March 16, 2042
We secure the top seed in the
NCAA East Region, an accomplishment that seems to be a regular one now. The other top teams in our bracket are 2-seed Louisville and a 29-2 Lafayette team that is seeded third.
Villanova is the only Big East team with a top seed...what is the basketball world coming to?
Duke, Florida, and Miami are the other one seeds.
March 21, 2042
NCAA East Region, First Round
Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 92, (16) Winthrop 68
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Winthrop (13-21, 7-7):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
George Snelling C 23 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 2 0
C. Waterhouse C 23 4-6 5-6 3 6 1 2 13
Avery Bourque SF 6 0-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 1
B. Lafontaine SF 28 6-13 3-3 0 0 0 1 15
S. Peterson PG 25 1-3 8-8 0 4 7 0 10
K. Matlock SG 20 3-8 1-2 0 4 1 1 8
Chris Montano PF 27 0-0 2-2 3 6 1 2 2
Matthew Falcon SG 29 3-9 5-7 1 4 1 1 11
Chris Turnbull C 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0
Gregory Armstead C 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Robert Truman PG 12 3-4 1-2 0 3 0 1 8
Turnovers: 14 (C.Waterhouse 1, A.Bourque 1,
B.Lafontaine 1, S.Peterson 4, K.Matlock 2, C.Montano
1, M.Falcon 3, C.Turnbull 1)
Blocked Shots: 1 (C.Montano 1)
Steals: 0
3P FGs: 2-20 (A.Bourque 0-2, B.Lafontaine 0-5,
S.Peterson 0-1, K.Matlock 1-5, M.Falcon 0-6, R.Truman
1-1)
Villanova (33-1, 15-1):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Dan O'Halloran C 29 7-12 2-3 7 19 3 3 16
Forrest Curl PF 20 2-4 0-0 2 3 2 4 4
Israel Moody SF 4 2-5 0-0 0 0 0 4 4
John Cannon SG 29 7-15 0-0 5 6 6 3 20
Kai Smith PG 29 4-15 0-0 2 2 6 3 9
Asaad Richardson SF 14 3-7 1-1 3 3 5 5 8
Tyson Lien SG 27 4-7 0-0 1 1 3 0 10
Weston Wagner SF 20 5-10 5-7 3 8 1 3 17
Immanuel Bahr PF 19 1-5 0-0 3 7 0 0 2
Nick O'Brien PG 6 1-3 0-0 0 1 0 1 2
Brian Cioffi PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 7 (D.O'Halloran 2, A.Richardson 1, T.Lien 3,
I.Bahr 1)
Blocked Shots: 1 (D.O'Halloran 1)
Steals: 6 (F.Curl 1, K.Smith 2, A.Richardson 1, T.Lien
1, W.Wagner 1)
3P FGs: 12-37 (J.Cannon 6-13, K.Smith 1-7, A.Richardson
1-5, T.Lien 2-4, W.Wagner 2-6, I.Bahr 0-1, N.O'Brien
0-1)
Player of Game: SG John Cannon (VLNV)
Winthrop earned their ticket to the Big Dance with an upset victory in the Big South tournament. We send this wannabe Cinderella home early, bidding her adieu with a barrage of 37 three-point attempts. We make only 12, but we look like snipers compared to the scatter-armed Eagles.
Lots of misses means lots of rebound chances for
Dan O'Halloran, who capitalizes on many of them.
Double-Double Dan is now averaging 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest.
Avery Sullivan is the only Wildcat who has averaged a double-double for a season.
Record: 33-1.
