Down Goes #1

You kind of knew it wouldn't be Villanova's night when Phil Booth managed to miss a dunk. And, indeed, Nova missed any number of runners and shots from less than 3 feet. At other times they looked disjointed and disinterested. While the Wildcats will lose the #1 ranking, it's hard to be too upset. They were never going to go undefeated the rest of the season, the Big East tournament, and the NCAAs.

This was a good loss - a competitive game in a hostile environment. They definitely had trouble with Xavier's 1-3-1 defense. And while I had just mentioned to my brother that unlike teams' past, this one was balanced so that no one player going cold would sink them. Alas, they all went cold. Well, except for Kris Jenkins who had the misfortune of fouling out.

Still, they stayed in the game and only lost by 7 on the road to the #5 team that was playing really well and got every bounce. Hopefully it's a learning experience.