Nov. 20, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Villanova head coach Jay Wright...

Opening statement: First off I want to give Niagara credit. They are a tough, scrappy team and that wasn't any surprise to us. We talked about that preparing for this game. We saw their game against Towson and it was maniacal almost and they were like that tonight. They got in on us defensively and we didn't get any easy shots. They rebound extremely well, they are quick to the ball and they are a very good team. They are going to be good this year. I thought we did a good job in the second half on [Tyrone] Lewis and Bilal [Benn]. Those guys gave us trouble in the first half but I thought we did a good job with the team defense in the second half and Reggie Redding did a good job on Lewis. That made the difference.

On the foul trouble for both sides: They played so small that we really could have Casiem Drummond and Frank Tchuisi in the game at the same time. Casiem was okay to play tonight but with their lineup we had to play small. We wanted to go more with the guards. Corey Stokes wasn't 100 percent but he played hurt and I was happy with that part. He will be okay.

On the game: I am happy that we gutted out a victory that wasn't pretty. It is good to have a game like this in the bank. I didn't want to play Corey Stokes. He was cleared to play but we need to rest up and get some guys healthy so I wasn't going to play him. He wound up playing 27 minutes and that just shows how well Niagara was playing. With the foul situation and their guards we had to stay small. We are getting Frank Tchuisi some time in practice but this was good for us. These teams are good. You saw Rhode Island do this to Duke too. It was good for us to get a game like this that we had to gut out. I'm glad it ended the way it did but I'm glad we had this kind of a game.

On playing against a small lineup with as many as four guards: I do

On the guards driving into the lane: I think we knew what we were doing but we weren't doing it well. We were a little tentative against the zone. When the other team plays zone you have to make shots. Niagara really packed everyone in. We took some bad three-pointers. There is a difference between open three-pointers and bad ones against the zone. We took some bad ones and with Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena in foul trouble we had no inside game with the big guys. We didn't attack the zone well.

On the run to extend the lead after a timeout with Villanova up 53-48: We had a couple of poor offensive possessions before that on the break where we drove in and kicked it out. At that point - [Niagara had scored five straight points] - I was more concerned with our offensive possessions. We just wanted to regroup. I didn't like what we were doing offensively at that point.

On the Villanova offense: We wanted to go to Dante and he picked up quick two fouls and Antonio Pena picked up two quick fouls. We went with Casiem for a little bit and put Frank in there but Niagara was getting to the ball quicker than us. You are going to have some games like this during the season. It wasn't pretty but the positive for us is that against a good, tough team we were able to find a way to win.

Junior guard Scottie Reynolds...

On playing with the forwards in foul trouble: It was a good situation for us because Coach always talks about the guards needing to step up if the team is in foul trouble and we had to do that tonight. Niagara was playing tough defense off the ball and with switching guys so we had to be strong and aggressive with the ball because the post guys couldn't relieve that pressure. A couple of time we just drove in without an idea of what to do. You have to go into the lane with an idea of what to do. When you don't it forces bad decisions. We made a couple of bad decisions but came back from that and went to the line late in the game and knocked down our free throws.

On playing three games in six days to start the year: We try to just keep everything the same and stay with our routine. Having the games so close together is obviously tough and especially with us playing with eight or nine guys. You just have to be smart and mature and learn from your mistakes on film. We have to get better a little quicker after each game and step on the floor with an idea of what we want to do. If we don't, we won't perform the way we want to.

Junior guard Reggie Redding...

On his offensive play in the game: I just tried to be more aggressive but the good think about our team is that if a couple guys aren't making shots or if one person is making shots there are a lot of places to go. A game like this just shows the depth of our team and the talent that we have.

Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich...

Opening statement: I just said to our team that the two things you have to deal with in life are success and failure and we had both tonight in the same game. We felt like we played well in stretches and we played hard and had a toughness to us. At the same time we are probably going to look at the tape and see some things we regret. Villanova is a terrific team. We are going to root for them the rest of the way. They do a great job and it is a real challenge to them. This is probably the most plays we have run in our lives but Villanova's best offense is when your offense is bad. If you take a bad shot or a quick shot or commit a turnover it turns into a layup or a dunk for them a few seconds later. It is hard to play mistake-free against such a good team.

On Villanova: They had a great confidence about them and they had a lot of answers. They make each possession count more than they maybe have in the past. During the run they made is probably that stretch of ours where we will have some regrets. We could have thrown an extra pass or knocked down a shot and they made us pay. We could have been better during that stretch and they made us pay. That is what good teams do.

On Tyrone Lewis: They made it hard for him to get the ball in the second half. It is challenging at our level when you practice every day and the guys you play against are not like Scottie Reynolds and the other guards Villanova has. When you do play against them it is a big adjustment and we kind of got worn down by that. Tyrone is a fun kid to coach. He actually had eight blocked shots the other night. I told him he wears the number two because it is like there are two of him out on the court. He is an exciting kid. It speaks to there being so little room for error for us. When Villanova shut him down in the second half our second, third and fourth options are not what a good Big East team is going to have.

On Bilal Benn: The coaches have been working with him every day and to his credit you can't get him out of the gym. Bilal has really improved his shooting. That didn't show tonight but he's going to do that and be a good shooter. He and Lewis have worked hard to become two good, legitimate shooters.

On a game like this helping Niagara: We have to make sure that it does. I told the team we have to build on this and make sure that this game makes us a better team. Later in the season we want to look back at this game and realize that it made us better. We have to know that we are a good team and in a game like this we should have played better against a good team but realized we belonged there. Sometimes things like that sound hollow but they are true with us.