March 23, 2042
NCAA East Region, Second Round
Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 95, (9) Charlotte 68
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Charlotte (25-9, 11-5):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Michel Guerrero C 18 2-4 1-2 0 8 0 4 5
Joseph Simpkins PF 27 3-3 1-2 1 7 0 0 8
Lamont Jones SF 28 7-15 3-4 2 4 1 2 19
Nickolas Paxton SF 25 5-12 0-1 3 4 2 4 10
Adam Benedetto PG 27 1-4 1-2 0 0 7 1 3
Odell Price SG 13 1-4 2-2 0 1 1 1 5
Kevin Brooks C 13 1-3 2-4 2 4 1 0 4
Jason Alexander PF 15 0-3 0-0 0 1 2 2 0
Terrance Strother PG 10 0-3 0-0 2 2 2 0 0
Jason Sand SF 13 1-5 0-0 2 4 0 0 3
Vincent Dryer C 7 1-1 2-2 1 1 0 0 5
Lewis Hartz SG 4 1-1 4-4 0 0 0 1 6
David Thomas SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Turnovers: 20 (M.Guerrero 2, J.Simpkins 3, L.Jones 4,
N.Paxton 3, A.Benedetto 4, K.Brooks 1, J.Alexander 1,
J.Sand 1, L.Hartz 1)
Blocked Shots: 4 (J.Simpkins 2, N.Paxton 2)
Steals: 2 (J.Simpkins 1, L.Jones 1)
3P FGs: 6-25 (J.Simpkins 1-1, L.Jones 2-7, N.Paxton
0-3, A.Benedetto 0-3, O.Price 1-2, J.Alexander 0-1,
T.Strother 0-3, J.Sand 1-4, V.Dryer 1-1)
Villanova (34-1, 15-1):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Dan O'Halloran C 29 5-7 3-4 5 15 2 1 13
Forrest Curl PF 22 2-5 0-0 1 5 4 3 4
Israel Moody PF 9 6-8 0-0 0 1 0 4 12
John Cannon SG 21 5-11 1-1 2 6 0 3 16
Kai Smith PG 15 4-4 0-0 1 1 4 4 9
Asaad Richardson SF 31 5-15 0-0 1 1 5 3 13
Tyson Lien SG 27 4-7 0-2 1 3 4 3 12
Weston Wagner PF 22 3-6 2-2 1 3 1 1 10
Immanuel Bahr PF 10 2-3 0-0 0 1 0 0 6
Nick O'Brien PG 15 0-3 0-0 0 1 2 0 0
Turnovers: 13 (I.Moody 2, J.Cannon 2, A.Richardson 5,
T.Lien 3, W.Wagner 1)
Blocked Shots: 5 (D.O'Halloran 2, J.Cannon 1, I.Bahr 2)
Steals: 12 (F.Curl 1, J.Cannon 2, K.Smith 2,
A.Richardson 3, T.Lien 2, W.Wagner 2)
3P FGs: 17-36 (J.Cannon 5-10, K.Smith 1-1, A.Richardson
3-10, T.Lien 4-7, W.Wagner 2-4, I.Bahr 2-2, N.O'Brien
0-2)
Player of Game: C Dan O'Halloran (VLNV)
Remember the 2035/36 Wildcats? They were the "
Mason Reynolds team," a national championship team that some consider Villanova's best ever. They took just over 31 three-point shots per game.
Did this year's Wildcats say "Let's shoot even more threes than that team did?" So far, that's what they are doing, pulling 73 in two games. Today, almost half of them went in.
Our scoring is balanced, and
Dan O'Halloran tracks down lots of missed shots.
Record: 34-1.
March 28, 2042
NCAA East Region Semifinal: the Sweet Sixteen
Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 99, (4) #11 Kentucky 74
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Kentucky (26-10, 13-5):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Ronnie Connors C 14 1-2 2-2 1 6 0 5 4
James Andrade PF 31 6-8 1-1 2 5 4 1 13
Doyle Rees SF 27 4-8 0-0 0 7 3 1 9
Skyler Knowles SG 26 2-8 4-4 0 3 3 3 9
Joel Pollard PG 25 4-10 0-0 1 1 6 3 8
Gordon Kern PG 15 2-3 0-0 1 2 2 1 5
Theodore Brown SG 13 3-8 3-4 2 2 2 1 9
Charles Vega C 20 3-5 0-0 3 4 0 5 6
Hugh Smith SF 12 1-3 2-2 0 3 0 2 4
Jerry Jewell SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Liam Pilkington PF 14 2-2 3-3 0 3 0 1 7
Turnovers: 25 (R.Connors 1, J.Andrade 1, D.Rees 3,
S.Knowles 8, J.Pollard 3, G.Kern 3, T.Brown 2, C.Vega
2, H.Smith 1, J.Jewell 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (J.Andrade 3)
Steals: 5 (J.Andrade 2, D.Rees 1, J.Pollard 1, G.Kern 1)
3P FGs: 3-15 (D.Rees 1-2, S.Knowles 1-5, J.Pollard 0-1,
G.Kern 1-2, T.Brown 0-3, H.Smith 0-2)
Villanova (35-1, 15-1):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Dan O'Halloran C 28 6-8 5-7 3 8 0 4 17
Forrest Curl PF 21 0-0 0-0 1 4 2 1 0
Israel Moody PF 27 4-13 4-4 1 5 3 1 12
John Cannon SG 31 7-11 5-7 0 1 1 2 23
Kai Smith PG 29 3-7 6-6 0 3 7 2 13
Asaad Richardson SF 26 7-11 2-2 1 2 1 3 18
Tyson Lien SG 15 2-3 0-2 1 2 3 0 5
Weston Wagner C 11 1-4 0-0 0 1 1 2 3
Immanuel Bahr PF 5 1-2 1-1 0 1 0 2 3
Nick O'Brien PG 5 2-3 0-0 0 0 1 0 5
Turnovers: 12 (D.O'Halloran 1, F.Curl 1, I.Moody 3,
J.Cannon 4, A.Richardson 1, T.Lien 1, I.Bahr 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (D.O'Halloran 1, I.Moody 1)
Steals: 14 (F.Curl 2, I.Moody 2, K.Smith 5,
A.Richardson 2, T.Lien 1, N.O'Brien 2)
3P FGs: 10-23 (J.Cannon 4-8, K.Smith 1-3, A.Richardson
2-5, T.Lien 1-2, W.Wagner 1-3, I.Bahr 0-1, N.O'Brien
1-1)
Player of Game: PG Kai Smith (VLNV)
This game is advertised as a battle of true bluebloods, as it should be. Villanova has won the most NCAA tournament games in history, and Kentucky is second. The teams also rank first and second in Elite Eight appearances, and the winner will add one more to that total.
