Scottie Reynolds’ 17 second half points helped the No. 9 Villanova Wildcats dodge a Big East bullet on Tuesday night, escaping Cincinnati with a 77-73 victory.
The Cats needed every last point from their star guard after he went scoreless in the first half.
“I was being aggressive in the first half,” Reynolds explained to ESPN.com, “I just didn't want to force anything... When I find a shot that's available, I've got to take it”
The unsteady-as-of-late Main Line squad registered just their second win in five games, coming off of a 95-77 reality check from now No. 1 Syracuse.
Coming off a Final Four run, Nova was expected to be the Cruising Cats -- instead lately they've been the Cardiac-arrest Cats.
They started 20-1 reaching No. 2 in the country -- but since then the fell back down to earth and currently stand at 24-5 overall.
So was this game a must win? Is there cause for concern for Villanova? How bad did ‘Nova need a victory?
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“Really bad,” coach Jay Wright confessed to ESPN.com. "Hey, it was a tough loss at Syracuse. It didn't kill us, but it was a tough loss.”
Nova, who is currently second in the Big East behind the No. 1 Orange, have a key match up against conference foe No. 8 West Virginia (23-6, 12-5) this weekend. The Mountaineers come into Philly trailing Nova by a game in the nation’s best basketball conference.
Earlier this season Villanova topped West Virginia in Morgantown, 82-75. We’ll see if they can repeat their success.
What's certain? This is likely going to be another game that Wright and his Wildcats are going to need “really bad.”
