February 2, 2028
@#4 Villanova 96, Seton Hall 67
Another struggling Big East team comes to the Pavilion and finds
Graham Sims' team more than they can handle, at least tonight.
Jacob Allen continues to score at a high volume; tonight he drops a career-high 34 points on the Pirates. Included are 7 three-pointers in 12 attempts.
Jose Blanco (16p/13r) completes a solid double-double, and
Bruno Le Fleurquin (13p/8r) falls just short of one.
Duncan Sims scores 10 points with a Villanova career high 6 assists off the bench.
Record: 19-2 (8-1).
Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#2 Georgetown 8 1 .889 21 1 .955 4 100
#4 Villanova 8 1 .889 19 2 .905 1 95
#11 Notre Dame 7 2 .778 18 4 .818 12 89
#18 West Virginia 7 2 .778 17 4 .810 21 86
St. John's 6 3 .667 12 9 .571 59 65
Connecticut 6 3 .667 7 12 .368 55 63
Rutgers 5 4 .556 13 8 .619 60 85
Marquette 4 5 .444 12 8 .600 205 67
Syracuse 4 5 .444 12 9 .571 28 75
Louisville 4 5 .444 13 7 .650 18 82
Providence 3 6 .333 10 11 .476 90 73
South Florida 3 6 .333 9 12 .429 121 65
Pittsburgh 3 6 .333 7 14 .333 202 93
DePaul 2 7 .222 10 11 .476 232 60
Seton Hall 1 8 .111 9 12 .429 63 55
Cincinnati 1 8 .111 7 13 .350 79 63
It really is so much fun to be part of a competitive conference.
It might be a good time to check out the polls, too:
Code:
Top 25
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kentucky (72) 20-1 1800 1 Southeastern Conference
2. Georgetown 21-1 1714 2 Big East Conference
3. Kansas 20-1 1651 3 Big 12 Conference
4. Villanova 19-2 1584 4 Big East Conference
5. Florida 18-2 1497 5 Southeastern Conference
6. Wake Forest 18-2 1455 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Michigan State 18-4 1305 7 Big Ten Conference
8. Texas 17-4 1284 11 Big 12 Conference
9. North Carolina 19-2 1242 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. San Diego State 20-1 1185 9 Mountain West Conference
11. Notre Dame 18-4 1032 17 Big East Conference
12. Boston College 20-2 1019 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. New Mexico 18-4 937 15 Mountain West Conference
14. Texas A&M 17-4 852 10 Big 12 Conference
15. Tennessee 17-4 788 19 Southeastern Conference
16. Lafayette 20-4 723 13 Patriot League
17. Oklahoma 17-3 709 18 Big 12 Conference
18. West Virginia 17-4 569 16 Big East Conference
19. Mississippi State 15-7 507 14 Southeastern Conference
20. UNLV 16-6 436 22 Mountain West Conference
21. California 15-5 284 NR Pacific-10 Conference
22. Louisiana Tech 18-3 236 21 Western Athletic Conference
23. Memphis 17-4 230 NR Conference USA
24. Vanderbilt 14-7 96 23 Southeastern Conference
25. Siena 19-3 61 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Stanford 15-5 42 Pacific-10 Conference
New Mexico State 16-4 38 Western Athletic Conference
Oregon 16-5 28 Pacific-10 Conference
Texas-San Antonio 17-3 26 Southland Conference
Miami 14-6 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
Texas Christian 15-6 25 Mountain West Conference
North Carolina State 16-5 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
Washington 15-6 5 Pacific-10 Conference
Florida State 16-5 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
Cal State Fullerton 15-4 1 Big West Conference
Towson 16-6 1 Colonial Athletic Association
The beat goes on at
Lafayette, where
Douglas Richbourg's Leopards remain the standard by which all mid-major programs are judged. This year's stars are junior center
Porter Prado (19.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG), senior forward
Bret Bryant (14.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.8 APG), and sophomore guard
Tod Quiroz (13.5 PPG). Bryant makes his way onto a lot of mock drafts as a second round pick.