At halftime, we lead Kentucky 53-26, and the basketball world's attention turns elsewhere.
Kai Smith delivers a master class, once again directing our offense without a single turnover and tormenting UK's ballhandlers.
John Cannon quietly drops 23, scoring at all three levels.
Down in the South Region, two-seed Tennessee loses to three-seed Houston, ending the season of the Vols' freshman phenom,
Wayne Bradhold. I'll post Wayne's season statistics at the end of the year.
Record: 35-1.
March 30, 2042
NCAA East Region Final: the Elite Eight
Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 89, (14) San Francisco 79
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San Francisco (21-16, 8-6):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Orval Anglin C 22 4-7 2-2 0 3 0 3 10
Tony McCreary PF 33 4-8 5-8 2 5 0 3 13
Kory Tello SF 19 2-3 2-4 0 2 1 4 6
Kent Hayes SG 23 5-8 1-2 0 1 1 3 12
Roman Maxwell PG 24 7-15 1-2 0 1 5 3 17
Jeffrey Moore SG 27 1-3 3-4 0 3 3 3 6
Boyce Fuentes C 10 0-2 2-2 0 1 1 5 2
Don Winn PG 13 1-4 0-0 1 3 2 1 3
Larry Davis SF 15 1-1 2-4 2 3 2 0 5
Arthur Williams PF 14 1-3 2-4 1 5 1 0 5
Turnovers: 17 (T.McCreary 3, K.Tello 2, K.Hayes 4,
R.Maxwell 4, J.Moore 2, D.Winn 1, L.Davis 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (T.McCreary 1, K.Tello 1, B.Fuentes 1)
Steals: 6 (O.Anglin 1, J.Moore 2, D.Winn 2, A.Williams
1)
3P FGs: 7-19 (O.Anglin 0-1, K.Hayes 1-3, R.Maxwell 2-5,
J.Moore 1-3, D.Winn 1-4, L.Davis 1-1, A.Williams 1-2)
Villanova (36-1, 15-1):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Dan O'Halloran C 29 2-7 6-10 6 15 1 3 10
Forrest Curl PF 22 7-7 1-2 3 11 0 2 15
Israel Moody SF 25 4-11 6-7 2 6 2 4 14
John Cannon SG 21 1-7 0-0 0 0 4 5 3
Kai Smith PG 25 4-8 2-2 2 2 3 3 12
Asaad Richardson SF 26 7-11 5-5 0 2 2 3 20
Tyson Lien SG 16 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 0
Weston Wagner PF 16 2-8 2-2 3 5 0 4 6
Immanuel Bahr PF 10 1-2 0-0 3 6 0 2 2
Nick O'Brien PG 9 1-2 4-6 0 0 1 1 7
Brian Cioffi PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 20 (D.O'Halloran 4, I.Moody 3, J.Cannon 4,
K.Smith 1, T.Lien 4, W.Wagner 1, I.Bahr 2, N.O'Brien 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (J.Cannon 1, K.Smith 1)
Steals: 13 (J.Cannon 1, K.Smith 4, A.Richardson 3,
T.Lien 1, W.Wagner 2, I.Bahr 1, N.O'Brien 1)
3P FGs: 5-21 (J.Cannon 1-6, K.Smith 2-5, A.Richardson
1-4, T.Lien 0-2, W.Wagner 0-2, N.O'Brien 1-2)
Player of Game: SF Asaad Richardson (VLNV)
Teams that win a lot of games are not always popular with the college basketball world as a whole. Outside the Big East,
Graham Sims' Villanova teams have largely avoided that stigma. Coach Sims is a likeable person, and his players usually avoid doing the things that make other fans resent them; they don't often taunt their opponents, they avoid cheap, dirty fouls, and they don't whine when they lose.
It's therefore unusual for the Wildcats to play the role of villain, but we're cast that way in this matchup against the Dons of San Francisco, a loveable Cinderella team who carry their 14 seed all the way to the region championship game. The Dons have already claimed a win over Lafayette, whom they beat, 69-65, in the first round. They also eliminated Western Kentucky and Colgate, who themselves upset two-seed Louisville.
The Dons start four veterans who have all played at least 100 games of college basketball alongside star freshman
Kent Hayes. They harass us for 40 minutes, preventing us from taking the shots we want and reducing
John Cannon to a passenger. Fortunately for us,
Forrest Curl plays very well, and so does
Asaad Richardson. The clock strikes for Cinderella, who nonetheless had a wonderful time at the Dance.
Dan O'Halloran claims 15 rebounds, and
Kai Smith blocks a shot. The former event is the more common.
Record: 36-1.