NOVA At It Again!...Spoiler Alert...
Big East teams always play each other tough. But Nova is so young and inexperienced nobody expected much out of them this year. However they got a lot of talent on that team, they got Yarou and Ochufu are 2 really big dudes playing down low, Pinkston has been a revelation. Bell and Hillard are built like prototypical pro wings. And Chennault and Ryan Arc can make plays. Plus Jay Wright is a great coach.
9 point lead with 53 seconds left. They're defense shut Porter down at the end. Ryan Arc is going to be the Big East's version of Jimmer in 2 years that dude is automatic at the line.
I think Nova not winning on the road is more of a testament to how young they are then anything else. Like they don't get shy on the big stage because they just beat they're 3rd top 5 team and all them games have been at the Wells Fargo Center where the Sixers play and not Nova's usual home court which is up on the Main Line outside the city.
Nova got the talent to compete and is now gaining the experience to do it on the big stage.
Even the good teams struggle to win on the road. Look at Michigan they lost 4 in a row on the road and almost got upset by Purdue tonight. They are unbeaten at home/neutral site games but gave Penn St. their only Big 10 win of the year. It is a crazy year in college basketball and as a Philly guy I love to see this overachieving Nova team punch their ticket to the BIG DANCE.
It really is astounding that this is a tournament team. Alabama beat them by 20 earlier in the year and the next game they lost at home to Columbia by 18. I was making jokes about how bad this team was earlier in the year and they certainly shut me up.
Villanova is at it again 7 minutes away from upsetting #5 G'Town and possibly NPOY Otto Porter. Nova has already upset 2 top 5 teams at home in Louisville and Syracuse is looking for the hat trick. Villanova has a dangerous combo of big men, ball handlers, and athletic wings.