SWC75
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One game isn't the reason things change but sometimes they can come at the point at which things changed. The last time we played Villanova was 12/20/14 in Philadelphia. We lost 77-82 in overtime. We were ahead the entire game until Nova got the ball off a turnover with 4.2 seconds left and tied it at the end of regulation. We had a 15 point at one point. and 43-31 halftime lead. Nova won it from the line: The Wildcats were 26 of 32 from the free-throw line; Syracuse 13 of 18. SU led by 5 with 17 seconds to go but Josh Hart hit a three pointer and on the inbounds play Trevor Cooney was knocked to the floor and Rakeem Christmas grabbed but there was no call. Nova 'intercepted' the inbounds pass and scored to tie the game. JB: "He landed on the ground. He must have just fallen." JW: ""We practice those (late-game) situations. Our guys did exactly what they were supposed to do."
Villanova had already turned the corner. After falling from 30-8 in 2008-09 to 25-8, 21-12, 13-19 and 20-14, they'd gone 29-5 the previous year. But they'd lost their last four games to Syracuse, so this game was a big deal. Syracuse was 28-10, 30-5, 27-8, 34-3, 28-6 and 30-10 over the same six-year stretch, reaching the #1 ranking in three different years. But that year we went 18-13 and denied ourselves post-season play in the vein hope of getting a mild punishment form the NCAA from their 10-year investigation. Since then we've been 23-14, 19-15, 23-14, 20-14, 18-14 and 18-10. The Wildcats have snarled to 33-3, 35-5 and a national championship, 32-4, 36-4 and another national championship, 26-10, 24-7, 18-7 and a #6 national ranking going into tonight's game.
I suspect those things would still have happened even if the referees in that 2014 game had blown the whistle when the Nova players "did exactly what they are supposed to do" but it's hard not to see that game as a turning point.
Villanova had already turned the corner. After falling from 30-8 in 2008-09 to 25-8, 21-12, 13-19 and 20-14, they'd gone 29-5 the previous year. But they'd lost their last four games to Syracuse, so this game was a big deal. Syracuse was 28-10, 30-5, 27-8, 34-3, 28-6 and 30-10 over the same six-year stretch, reaching the #1 ranking in three different years. But that year we went 18-13 and denied ourselves post-season play in the vein hope of getting a mild punishment form the NCAA from their 10-year investigation. Since then we've been 23-14, 19-15, 23-14, 20-14, 18-14 and 18-10. The Wildcats have snarled to 33-3, 35-5 and a national championship, 32-4, 36-4 and another national championship, 26-10, 24-7, 18-7 and a #6 national ranking going into tonight's game.
I suspect those things would still have happened even if the referees in that 2014 game had blown the whistle when the Nova players "did exactly what they are supposed to do" but it's hard not to see that game as a turning point.
