Wednesday Round up : Syracuse, Villanova winners on home hardwood
There were two games on the Big East slate on Wednesday night and Syracuse and Villanova both held serve on their home floors, getting wins over Rutgers and DePaul.
Syracuse 81, Rutgers 59
The trio of Donte Greene, Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris helped Syracuse end their two-game skid with a victory over Rutgers 81-59. Greene, Flynn and Harris accounted for 75 percent of the Syracuse (13-5, 3-2) offense. The trio scored 61 of Syracuse’s 81 points. Flynn led all scorers with 24 points, Harris added 18, and Greene finished with 19. The Orange shot a blistering 60.4 percent while pounding Rutgers on the glass, outrebounding the Scarlet Knights 40-24. Rutgers (8-10, 0-5) was led by a pair of freshman, Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn. Chandler had a team-high 16 points and Coburn chipped in with 11 points. Leading scorer J.R. Inman finished the night with just four points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Syracuse used a mammoth 17-2 run to lead 31-16 with under four minutes to play in the first half. The Orange took a 38-22 lead into halftime, and were never threatened in the second half, leading by as many as 32 points. Rutgers and Seton Hall are the only remaining teams in the Big East without a conference win (Rutgers 0-5, Seton Hall 0-3). Rutgers will aim for their first conference win at DePaul on Saturday at 2 p.m., while Syracuse will face off against No.25 Villanova Saturday at noon in the Carrier Dome.
#25 Villanova 76, DePaul 69
Villanova remembered the upset victory at the hands of DePaul a few weeks ago on opening night in conference play, losing 84-76 on Jan.3rd. It was payback time on Wednesday night. Despite DePaul leading by as much as 16 early in the game and holding the lead through the first 10 minutes of the second half, Villanova stormed back, using a 15-0 run, to fly past DePaul 76-69 on Wednesday night.
Villanova (12-3, 2-2) has face adversity before this season, being down as much as 21 to LSU and rallying for the win, and for whatever reason, something seems to get the Wildcats charged up and energized when they trail by significant double digits. Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points for Villanova, including the final dagger in the form of a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to put Villanova up 72-66. Antonio Pena added 17 points and Dante Cunningham finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
For every comeback, there is indeed a level of collapsing and complacency by the leading team. DePaul (7-9, 3-2) helped Villanova jump back into the game by not scoring for more than five and a half minutes. DePaul led 57-50 with just under 10 minutes to go and Villanova went on their 15-0 run to steal the lead back. DePaul didn’t end the run until Draelon Burns scored with 4:13 left to go, with the Blue Demons trailing 65-59 after the bucket by Burns. Burns led DePaul with 27 points and Dar Tucker had 18. Villanova feasted on DePaul inside, scoring 30 points in the paint and hammering the Blue Demons on the glass, 43-20; DePaul managed just four offensive boards, while the Wildcats grabbed 14. The Blue Demons weren’t very balanced on offense, with Burns and Tucker the only two Blue Demons in double figures. The duo combined for 65 percent of the offense, while the rest of the squad combined for just 24 of their 69 points.
It looked as if DePaul was on their way to making it 2 for 2 over Villanova this year, and this month, but DePaul took their foot off the gas and failed to slam the door shut on Villanova. DePaul was clearly the better team in the first 30 minutes, but the problem is a full game consists of 40 minutes and DePaul just didn’t play a full, complete ballgame.
#25 Villanova squares off against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome this Saturday at noon, and DePaul will host Rutgers on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Tags: Big East Basketball, DePaul Blue Demons, NCAA Men's basketball, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Syracuse Orange, Villanova Wildcats