March 8, 2003

Villanova men's basketball game notes for Sunday's regular season finale featuring the Villanova Wildcats (15-13, 8-7) hosting the Pittsburgh Panthers (22-4. 12-3) at the First Union Center with tipoff scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Click on the pdf link below for the complete version of the game notes.

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GAME 29


Villanova Wildcats (15-13 overall, 8-7 Big East)

vs.

Pittsburgh Panthers (22-4 overall, 12-3 Big East)


Sunday, March 9, 2003~12:00 p.m

First Union Center

CBS Television

WZZD (990 AM) Radio ~ ESPN Radio (920 AM)

Villanova Media Information

Men's Basketball Contact- Mike Sheridan (Director of Media Relations)

Media Relations Office: (610) 519-4120

Media Relations FAX: (610) 519-7323

For updated Villanova statistics please visit www.villanova.com.

The Top Stories:

Board Scores: The absence of freshman center Jason Fraser has been acutely felt by Villanova on the glass. In its last two outings - both losses - the Wildcats have been outrebounded by a margin of 95-62. In addition, the 'Cats have surrendered 36 offensive rebounds in the defeats at Virginia Tech and Boston College.

Home Again: The Wildcats return to Philadelphia for their final appearance of the season at the First Union Center. Villanova is 1-2 at its "home away from home", having dropped decisions to Pennsylvania and St. John's while defeating Connecticut here on Feb. 15.

Big East Tournament Is Next: This afternoon's contest concludes the regular season. Next up is the Big East Tournament, which begins next Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Villanova News & Notes

The Bell Toled For Villanova

He had vexed Villanova for the better part of his four years in Chestnut Hill. So it only seemed fitting that Boston College senior guard Troy Bell made his final regular season appearance against the Wildcats a memorable one.

"Troy Bell," stated head coach Jay Wright, "is a great player. He is playing as well as anyone in the Big East."

In the first half of Tuesday night's game, Bell scored 19 points. In the second half he matched that total.

"He makes such a huge difference for them," stated Wright. "He forces you to chase him all over the floor and then makes good decisions with the basketball."

In the early going Villanova prospered in spite of Bell's offensive fireworks. When freshman forward Curtis Sumpter made a layup at the 12:13 mark of the first half, the 'Cats held a 22-11 advantage.

By halftime, VU led 49-37.

The key to the first half was defense. Villanova forced 12 Eagles turnovers and that led to a series of easy baskets. Junior guard Derrick Snowden scored 12 points and the Wildcats connected on 61 percent of their field goal attempts.

The game changed, however, in the first five minutes of the second half.

A Gary Buchanan basket at 19:28 gave Villanova a 51-37 lead but that was as large as it would get. Bell sparked an 18-5 run over the next five minutes that cut the deficit to 56-55.

A 3-point field goal by Andrew Bryant gave the Eagles their first lead of the second half at 61-60 with 11:57 to play.

Villanova made several charges down the stretch and cut the lead to 71-68 with 7:52.

But Bell's excellence was the difference for the Eagles, who exited the Conte Forum with a 92-84.

Ricky Wright led the 'Cats with a season-high 24 points and also contributed eight rebounds. Gary Buchanan scored 18 points to go with four rebounds.

"I thought we played pretty well," noted Jay Wright. "We just didn't have any kind of an answer for Troy Bell."

Boston College took home its fourth consecutive homecourt win over the Wildcats and earned a split of the season series in 2002-03. Craig Smith added 21 points and 11 rebounds for Boston College while Bryant finished with 16 points, including four 3-point field goals.

Suspensions Take Their Toll

On Saturday Villanova director of athletics Vince Nicastro announced that an inquiry into telephone usage has resulted in a series of suspensions.

As a result of an internal inquiry into telephone access code violations, twelve Villanova men's basketball players have been suspended. The penalties will range from 3-8 games depending upon the dollar value of the benefit according to NCAA guidelines. The penalties will be staggered over a series of games so that the institution may field a team for its upcoming games.

The available players for today's Big East regular season finale against Pittsburgh include: forward Marcus Austin (3.1 ppg); guard Mike Claxton (0.0 ppg); guard Randy Foye (10.0 ppg); guard Tom Grace (0.0 ppg); guard Allan Ray (10.0 ppg); guard Derrick Snowden (8.3 ppg) and forward Curtis Sumpter (5.4 ppg).Guard Baker Dunleavy will be in uniform but is not expected to play as he completes a redshirt season.

Those serving suspensions for this game include forward Andreas Blcoh; guard Gary Buchanan; forward Chris Charles; forward Jason Fraser; guard Lou Ruskey; forward Andrew Sullivan and forward Ricky Wright.

