Villanova  held off St Joes on Wednesday night by a 97-89 score to run their record to 9-0.  A Big 5 showdown looms when they go to Temple to face the 7-2 Owls who are 6-1 since losing to Georgetown by a single point in a low scoring affair 46-45 on November 17th.   The Owls are playing a suffocating defense this year, only allowing 3 of their opponents to score more than 50 points so far this year.

The Villanova Wildcats have gotten used to scoring early and scoring often, so it will be a case of a high octane offense running into a smothering defense when the cross town rivals meet up tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 pm.   Villanova was a pre season pick to be a top ten team this year, following their final four performance of 2008.   So far they dispatched LaSalle, winning by 18 and got by St Joes as I stated, but in my opinion, Sunday’s game against the Owls will show their true mettle.

The Owls simply have the best matchup against the powerful Villanova squad.   Temple averages over 5 steals and 3 blocks a game and has held opposition to under 50% shooting all year long.  It is early yet, but I think we will see a much reduced offensive output from the Wildcats, who have five players scoring in double digits.  I predict a game more suited to the Owls as they slow down the tempo and look for steals, cut off passing lanes, and fly to the ball defensive style that will produce a score in the 60’s, favoring them, rather than the higher scoring end to end alley ooping triple passing assist laden 80 + point games the Wildcats have been known to win over the past 2 1/2 seasons.

Of course, the Owls are going to have to take care of the ball, as the Wildcats have averaged over 8 steals a game themselves, but if you look at the caliber of opponents played, the statistics don’t portray a fair comparison between these two teams.   Villanova has mostly played sub .500 teams so far this year, whereas Temple has played some truky tough programs, including Georgetown, Virginia Tech and St Johns.

My guess is the Wldcats will pull it out, winning 65-62 but will trail with less than five minutes remaining and come roaring back to win in and remain unbeaten.  The Owls are good, and I was also excited over the football program this year, but they are not quite at Villanova’s level when it comes to basketball.    Expect strong showings from Ryan Brooks and Ramone Moore on the Owls end, and the counter attack from Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher from the visitors end of the court.

If Villanova wins, as they should, they really don’t have another serious test for more than a month, when they face Georgetown on January 17 2010.   If they remain undefeated at 16-0 going into that game, the first of a home and away series with Georgetown, it could well be a meeting between 2 top ten teams that may have a lot to do with the eventual seedings for the NCAA tournament.  For now, all we can do is watch and enjoy, and hope Villanova can keep up the good work.   They certainly have their work cut out for them with 8 meetings against teams currently ranked in the top 20 in the final month of their season.