ORANGE SWEPT BY 'NOVA, LOSE SEVENTH OF LAST 10

February 23, 2009


Villanova and Syracuse highlighted Sunday's Big East schedule with an afternoon showdown at the Carrier Dome televised by CBS nationally. The Wildcats withstood a late flurry of potential game-tying three's as Villanova Survives Syracuse, 89-86 (Philadelphia Daily News), sweeping the season two-game home and home with the Orange.

Senior Dwayne Anderson led six Wildcats in double figures with 22 points.

In front of an excited crowd of nearly 27,000 partisan to the home team, Villanova Turns on the Defense Against Syracuse (Philadelphia Inquirer) to ignite an 11-0 run to answer an Orange run that saw them erase a 10-point deficit to take a 59-57 lead midway through the second half.

Reggie Redding was the defensive catalyst, picking up two of his six steals at the beginning of the run, in helping 'Nova regain control of the game. Redding also added 11 points and a team-high 7 assists in the game.


While SU had eight days off following their overtime win over Georgetown to help heal some of their aches and pains, the flu might have played a major role in a sub-par performance of their top player. SU Comes Up Short with Flynn Ailing (Utica Observer-Dispatch) from flu-like symptoms and finishing with 12 points and 8 assists while shooting five of 17 from the field, including his last-second three-point misfire that could have sent the game to OT.

Villanova Sends Syracuse To Another Loss (Rochester D&C), dropping the Orange to 7-7 in the Big East and 19-8 overall, but not before the Full-Court Press Gives SU a Chance (Post-Standard) at the end, helping them rally from seven points down in the final minutes to having four three-point attempts to tie in the last 10 seconds. The press forced five Wildcat turnovers in the final minutes.

The few minutes of success with the press however did not make up for the many more minutes that SU faced Sizeable Issues (Post-Standard) against the smaller Wildcats and an inability to go inside. Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku, both bigger than any 'Nova player seeing action, combined for just six points and SU was outrebounded 40-36. The loss means the NCAA Bubble is Visable from the Syracuse Perch (Post-Standard) once again. After back-to-back trips to the NIT the last two seasons, bubble discussions were the last thing SU expected when they were sitting at 4-0 in the Big East and 16-1 with wins over Memphis, Kansas and Florida in the pre-conference schedule. While SU is certainly still on the right side of the bubble picture, there is no more time for losing. The schedule is manageable, with St. John's (road), Cincinnati and Rutgers in their next three before playing at Marquette prior to the 2009 Big East Tournament, their 3-7 record in their last 10 against the better teams of the Big East is a concerning stat.

Eric Devendorf led the Orange with 22 points and Paul Harris added 21. Andy Rautins connected on six three-pointers for his 18 points and Kristof Ongenaet had seven points and 11 rebounds off the bench, battlign hard once again, in 24 minutes of action.