Phelps has watched this pattern unfold. Year after year, the former Notre Dame head coach and current ESPN college basketball analyst finds himself watching a national championship contender’s tumultuous tumble down the polls after surging to a promising start.
And this year is no different. Three weeks ago, then-No. 2 Villanova claimed a 19-1 record and was threatening to overthrow Kansas for the top spot in the national rankings after coasting through its first 20 games.
But since then, the Wildcats have been at the mercy of a tough Big East schedule, playing three road games at No. 11 Georgetown, No. 8 West Virginia and No. 12 Pittsburgh and a home game against Connecticut.
The daunting matchups against the Big East’s elite have taken a toll on the squad in recent weeks. Villanova has dropped three of its last six games – including losing back-to-back contests last week for the first time since March 2008 – and subsequently slipped down to No. 7 in the national polls.
But the Wildcats’ recent struggles haven’t dented Phelps’ confidence in their ability to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
‘You play a season,’ Phelps said in a phone interview last Sunday. ‘You’re not going to go undefeated anymore. No one is. You’re going to have losing streaks, and obviously, Villanova will show up when it counts in March. They have so many good guards not to. If you have great guards, you’ll usually get to the Sweet 16, and they’ve got great guards.’
Those guards – Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes – will have the opportunity to justify Phelps’ praises and showcase their Sweet 16 potential this Saturday when No. 7 Villanova (Big East 23-4, 12-3) takes on No. 4 Syracuse (26-2, 13-2) in a Big East showdown at the Carrier Dome at 9 p.m.
Playing at Syracuse, though, will be the latest challenge the Wildcats will have to endure during its grueling gantlet. Following its reign of domination three weeks ago, Villanova has been slated to play nine opponents with a combined record of 169-75 (69.2 winning percentage).
After falling to Georgetown, Connecticut and Pittsburgh, Wildcats’ head coach Jay Wright admitted his players needed to experience those humbling defeats in order to avoid complacency and heartbreak down the road.
‘One of the things we had to learn here is this is more like reality,’ Wright said in the Big East coaches weekly teleconference. ‘We’ve overcome a lot of mistakes during the season, and the last two losses, we just weren’t able to overcome those flaws. I think (our players) are learning that and learning how important the little things are now. Now it’s getting to be reality.’
It’s been a harsh reality for Wright’s team. In a matter of weeks, Villanova went from being a virtual lock for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament brackets, according to ESPN.com’s weekly projections, to the last No. 2 seed in the latest edition.
With the Wildcats aiming to leapfrog Syracuse in the Big East standings and regain its grasp on a top seed, Phelps expects Reynolds, Fisher and Stokes to compensate for the upsets by unleashing their frustrations on the Orange’s guards.
‘Losing at Pittsburgh only gives them more motivation and fire to go up and play above their best against Syracuse,’ Phelps said. ‘If anything, they will be more focused and learn from their mistakes in these losses. What they go through now is just part of that growing process to get ready for what March has.’
Wright also views the scheduling stretch as beneficial for the maturation of his younger players. Having four first-year players, the Villanova coach recognizes the Big East’s tense atmospheres are the best outlets to sharpen his reserves’ mental toughness and IQ.
‘The thing about this league is you just got to get to the next game and get better in between games,’ Wright said. ‘The road environments are so tough, especially for college kids. It can have an impact on a game. The veteran teams, the teams that have the most juniors and seniors, are the teams that win the most road games.’
Being that Wright’s top five scorers are upperclassmen, he has little reason for concern over the recent upsets. While he’s disappointed with the Wildcats’ three defeats, Wright is grateful the flaws were exposed earlier rather than later.
Regardless of how Villanova finishes its last three games, Phelps said it’s possible Wright and the Wildcats could ultimately find a silver lining from their demanding Big East schedule once postseason play commences.
‘Playing these games and playing this tough schedule is important, in my opinion, because it gets you ready for March Madness and a run for the national title,’ Phelps said. ‘What the Big East does as a conference is it challenges you. It challenges teams to be prepared because what you see in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament you’ve already seen in the Big East.’
