I had hoped to catch the Villanova game on ESPNU yesterday afternoon but wasn’t able to get home until well into the second half.  I guess it was a good thing since each time I checked the score on my phone the Cats were behind.  Down by 9 at the half?  What happened?

When I got home and turned the game on the Cats were down by 5 and in heavy foul trouble.  Yarou was nowhere to be seen so I assumed he had fouled out already.  Turns out he was sick and didn’t play.  I caught the game from about the 8:00 mark in the second half – just in time to see Stokes and King foul out.  Wonderful.  George Mason looked good – they were composed and clearly not intimidated by VU.

In my opinion Villanova was very lucky to win this game.  They missed a lot of easy shots and numerous free throws and just got outplayed but stayed close enough to GMU to have a chance.  GMU missed some free throws at the end which could have closed out the game.  What a surprise to see Armwood hit the 3 to put Villanova ahead.  Clutch shot by who player who wasn’t expected to even be in the game at all.

The best play I saw from Villanova in the brief time I watched was the final play of the game.  The defense was phenomenal and George Mason didn’t even get a shot off.

Villanova will have to play much better today than they did yesterday or they will lose to Dayton.  I hope to be home in time to catch the game this afternoon.  These early afternoon start times are tough!