Villanova Win Should Punch Ticket to Big Dance

               The win by the Villanova tonight against the Saint John's Red Storm should seal the envelope to the Wildcats NCAA Tournament invitation.  Villanova came away with a 66-53 victory in a contest that was a little too close for comfort for the majority of the game.
 After jumping out to an 18-8 lead with just over nine minutes to play in the first half, the Wildcats lead began to dwindle and Saint John's closed the gap and pulled even at 24-24 heading into the locker room at halftime.  Free throws proved to be a major turning point in the second half, as Villaova who had missed all 4 shots from the charity stripe in the first half made all 19 of their free throws in the second half.  Repeated fouls by the Red Storm allowed the Wildcats to build a lead, and Villanova never looked back.  On the game, Villanova shot 40.7% from the field but an atrocious 17.6 from 3-point range.  This was made up for, however, with an 82.6% free throw shooting percentage, which happened to be 100% in the second half.  The Wildcats will need to cut down on the mistakes if they wish to advance past the next round, as they will face the #4 team in the country, the Louisville Cardinals.
                 For the game, the Wildcats efforts were led by Mouphtaou Yarou, who scored 18 points while also grabbing 7 rebounds and amassing 3 steals.  Forward JayVaughn Pinkston was on the verge of a double-double in the game, scoring 12 points while also grabbing 9 rebounds in the contest.  Villanova also received solid contributions on both ends from freshman guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who scored 15 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists.  It wasn't all smooth sailing for Arcidiacono, however, as the freshman committed 8 turnovers in the contest.  The Wildcats will need to cut down on mistakes and Arcidiacono will not be able to commit nearly as many turnovers if they wish to defeat the 4th ranked Louisville Cardinals for the second time this season tomorrow.  After a hard fought win, some of the pressure has been relieved for Villanova, as this win most likely assured their tickets to the big dance, as they improved to 20-12 on the season.  The Wildcats will face the Cardinals tomorrow at 7 pm in a match up that will most likely only have ramifications for which seed Villanova receives in the NCAA Tournament.  Defeating Louisville for a second time should greatly improve the Wildcats seeding, but if they have any hopes of doing so they will need to play a much cleaner and efficient game.