An internal university audit of telephone records detected irregularities in the use of an access code number on March 4. The code was used to make unathorized telephone calls from various campus locations over a period of months by Villanova students, including members of the men's basketball team. After consultation with the NCAA, it was determined that suspensions were warranted in these cases.

"The misuse of a university access code is a serious matter," stated Nicastro. "We only learned of this breach of our telephone system on Tuesday and have moved quickly to analyze the records. This is a complicated process because the breach involves members of the general student population as well as student-athletes.

"We are working diligently to get to the bottom of this. I trust in the integrity of our people. The preliminary part of this investigation has shown that this code was not supplied to students by a member of the coaching staff.

"This is a disappointing moment for all of us at Villanova. We understand that errors in judgement may ultimately result in the premature end to some of our student-athletes' careers. However, the NCAA has clear guidelines for withholding athletes based on dollar values of the extra benefits."

The Matchup

Villanova vs. Pittsburgh
All-time series: VU leads 27-22
Last meeting: Pitt 71, VU 59 (Feb. 2, 2002)
Last VU win: VU 65, UP 55 (Mar. 8, 2000)
Wright vs. Pittsburgh: 0-1

Paging All Shooters

With its depleted cast today - and its corresponding lack of size - Villanova will likely turn to 3-point field goal as a scoring weapon today.

The area behind the arc hasn't been especially kind to the 'Cats lately.

The absence of all-time Villanova 3-point field goal king Gary Buchanan due to suspension will also hinder the 'Cats. Buchanan leads the Wildcats in 3-point field goal percentage at .409.

Even with Buchanan, however, the Wildcats have struggled from deep of late. In its last three outings VU is just 25-of-103 (.243) from deep.

Villanova is connecting on .353 of its 3-point field goal attempts this season.

It attempts an average of 19.6 triples heading into the game, though that figure is likely to rise today.

A Sumpter Breeze

In the early stages of 2002-03, Curtis Sumpter seemed to have fallen a few steps behind the pace of his celebrated freshman classmates. Randy Foye and Jason Fraser were members of the starting lineup by the third game of the season. Allan Ray emerged as an instant offensive threat who averaged double figures in scoring by the middle of December.

Sumpter, though, found the transition more complicated.

"Coming to Villanova, Curtis had a difficult transition converting from a 4-man in high school to a 3-man here," stated Jay Wright. "It's taken him some time but he appears more and more comfortable out there with each passing game."

In the first seven games of the campaign, Sumpter averaged 8.6 minutes and 2.4 points per game.

Following a loss to Pennsylvania on Dec. 10, however, Jay Wright made a conscious decision to create more playing time for him. From that point forward, Sumpter has made steady progress.

Lately, he has been one of Villanova's most effective players.

On Saturday he accounted for eight points and a team-high ten rebounds in the loss at Virginia Tech. It marked his second consecutive starting assignment and he is expected to be in the starting lineup in Chestnut Hill.

At Boston College Sumpter scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench in 20 minutes of action.

In his last five games Sumpter is averaging 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per outing. In that span he established new career highs in points (21 vs. Miami on Feb. 25) and rebounds (ten vs. Virginia Tech on March 1).

"Curt has really come into his own of late," states Jay Wright. "He seems much more comfortable out there and is making better decisions."

Sumpter averages 5.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game on the season.

A Ray of Light

Another young player who has become more of a focal point lately is freshman guard Allan Ray.

The native of the Bronx, N.Y., scored a team-high 12 points in the 57-56 loss at Seton Hall and was on the floor in crunch time. Ray scored nine points and added five rebounds in the loss at Virginia Tech on Sunday.

In the loss at Boston College Ray produced 11 points off the bench in 28 minutes.

This afternoon will mark Ray's first start since November. He opened the season in the starting lineup when Gary Buchanan was sidelined by knee injuries that caused him to miss the first two contest. Ray prospered in the role, averaging 15.5 points and 2.5 rebounds and 33 minutes per game.

Since moving to the bench Ray has averaged 9.1 ppg.

On the season he is one of four 'Cats in double figures at 10.0 ppg.

Fraser Was Cleared But Won't Play

Freshman forward Jason Fraser, who battled tendinitis in both knees for much of February, encountered a new health woe on Feb. 21. He began experiencing pain in his left foot. An MRI conducted under the supervision of Villanova team orthopedist Dr. Rob Good diagnosed a stress reaction to the left foot on Feb. 24.

Fraser missed three full games and was cleared to resume action on March 7. However, he will begin serving a suspension as part of the telephone code access situation.

Fraser averages 7.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He leads Villanova in field goal percentage (.515) and blocked shots (30) and started 22 consecutive games before the injury was diagnosed.

What's Missing

So how will the Wildcats be impacted by the absence of some of their most notable athletes today?

