Connecticut vs. Villanova, Part 2

In the first meeting, Villanova beat Connecticut 69-64. This time, Connecticut came out on top 89-75.

Through about 30 minutes, I almost thought I was watching the first game. It was tight, then Connecticut built up a little lead, and Allan Ray went on a mini-run by himself to put Villanova up 54-53 (very close to last game). In the first meeting, Villanova got ahead and never looked back. This time, Connecticut countered with a 13-2 run, and took a 66-54 lead, which was too much for Villanova to overcome.

I think Marcus Williams is the best PG in the nation right now. He controls the game even without scoring, with 10 points and 12 assists. For the year, he averages 10.5 PPG and 8.3 APG. He is quick enough to beat his man off the dribble, and always finds the open guy in a position to score. It's fun to watch a pure PG as good as Williams play.

Also for Connecticut, Rashad Anderson is the 6th man of the year in college basketball. He's not really good at creating his own shot, but he hits key shots from the outside, but more importantly, he's great at knocking down a 3 with a man in his face. I don't know how many times I've seen Williams come down on a fast break, kick it to Anderson in the corner, and Anderson knocks down a 3. He hit 5 3's today, and wound up with 17 points off the bench.

The biggest difference in this game than the last was that Connecticut was too much inside, and Villanova didn't get quite as much from Will Sheridan. He had 9 points and 11 rebounds, but I'd bet he also got blocked at least 5 times, a lot of them from Hilton Armstrong, who had 8 blocks. And even though the guards for Villanova had decent scoring nights, they weren't all that efficient, and couldn't really get anything in the lane because of Armstrong, Josh Boone, and Jeff Adrien.

My preseason pick to win it all was Villanova, however, slowly but surely I'm starting to turn in favor of Connecticut. They've got great balance, a great PG, athletic wings, and they play great defense, especially down low. I think either Villanova or Connecticut would be my pick to win it all, but I'm not sure which one right now. Both are great teams, and hopefully we'll get to see them quare off again, maybe in the Big East Tournament or even the NCAA Tournament. Both of these teams have that capability.