Friday, November 14, 2008

Game 1: UAlbany vs. Villanova

Overview: UAlbany has eight new faces, Villanova has their entire starting five back.

The last college basketball game I saw in person had the Wildcats in it, when they defeated Siena in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament and boy, was I impressed. The Saints had a ton of momentum and that meant nothing to a team that was on a roll from the Big East.

The Great Danes get lucky in this sense. If there was any time where the Wildcats wouldn't be totally in sync, this is it, in their first game of the season.

The problem for UAlbany is, no matter how well they play they won't be totally in sync either because they haven't been playing together long enough.

Senior Dante Cunningham is a matchup nightmare for opponents at 6-foot-8, sophomore Corey Fisher provides a huge spark off of the bench and sophomore Corey Stokes scored 20 last season against Siena.

UAlbany has plenty of firepower this season, but the question is who will score the basketball tonight, in front of a packed house, on the road, against a Top 25 team.

Senior Brian Connelly averaged more than 10 points per game last season, but someone else will have to step up in order for the Great Danes even to stay close.

Records: Villanova 0-0. UAlbany 0-0

The Series: These two teams are meeting for the second time. Villanova posted an 86-72 victory on Dec. 22, 2004.

Allan Ray scored a game-high 26 points for the Wildcats, while Curtis Sumpter and Randy Foye each added 23.

Jamar Wilson led the Great Danes with 19, while Lucious Jordan added 16 and Brent Wilson knocked down five 3-pointers.

UAlbany only trailed by five with 4:34 to go in the game.

Player to Watch: Scottie Reynolds, junior guard. Reynolds led the Wildcats with 15.9 points per game last season and is a preseason All-Big East selection. This is the guy who ended Siena's season last year with a 20-point, eight-rebound, five-assist performance. Reynolds has already scored over 1,000 points in his Villanova career and was only the second Big East Rookie of the Year in school history (Tim Thomas). With two freshmen at the point for UAlbany, Reynolds may be poised for a big night.

X-Factor: Will Harris, junior UAlbany. To say I know what Harris will bring to the table tonight is just not true. Not even UAlbany coach Will Brown can be sure what Harris, who two months ago was not even eligible to play, will have in him. The positive is that Harris has played a season and a half in the ACC, so he won't be overwhelmed by the atmosphere or the opponent. If the Great Danes are lucky, maybe he will even lead by example and give UAlbany fans an early glimpse of what he will bring to the table this season.

Injury Note: UAlbany red-shirt freshman Billy Allen will wear a mask tonight after breaking his nose in practice. Allen will be making his UAlbany debut after missing last season after undergoing back surgery.

Villanova senior Shane Clark is out at least until December after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on his right knee. Clark averaged 7.1 points per game last season and had 25 points in the 2007-08 season opener against Stony Brook.

Prediction: Villanova 83, UAlbany 62

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Way off...final score was 78 to 60. Maybe next time you'll do better.

November 15, 2008 at 12:57 AM 

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