February 5, 2028
#4 Lafayette 65, @#18 West Virginia 52
We win a tough road game in a fashion that fans of fundamental basketball would approve.
We execute our offense methodically, taking 57 shots and making 26 (45.7 percent). We're selective but accurate from behind the arc (8-for-14). We don't let a good team force us to turn the ball over (12 turnovers), while we force them into mistakes (22 turnovers forced). We hold the Mountaineers to 37 percent shooting. Center
Don Jones, who destroyed us the last time we played against him, only takes 4 shots all night and finishes with 3 points.
Bruno Le Fleurquin scores 16 for us, and he complements his scoring with 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
Devin Guzman hands out 8 assists, and
Jacob Allen adds 13 points.
The victory over West Virginia gives
Graham Sims a string of 16 consecutive 20-win seasons. His first Lafayette team went 18-14, and his streak began the next season. There are several coaches whose teams have won at least 20 games every year in our universe, but not many.
Record: 20-2 (9-1).
February 9, 2028
@#4 Villanova 89, DePaul 64
Back at the Pavilion, the Wildcats take a 54-34 lead into the locker room at halftime and build their advantage a bit more after the break.
Five players reach double figures:
Jose Blanco (24p),
Devin Guzman (17p/5r),
Jacob Allen (14p)
BLF (13p/16r/2s), and
Duncan Sims (12p).
Avery Sullivan grabs 9 rebounds and blocks 2 shots.
After the game, Graham gets some bad news from Lafayette.
Bret Bryant went down in the Leopards' game against Bucknell and had to be helped off the floor. He's torn his ACL, and his storied Lafayette career is now over.
Record: 21-2 (10-1).
Code:
BIG EAST CONFERENCE BUBBLE WATCH
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Villanova 21-2 .660 (2) 8-2 6-0 5-0 1-0 19 Lock
Georgetown 23-1 .638 (5) 6-1 6-0 5-0 5-0 104 Lock
Notre Dame 18-6 .609 (14) 6-3 4-0 3-2 5-0 31 Lock
West Virginia 18-5 .607 (15) 2-3 7-0 4-1 4-1 28 Lock
Louisville 14-8 .588 (34) 3-5 2-1 5-1 4-0 37 Lock
Rutgers 15-8 .564 (55) 1-6 5-1 5-1 3-0 68 In
Syracuse 12-11 .599 (21) 3-5 3-1 2-3 4-1 1 Out
St. John's 12-11 .558 (62) 1-5 2-3 3-2 6-0 72 Out
Marquette 13-9 .480 (207) 2-3 2-3 3-0 5-3 293 Out
Seton Hall 10-13 .564 (52) 1-8 1-2 3-0 5-2 8 Out
Providence 10-13 .508 (146) 2-5 1-4 4-3 3-0 81 Out
South Florida 11-12 .528 (104) 0-5 2-3 2-3 6-1 83 Out
DePaul 10-13 .471 (238) 0-4 3-3 4-4 3-1 217 Out
Cincinnati 9-13 .531 (93) 0-7 0-4 4-1 4-1 14 Out
Connecticut 8-13 .545 (75) 1-5 2-4 2-2 2-2 7 Out
Pittsburgh 8-15 .513 (137) 2-4 1-3 1-5 4-2 25 Out
February 12, 2028
@#4 Villanova 90, Syracuse 66
We celebrate
Abraham Lincoln's birthday with an honest 24-point victory over the visiting Orange.
Jose Blanco scores 11 of his 21 points at the free throw line and adds 5 rebounds. Lincoln was our 16th president, and
Duncan Sims honors him with 16 points.
Jacob Allen (14p),
Bruno Le Fleurquin (11p/6r), and reserve
Corey Hicks (8p/6r in 23 minutes) also acquit themselves well.
Record: 22-2 (11-1).
February 16, 2028
@#2 Georgetown 80, #4 Villanova 74
We visit the Capital One Arena with a chance to knock the Hoyas from the top spot in the Big East.
