Albany - Vilanova

[olddog71]

Unbelievable!

 

Down by eight early in the first half, UAlbany is behind Vilanova by only one point at the half: 33-32.

[olddog71]

Make that "down by 7." It was 8-1. I was just so excited.

[Dane Pound]

That third foul on Jamar was tough. Playing tough and shooting well. Keep it up Danes!

[scottotile]

Good showing against the big time team. Should be fun this winter.

[GODANESGO]

Great offensive game for our guys. We really did light up the best defensive team in the nation. I was expecting to hit about 60 points but it was awesome to see us essentially match our season average for points.

 

Great 3 point shooting again, especially by B. Wilson. Awesome to see what he can really do. Good free throw shooting again from Jamar and now from Special K. If he can up his shooting percentage a bit with his talent at the line, he will really be dangerous.

 

But Nova's awesome rebounding, especially on the offensive glass, really ate us up. 32-16 overall I think it came out to. Gave them about an extra dozen shots. Jamar also REALLY needs to cut down on the careless turnovers. He improved a bit in the second half compared to his opening minutes, but there's still a ton of progress to be made. Lucious also really quited down in the second half. Wouldv'e been nice to see what the result would have been if he continued with his hot hand.

 

Very impressive game against a strong Big East team. This should be a huge confidence booster for the Danes. Lighting up first the best defensive team in the AE, then the best defensive team in the nation for over 70 points both games. All of our weapons still have not come together in the same game. DANEgerous to see what happens when it does.

 

Pick up the rebounding and especially defense a bit and it will be amazing to watch this team play.

[olddog71]

What a difference in offense between last year and this season, so far.

 

UAlbany scored 72 points against a very good team.

 

Last season we scored 72 points only twice in the whole season. One of those two games required two overtimes to bring the point total to that level.

 

It's going to be great to see us finally at home this year and note the major difference in teams between the seasons.

[UAalum72]

Great effort tonight. Only big difference was offensive rebounds (13-4) giving Nova 54 shots to UA's 41. Shooting %, steals, assists, turnovers, fouls were all very close. Team showed proper grit responding to Cat runs with 14-5 run in the first half and 18-5 in the second. 72 easily the most points scored vs. Nova this year. Sounded like a big night for Wyatt in front of the home folks.

 

Team looks thisclose to making some REAL noise. Everybody have a good holiday weekend, then on to 'Cuse!!

[reeder]

A few thoughts on the game:

1. Jamar Wilson worked hard every minute of the game. Villanova played very aggressive defense and Jamar handled it pretty well overall. He had a couple of bad turnovers but not bad considering the situation.

2. Zoellner seemed to be on a one second time delay. Villanova was big and the big guys were quick. Zoellner was just not in their league - he will be a good player in the AE but the size, strength and athleticism of Villanova was too much for him.

3. Brent Wilson played a great game - not just the 3's but he took a key charge, had a couple of good rebounds and played very good defense.

4. Wyatt had a great game - great dunk off a missed shot - also worked real hard when he had a chance.

5. Jordan - was unstoppable in the first half. He missed a couple of free throws early but he stuck the 3's when he had the shots. The Villanova D was so aggressive in the second half that he didn't get the ball much.

6. Levi played well - he looked very tired as he had to do a lot of ball handling because of the pressure. He didn't look real comfortable shooting the 3 - the aggressive D just made it hard to get good looks.

 

 

UA was unable to get any rebounds. Zoellner was just too slow and not as aggressive as the Villanova big guys. Chris Wyatt did the best job of boxing out and trying to stop their big guys. Even with the rebounding disadvantage, UA hung in there but in the second half, Villanova started hitting 3's. When you are getting all the rebounds and hitting 3's it's a tough situation.

 

Villanova is obviously a better team. That said, UA played incredibly well. I can't see how this team lost to Wagner and LIU.

[statefan]

Two quick thoughts:

 

1. IMO, the most impressive part was that Villanova had to keep its starters in the game until the end. Often in these mid/low major vs power conference games, the score winds up closer than it really should because the power team finds an opportunity to play its end of the bench guys while the mid/low major team is still playing hard.

 

2. Each year there are a few moments that get etched in your memory. Usually they are visual, but I'd have to put the radio call of Chris Wyatt's put back slam in that category. I must say that at that moment, I felt really happy for Chris, who doesn't get that many opportunities to create a lasting memory.

[LetsGoNova]

Great showing by youir Danes last night. I've got a lot of respect for your team, and I too have a hard time believing you lost to LIU and Wagner. Your team is flat out good, and if they shoot like they did last night, they won't lose many games. And the shooters were making tough, contested 3's, as well, it wasn't like they were wide open looks.

 

Best of luck the rest of the way - the Cuse have started slowly against a couple mid-majors this year, including vs. Cornell in which they were only up 1 at the half (sound familiar?). Give 'em hell.

[Dane Pound]

Thanks LetsGoNova. Good luck to Villanova the rest of the way.

 

Two of the things that struck me listening to the game last night. One was it sounded like Nova had trouble keeping Jamar out of the lane. Great to see higher level guards have trouble with him as well. He will get his points and cause problems for the opposing defense no matter who we play. The other was the play of Brent Wilson. Alot of times we get exicted about our freshman when they have good games against teams like Army or UMBC. Brent had the best game of his 8 game old career against a team with a very solid Big East frontcourt. It didn't sound like he was intimidated or out of his league at all last night.

 

I share Statefan's thoughts about the Wyatt dunk. Not to do a Chris Wyatt retrospective but he's had several moments like that through his career. The other moment I enjoyed last night was when Brent Wilson nailed that 3 to make it a five point game with a couple of minutes left. Even through the radio you could hear the air being let out of the Pavillion a little. Much better than the party time atmosphere we've provided for power conference opponents the last few years.

[alum73]

Thanks for the kind words. It's too bad Lillis and Iati were out, as the guards were really spent last night. Nova contested every posession, pass and shot ferociously. I thought Wyatt looked very good when he was in. Q looked a little out of sync also. Nova's athleticism up front gave our front court a lot of problems, but I think we continue to improve and our best days are definitely ahead of us.

[alumni '92']

rodger wyland had some very positive things to say about the direction of the program this morning ... would loved to have made the game, but couldn't get out of work in time to make the drive ... see you kids in syracuse

[reeder]

A few final thoughts about Villanova - I've had a day to think about the game a bit more:

 

1. UA played an effective 2 - 3 zone and a soft full court zone press for most of the game. I am not sure if it was new but it sure seemed to catch Villanova off guard.

 

2. Jordan, Jamar and Levi must have been tired - Jamar's only break came late in the first half when he got his third foul. Jordan and Levi didn't get a break. I think the three games next week will be particulary tough if this trio doesn't get some help from the bench - Let's hope Iati or Lillis return.

 

3. Lillis looked fine - he appeared to have a brace on his wrist. He was dribbling quite a bit before the game as the team warmed up.

 

4. The defensive communication was very good against Villanova - you could hear the guards yelling out commands to the rest of the team. Again, not sure if this is new, put they were very loud about double teams, screens...

 

5. What made the offense so productive (relatively) was good passing. The shots seemed to be put up so quickly right after the pass was made.

 

6. Jamar is uncanny at getting to the free throw line and he usually makes them. Even when he missed the shot he drew players with him or got fouled.

 

7. Perspective - It was amazing how big Villanova was (height, weight, strength... and how athletic. Frequently in mid majors you get one or the other.

 

Now on to Syracuse