Nova Nation

I hate UConn.  I fucking hate UConn.  Besides the Yankees (obviously) there is no team in sports that I hate more than UConn.  If Jim Calhoun died of a seizure while screaming at the referees, cheating his fellow coaches out of recruits, and fixing it so that his star point guard only gets suspended for a semester after stealing laptops with a reserve teammate who gets a full year, I wouldn't be all that upset.   So with Syracuse pretty much playing out the string on a horrible year, I couldn't have been rooting harder for Villanova tonight to take down the #1 team in the country.  And take them down they did, taking it right to those big, oafish fuckers and jamming a win right down their arrogant throats.  Nova Nation arrived tonight, baby.  69-64.

UConn relies on intimidation.  It's their entire game.  And it has been for years.  They always have two 7 foot freaks manning the inside and leading the nation in blocks, muscling out shorter and weaker opponents by the shear force of their overactive pituatory glands.  This year it's the overwhelmingly vastly improved Hilton Armstrong (steroids anyone?) and the ugliest man on the planet - Josh Boone.  Combined with 6'9" freak of nature Rudy Gay (the most talented player in the nation, no matter what Dukie V says when french-kissing JJ Sucks-it), it's a front line that is just an unstoppable and impenetrable force.

But not tonight.

Villanova (unlike a fellow Big East team from upstate New York without any balls) didn't back down.  For one second.  In the first half, Kyle Lowry - all of about 6'0" tall - drove the lane again and again and outquicked the shot blockers to the basket, making something like his first 7 shots, almost all layups, and providing much-needed offense while teammate Allan Ray struggled with his shot.  In addition, Nova put on a relentless defensive effort, pressing UConn the entire game, and using their speed in the backcourt to harrass and dismantle the UConn attack for most of the first half.  They controlled play, eliminated the swagger, and had a lead at the break.

Then Calhoun threatened the players with the punishment of having to actually attend a class this semester, and they turned things around in the second half, going on a 13-0 run at the start, their intimidation factor back in full effect, as they basically outmuscled and out-fouled the smaller Wildcats in the lane.  But then out of nowhere, Allan Ray got hot.  Smoking hot.  I haven't watched Villanova all that much, and I really could never tell the difference between Allan Ray and Randy Foye, but this fucking Allan Ray was unconscious in the second half.  He drained 3 straight 3-pointers, all from NBA range.  And then after a miss, hit 2 more.  All of the sudden, Nova was back in the game.

And the defense clamped down once more.  The other secret to UConn's success is the fouls.  They just pound and push and slap and harrass their opponents the entire game, counting on the Big East refs to swallow the whistles, which for the most part they do.  I've always said that to beat UConn, you had to do the same.  Just be relentless on defense and foul them on every single play, realizing that in the Big East, only about 10% of the most blatant fouls will be called.  And that's what Nova did tonight.  And it worked.

There were no easy baskets.  There were no easy rebounds.  There wasn't even a single easy trip up the court.  Lowry was a stealing machine.  A bunch of players alternated around Gay.  And Will Sheridan - who I hardly even heard of before tonight - was a MONSTER inside.  Blocking that Josh Boone shit out of the fucking lane, just like that big goofy thug does to everyone else.  And then Sheridan got hot on the offensive end, running a series of successful pick and rolls with the Nova guards, and following that with a drive to the lane and dunk.

The game was only close at the end because of a few great efforts by Williams and Gay, but it was too little too late.  When Lowry dove for a loose ball with 14 seconds left and pushed it upcourt for a Wildcat possession, the game was over.  Villanova outhustled, outmatched, and outlasted the #1 team in the nation.  Well down, boys.  Unlike every pro sports franchise in the city, you did Philadelphia proud.  And Vague Space salutes you.  The only downside is that this probably makes Duke #1 next week.  Ugh.

Comments

[LegFuJohnson]

The only problem with Rudy Gay is marketing... seriously, who is going to buy his jersey?

[LegFuJohnson]

Duke, #1? But who is #24 this week?
WOOOOOOO!

[Hasselbeck]

I think all this profanity in the article is a disgrace. It takes away from the focus of the piece and is clearly not necessary.

[switsky]

Can Rudnick be any more of a prude and can Lenny let up already about Bucknell.

I think Jan would buy a Rudy Gay jersey

[Bill]

I think there's a Sean Astin and Frodo joke to be made with Rudy Gay, but I can't come up with it. And yes, Rudnick is a prude.

[Hasselbeck]

I have no problem using profanity in speech, I do it often. But it should not be (over)used on the written page. That shows laziness and a lack of creativity. Writing obscenities only provides 'shock' value to your readers, and is completely unncecessary.

I possess a BA in English and believe I know what I'm talking about.

And F Switsky.

[F everyone]

I attended that school that gave you a BA in English and, trust me, that does not in any way indicate that you know what the fuck you are talking about.

[Rob]

Great article. I feel the same way about UConn and Duke.. Calhoun stole Rudy Gay from my Maryland Terps, had something to do with a AAU game. Maybe the Terps and Syracuse will meet in the NIT as the big dance does not look good for either team.