With a national TV audience watching, we fall behind, 50-39, at the half.
Graham Sims and
Wallace Hastings trade strategic adjustments, and the 'Cats claw their way back into the game. A three from
Bruno Le Fleurquin cuts Georgetown's lead to 78-74 with 22 seconds left, but that's as close as we can come.
We know we can't bang the ball inside against the Hoyas' Twin Towers, 7'3"
Dwayne Ecker and 7'0"
Jimmy Cahoon. We shoot 16-for-30 from behind the three-point line, and 10-for-27 inside it. Given that focus, it's not surprising that our reserve sharpshooters are our high scorers;
Duncan Sims and
Corey Hicks finish with 15 points each. Hicks goes 5-for-6 from distance, Sims 4-for-5.
The Hoyas force us into 20 turnovers, and that's probably the deciding factor. We're now 0-4 against them since Graham arrived at Villanova.
Record: 22-3 (11-2).
February 19, 2028
#4 Villanova 94, @Marquette 59
We bounce back strong with a satisfying victory in Milwaukee, with solid contributions from everyone in
Graham Sims' rotation.
Jacob Allen leads us with 24 points and 6 assists, matching
Devin Guzman's total.
Jose Blanco nets 20 points and grabs 7 rebounds.
BLF (15p/11r) posts a double-double.
Avery Sullivan (11p/7r/4b/3a) demonstrates his wide variety of basketball skills.
Corey Hicks comes off the bench to score 13.
Duncan Sims' shot isn't falling, but he contributes 3 assists, a steal, and his second blocked shot of the season.
We hold the Golden Eagles to 33.9% from the field and harry them into 20 turnovers. It's fun when things come together like this.
Record: 23-3 (12-2).
February 23, 2028
#5 Villanova 88, @St. John's 74
We slip a place in the polls after our loss at Georgetown, and fall behind by three points at St. John's before getting back on course and seizing a victory.
Bruno Le Fleurquin (19p/11r) records his seventh double-double of the season.
Jacob Allen adds 15 points, and three reserves (
Duncan Sims 9,
Charles Vancleave 9,
Corey Hicks 7) combine for 25 points.
Record: 24-3 (13-2).
February 26, 2028
@#5 Villanova 80, Providence 68
Behind 23 points from
BLF and a balanced double-double from
Jose Blanco (14p/14r), we dispatch the Friars at the Wells Fargo Center.
A dominant
Avery Sullivan scores 7 points, snares 6 rebounds, and blocks 6 shots. We're getting contributions from a wide range of players as we head into March, and that's a good thing.
Record: 25-3 (14-2).
March 1, 2028
@#4 Villanova 86, Rutgers 82
We pull out a hard-fought victory against a tough Rutgers team, while Georgetown loses a wild one at Connecticut, 99-96...in their first game after moving back to the #1 spot in the polls.
Bruno Le Fleurquin fires in 23 points.
Jacob Allen adds 13 and 7 assists. Sixth man
Duncan Sims scores 11.
Avery Sullivan rejects 3 more shots.
We'll need some help from Rutgers, who host the Hoyas in their final conference game, but there's a chance we can end the season as Big East champions.
Record: 26-3 (15-2).
March 4, 2028
@#4 Villanova 68, South Florida 53
Bruno Le Fleurquin saves the best for last, scoring a career-high 28 points in his final home game as we celebrate our seniors with a victory over South Florida. He adds 10 rebounds for good measure.
BLF's classmates play with honor too.
Jose Blanco scores 14 points and snags 7 rebounds.
Devin Guzman scores 8 points, with 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Charles Vancleave would like a redo, however; foul trouble limits his effectiveness in his 15-minute stint.
We shoot terribly (2-for-18!!) from three-point distance, but our inside play carries us across the line.
Behind 30 points from
Louis DiCarlo on his Senior Day, Georgetown routed Rutgers, 93-69, so the Hoyas win the Big East regular season title and will take the #1 seed into the conference tournament.
Record: 27-3 (16-2).