Big 5 Update Minus Penn

Things are heating up on the college basketball scene. As the calendar turns to February, the games carry more and more meaning and teams can solidify their place in the Dance, or fall off the radar completely. Here are some random thoughts of one college basketball observer...

The Big 5

Took in my second Big 5 game of the year on Saturday, and I have now seen every team but Penn, and by all accounts, I'm not missing much there. Temple beat LaSalle in a game that, considering how Temple was shooting the ball, could've gone either way if it weren't for their stellar defense.

La Salle is a good team, a team that is a few injuries away from being in the discussion for an at large bid in my opinion. They have solid guard play and inside, it was obvious that Aaric Murray, a Glen Mills product, has a ton of potential. Dr. John Giannini has that program headed in the right direction.

Unfortunately, they ran into a brick wall named the Temple Owls on Saturday. Temple's approach to defense is downright nasty. The energy the team expends at that end of the floor would certainly make John Chaney happy. Offensively, the outside shot wasn't falling, but Temple was able to create opportunities for themselves in the mid-range game and under the basket. To me, this will be the biggest factor in how far Temple can go in the NCAA Tournament. Good teams never have to rely too heavily on one aspect of their game and can adapt when something is off on any given day. Against La Salle, Temple showed that resiliance, however, they were just a few days removed from being unable to overcome similar shortfalls against a good Charlotte squad. With a month left til the Madness, I am confident this team can figure out how to win any type of game.

The other Big 5 game I saw this year was a matchup in early December at the Palestra between Nova and St. Joe's, aka the Holy War. The game did not disappoint as a fiesty St. Joe's squad kept it close throughout and had their fans rockin' late in the game.

Unfortunately, aside from that performance, St. Joe's has had a tough year, save a home win against at-large hopeful Dayton. Martelli's team will always play hard, but they lack the talent needed to make any serious noise. The years where St. Joe's has made people in the college basketball world take notice, they always had a prolific scorer who, at any point, could shoulder the load and win a game for them. Marvin O'Connor, Jameer Nelson, Delonte West, and even Pat Calathes come to mind. No such player on this team. Garrett Williamson deserves some good press based on how hard he plays, but even he is too limited offensively to score points in bunches like those I just listed. Hopefully, Phil Martelli can get some local guys to come to St. Joe's and turn things around as the program has been in decline for a few years since the apex 2004 run.

As for Nova, this team is good. Insanely good. At this point, it is safe to say that anything less than a 2 seed would spell major disappointment. Extremely fast, able to score in any number of ways, I can see this team making a return trip to the Final Four. Their biggest weakness is their frontcourt, but as Mouphtaou Yarou plays his way back into shape after being sidelined with Hepatitis B, that area should improve. The beauty of it is that the style of basketball that Nova plays doesn't necessarily need dominant big men. Nova's guards are good enough to push the tempo, get to the basket, score, and cause foul troubles for slower big men, all in the same sentence. As long as Nova's guards can stretch the defense with their outside shooting and get out on the break regularly, this team is going to be tough to beat. On top of that, they have some "glue" guys who really make things happen when the going gets tough. Taylor King comes to mind here. In that game against St. Joe's, King's hustle and timely baskets were the difference down the stretch run. He performed similarly against Louisville this season when Nova was struggling mightily. If Villanova is to make a run similar to last year's, I am willing to bet that Taylor King plays a huge role in getting the Wildcats through a tough game. Scottie Reynolds, the two Corey's (Fisher and Stokes), and Maliik Wayns might get a lot of the press, but King is certainly no slouch.

Also, I've been reading a lot lately about Jay Wright's team and he has his guys in a great mindset. The talk has been, while they would be honored to be No. 1, it is not this team's goal. That would be to continue to improve as a team and get to that point where they are as good as they can possibly be, regardless of ranking. I love this philosophy as once the Tournament starts, rankings mean nothing. The team playing the best basketball will be the team that wins. For a little more insight on what I'm talking about, I would suggest watching "Attitude of a Champion", a documentary on the 2009 Wildcats that reached the Final Four. In it, insight is provided as to how Jay Wright gets his team to be critical of themselves after wins and losses in order to see where improvement can be made. This relentless pursuit of a mindset, a mentality, a feel for the game is what will push this year's team even higher. With a murderous schedule ahead, we will know much more about Villanova in about 2 weeks. One can only hope that they do not peak too soon, which has to be a major concern for this coaching staff.