PROVIDENCE HEADS TO BIG EAST TOURNAMENT STILL BUILDING NCAA RESUME

March 6, 2009


The was plenty at stake last night at the Pavilion on the Villanova campus when the Wildcats hosted Providence in the Big East regular season finale for both clubs. A win for 'Nova would clinch a cherished top-four finish in the Big East standings. For the Friars, a win would go a long way in putting them on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

With the emotion and energy of their fans honoring seniors Dwayne Anderson, Shane Clark, Dante Cunningham and Frank Tchuisi, all playing their final home game, Villanova Cruises to Win and Byes (Philadelphia Inquirer) in rounds one and two of the Big East Tournament by locking up fourth place in the conference with a 97-80 win over PC.

Junior Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 23 points and Cunningham and Anderson made their final appearance in the Pavillion, where Villanova has won 28 straight, memorable by scoring 19 points a piece as Villanova Earns Byes and Nearly a Week Off With Win over Providence (Philly Daily News). 'Nova's next action will come Thursday in the 2009 Big East Tournament with a 2 PM game at Madison Square Garden.

Sophomores Corey Fisher (13 points) and Corey Stokes (11 points) also reached double figures and junior Reggie Redding led the unselfish Wildcats with 11 assists and zero turnovers. As a team, Jay Wright's squad had an impressive 26:7 assist to turnover ratio in the contest with assists on 74% of their made field goals.

By contrast, Providence turned the ball over 22 times and helped lead to VU getting 17 more field goal attempts in the game as the Friars Miss Chance Make their Case for an NCAA Bid (Providence Journal) and will likely have work to do in next week's Big East Tournament to keep from falling off the bubble and into the NIT. For now, the Friars take Aim at Winning the Big East Tournament (Providence Journal) in which they will be seeded anywhere between 6th and 8th depending on Saturday's outcomes for Syracuse and West Virginia.

Weyinmi Efejuku continued to have a hot hand for the Friars, finishing with a game-high 29 points. Sharaud Curry and Jonathan Kale each scored 14, with Kale also adding 11 rebounds for PC.