In these ways.

Villanova will be without three of its four captains - Buchanan, Ricky Wright and Sullivan. Snowden is the only captain in uniform today.

It will play without 52 percent of its points and 54 percent of its rebounding.

Its backup center, Curtis Sumpter, has never played the position at the collegiate level. Its starting center, Marcus Austin, will make his third career start and first of the season today. Austin did not play due to a coaching decision at Boston College.

It will also be without the individuals who converted 47 percent of its total 3-point field goals.

Finally, there is this: the two reserves for today's game, Mike Claxton and Tom Grace, have played a total of 11 minutes this season.

Snow Tracker

As the season has unfolded, Derrick Snowden's role has continued to grow. He shares point guard duties with Randy Foye and leads the Wildcats in minutes played with an average of 28.8 per game.

Snowden shined at Boston College with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting with four assists and zero turnovers.

The most significant sign of Snowden's growth this season lies in his assist-to-turnover ratio. It is the best on the club at 101 assists (3.7 apg) to 58 turnovers. A year ago he closed the season with 125 assists to 122 turnovers as the club's only scholarship point guard.

If Snowden were to continue at that pace, it would mark the first time since the 1999-2000 season that a Villanova guard has finished with 30 or more assists than turnovers for the season.

Lineup Roundup

Jay Wright has tinkered with his lineup lately. Here is how the different starting lineups have looked this year:

Buchanan-Wright-Fraser-Foye-Snowden: 16 games

Ray-Sullivan-Wright-Foye-Snowden: 2 games

Sullivan-Wright-Fraser-Foye-Snowden: 3 games

Sullivan-Wright-Fraser-Foye-Buchanan: 3 games

Buchanan-Sullivan-Wright-Snowden-Ruskey: 1 game

Sumpter-Sullivan-Wright-Snowden-Buchanan: 1 game

Sumpter-Sullivan-Wright-Foye-Snowden: 1 game.

Buchanan-Sullivan-Wright-Foye-Snowden: 1 game

Hometown News

Villanova has become quite comfortable in its unique on-campus Pavilion home since it opened on Feb. 1, 1986.

Lifetime Villanova is 151-46 (.766) in the 6,500-seat structure.

The 'Cats have been especially productive in the building in the recent past. Since the start of the 1994-95 campaign the Wildcats are 91-14 (.867) in front of the Pavilion audience. In Big East play over that span Villanova is 44-11 (.800). The building has been sold out for every regular season contest over the past two seasons.

This marks the 52nd straight year in which the Wildcats will host games in the city of Philadelphia.The beautiful First Union Center is Villanova's home away from the Main Line.

Villanova is 1-2 at the First Union Center this season. It will host Pittsburgh at noon in the regular season finale on March 9. Tickets are on sale for that game and can be purchased through Ticketmaster and the Villanova Ticket Office (610-519-4100).

Signing In

Coach Jay Wright announced the signing of two high school seniors to national letters of intent on Nov. 19. Guard Mike Nardi, 6-1, of St. Patrick's (N.J.) Elizabeth High School and forward Will Sheridan, 6-9, of Sanford (Del.) School both will enroll at Villanova in the fall of 2003.

Nardi sat out the 2001-02 season at St. Pat's with a broken foot. He returned to action in July 2002 to lead St. Pat's to the championship of the National High School Basketball Tournament at Philadelphia's Palestra.

"Mike Nardi is going to inject our program with basketball intelligence, fire and passion," said Wright. "He has been well-coached in high school by Kevin Boyle and comes from a great family. He will be a tremendous addition to the foundation we are building at Villanova."

Sheridan averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots a game as a junior at the Sanford School in Hockessin, Del. Sanford captured the Delaware state championship last season.

"Will is coming off a great summer of basketball," said Wright. "He is very skilled and a talented forward. His mother and father have instilled great character in Will. Coming from Sanford Prep, he will be prepared for the rigors of Big East basketball and Villanova's academics."

Philadelphia Big Five Villanova is once again competing in the historic Philadelphia Big Five City Series. The dates and results of this round-robin competition are:

Dec. 7: Villanova 74, La Salle 71

Dec. 10: Pennsylvania 72, Villanova 58

Dec. 31: Villanova 70, Temple 62

Feb. 3: Saint Joseph's 92, Villanova 75

Last season, the Wildcats finished 2-2 in the Big Five. The Wildcats lost to La Salle and Penn while defeating Temple and Saint Joseph's.

Big Five Standings
	1. Saint Joseph's	4-0
	2. Pennsylvania	3-1
	3. Villanova		2-2
	4. Temple		1-3
	5. La Salle		0-4

On Deck

Big East Tournament
March 12-15, 2003
Madison Square Garden
ESPN/ESPN2
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