March 18, 2041
The Wildcats are used to holding the
top seed in the nearby East Region. We're one of three Big East teams to secure 1 seeds; Pitt, Georgetown, and North Carolina round out the group.
March 21, 2041
NCAA East Region, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 61, (16) Belmont 44
Belmont plays at a leisurely pace; they rank 331st in this category nationwide. Of course, they're going to take the air out of the ball today. Although it drives us crazy to play this slowly, we grind out a comfortable win against this year's Cinderella aspirant.
Kai Smith and
Chris Wilson lead us in scoring with 11 points each. Kai adds 6 assists and 5 steals to earn Player of the Game recognition.
Record: 31-3.
March 23, 2041
NCAA East Region, Second Round
(1) #1 Villanova 93, (8) Mississippi State 62
Older fans can remember when Mississippi State was one of the most feared and accomplished teams in the nation. From 2018 to 2020, gifted coach
James Berube led the Bulldogs to two NCAA championships and made it to the Final Four a third time.
Coach
Kermit Faulk is trying to bring the 'Dogs back to national prominence, and he viewed this game as a possible launchpad. We ruin his plans with a complete performance.
John Cannon (23p/2s) leads us in scoring, with
Nick Spencer (18p/4a/3s),
Chris Wilson (12p/10r/3b), and
Dan O'Halloran (12p/6r) backing him up.
Our victory sends us to the Sweet Sixteen. It's our 19th trip, one more than runner-up Georgetown.
Record: 32-3.
March 28, 2041
East Region Semifinal: the Sweet Sixteen
Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 100, (8) #4 Temple 77
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Temple (27-6, 15-3):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Chris Thompson C 25 1-3 0-0 1 3 0 4 2
Chuck Farrington PF 27 5-10 2-4 4 9 0 3 13
James Santos SF 19 5-6 0-0 0 1 2 4 14
Boyce Pape SG 24 5-13 0-0 1 3 1 4 13
Stevie Chesser PG 24 3-8 1-2 0 1 8 2 10
Gary West SG 19 2-5 2-2 0 0 2 0 7
Dewey Rasberry SG 13 2-3 1-2 0 1 0 3 7
Harold Laughlin PG 14 0-2 4-4 1 3 0 2 4
Sam Kirkpatrick PF 20 2-7 3-4 0 3 0 2 7
Royce Medlock C 15 0-0 0-0 2 2 2 1 0
Turnovers: 17 (C.Thompson 1, C.Farrington 1, B.Pape 5,
S.Chesser 2, D.Rasberry 1, H.Laughlin 1, S.Kirkpatrick
2, R.Medlock 4)
Blocked Shots: 2 (H.Laughlin 1, S.Kirkpatrick 1)
Steals: 1 (G.West 1)
3P FGs: 14-33 (C.Farrington 1-5, J.Santos 4-5, B.Pape
3-9, S.Chesser 3-7, G.West 1-3, D.Rasberry 2-3,
H.Laughlin 0-1)
Villanova (33-3, 13-3):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Dan O'Halloran C 25 10-15 1-3 6 9 1 3 21
Chris Wilson SF 27 4-12 5-6 0 5 5 3 13
John Cannon SF 10 2-5 0-0 0 1 1 4 5
DeAndre Brown SG 26 10-12 6-6 2 3 1 1 31
Kai Smith PG 21 1-2 3-4 0 1 10 1 5
Nick Spencer SG 21 1-5 0-0 2 2 1 2 2
Zak Marshall PF 31 4-6 4-5 1 7 4 3 12
Jordi Ballester PF 20 3-5 2-4 4 11 0 2 8
Forrest Curl C 10 0-2 0-0 1 4 0 1 0
Nick O'Brien PG 9 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3
Turnovers: 9 (D.O'Halloran 2, C.Wilson 1, D.Brown 1,
Z.Marshall 2, J.Ballester 1, F.Curl 1, N.O'Brien 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (C.Wilson 1, D.Brown 1)
Steals: 5 (D.Brown 2, K.Smith 1, N.Spencer 1,
Z.Marshall 1)
3P FGs: 7-12 (J.Cannon 1-2, D.Brown 5-5, K.Smith 0-1,
N.Spencer 0-3, N.O'Brien 1-1)
Player of Game: SG DeAndre Brown (VLNV)
It's great to see another Philadelphia team in the top echelon of college basketball, but it's also great to see Villanova assert its right to remain at the very top.
We have
DeAndre Brown's sharpshooting to thank, along with the rugged inside play of
Dan O'Halloran, the playmaking of
Kai Smith, the scoresheet-filling contributions of
Chris Wilson, and the extended relief work of
Zak Marshall.
The game was close (VU 49, TU 43) at halftime, but not thereafter.
Record: 33-3.
March 30, 2041
NCAA East Region Final: the Elite Eight
(1) #1 Villanova 77, (6) #11 West Virginia 41
Behind especially strong performances from
John Cannon (20p/2s) and
Zak Marshall (15p/7r/2b) we secure the East Region title and a trip to the Final Four. We become the first team to make it that far ten times.
DeAndre Brown adds 13 points and 5 of our team's 15 steals.
Record: 34-3.