BOSTON -- You could tell by the looks on the faces of the Duke players in the first half that the ferocity Villanova was displaying on defense was not something they expected or experienced. The Wildcats, at times, seemed like they had seven players on the court. They were anywhere and everywhere, running the shooters off their shots and recovering to help in the lane when the ball actually got in there. A team simply can't play defense any better, especially when you consider how offensively efficient Duke usually is.

Duke, a team that loves to play fast and space the court, had to go slower and got little or no space at TD Banknorth Garden. It only took a few trips up and down the court to realize that the speed edge Villanova appeared to have on paper was even more pronounced on the court.

It was like that early, in the middle and in the end. Villanova won as convincingly as you can win a game at this stage of the NCAA Tournament, holding Duke to just 16-for-60 shooting (27 percent) and winning 77-54. The last time a Duke team lost like this in the NCAA, it was that infamous 1990 championship game when UNLV beat them by 30.

Villanova, the third seed in the East Regional, faces top-seeded Pittsburgh on Saturday at 7:05. Villanova beat then-No. 3 Pitt, 67-57, on Jan. 28 in the last college basketball game played at the Spectrum. Pittsburgh advanced tonight with a win over fourth-seeded Xavier.

If you just watched the game without a scoreboard, you would have thought the 'Cats had a double-digit lead. But they could not shake Duke, which was getting to the foul line just enough to stay within hailing distance. Villanova was getting almost all its points on drives and post-ups, outscoring the Blue Devils by 18-6 in the lane and getting 11 second-chance points over the first 20 minutes.

You could have predicted a lot about this game, but few would have predicted the halftime leader would have less than 30 points. This really looked like a game where it would take 80 to win.

Gerald Henderson, who got just about every Villanova defender at one time or another, also got two early fouls. But Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, perhaps sensing the game could get away from his team, rolled the dice late in the first half and put ``G'' back into the game. His two free throws with 70 seconds left were his only points of the half. He missed all five of his shots from he field. In fact, Duke's three top scorers, Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler, shot a combined 3-for-20

Yet, the Blue Devils trailed just 26-23 at the break.

Villanova was getting a much better class of shots, but the 'Cats made almost nothing outside the lane and squandered several chances to run its lead out to double digits. They gave Duke life when it didn't really look they had much.

The Devils scored the first basket of the second half and, before you could even think of how the lead really should have been much more, the ;Cats scored six straight and Coach K, again sensing trouble, called timeout just 126 seconds after play resumed.

It only got worse. Villanova was driving the ball, pounding it into the low post or both. Nine of the 'Cats first 10 second-half baskets were layups, dunks or follow shots. That two-point lead became 16 in barely 7 minutes.

"Attack, attack don't settle for jump shots,'' Villanova coach Jay Wright told his team during one timeout. ``Drive it, drive it, drive it.''

Coming out the huddles, Villanova players, as they have done all season, chanted ``attitude.''

They had plenty of that from beginning to end. Duke had no answers for that or anything else.

With Henderson on the bench with four fouls and unable to make a shot when he was on it (he was 0-for-11 until he finally knocked in a three), Coach K was trying every combination of players he could think of. He was calling timeouts much quicker than he wanted. He was pressing with a team ill equipped to press. Each team was in the bonus with 13 minutes left which offered some hope for Duke. But the Blue Devils were even leaving some freebies short, the sign of a very tired team that had been worn out by the pressure. Nothing the Hall of Fame coach tried was working.

If one play summed up the night for Duke, it was when Scheyer got his shot blocked by one `Nova player and another Wildcat threw the ball off Singler out of bounds. That went down right before the final media timeout. Those final 3 1/2 minutes were just something to do. This game was decided long before.

And with Villanova's dominating win, the Big East had three teams in the Final Eight with two more playing Friday.
 

East Regional semifinal: Villanova vs. Duke

When: Tonight, 9:57

Where: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston

TV/Radio: CBS3/ESPN (950-AM)

Records: Villanova 28-7, Duke 30-6

History: Duke leads the series, 7-3, having won the last five meetings. Villanova's last win came in 1958. Duke is 2-1 in NCAA Tournament games, the last being the 1978 East Regional final.

How they got here: Third-seeded Villanova beat No. 14 American, 80-67, and No. 6 UCLA, 89-69. Second-seeded Duke beat No. 15 Binghamton, 86-62, and No. 7 Texas, 74-69.

Coaches: Jay Wright is 176-90 in 8 years at Villanova, 298-175 in 15 seasons overall. Mike Krzyzewski is 760-214 in 29 years at Duke, 833-273 in 34 seasons overall.

THREE THINGS VILLANOVA MUST DO:

1. Attack the paint, as it did against UCLA. That's where the Wildcats can cause the most damage. That means Dante Cunningham should not just settle for jump shots. And he shouldn't be the only one looking to take the ball to the rim. It works best if it's contagious.

2. Don't let the Blue Devils kill you from the arc. They're going to make shots. That's just the way they play. But don't just let them rain down. That's when the game can get away from you. Quickly.

3. Don't get into foul trouble. I know the Wildcats don't like to give up easy baskets. But they really need to keep their key guys out there as much as possible. You don't want to see Cunningham sitting out the last 7 1/2 minutes of the first half again. Villanova is not going to change its MO now. Just be a little judicious. And smart.

THREE THINGS DUKE MUST DO:

1. Get Gerald Henderson going. He's the only guy they have, or at least the best one, who can get to the basket and make some highlight reels. It can get the momentum flowing. And get everyone else involved, which isn't such a bad thing either..

2. Force turnovers, and turn those turnovers into baskets. And not just necessarily two-pointers. As Jay Wright has pointed out, the Blue Devils are really good at taking your mistake and turning it into three. Daggers, as he calls them. Well put.

3. Try to have as much inside presence as possible. Duke, like 'Nova, plays through its perimeter game. But it might not be able to get by on that alone in this one. The Blue Devils need to establish something in the post, if only to keep the 'Cats honest.

What to expect: Probably one of the best games of the tourney. It has all the makings of a 90-88er. I had Duke going to the Final Four in the old office pool. Don't ask why, because I couldn't tell you. Might have been the best thing I ever did for Nova Nation. If the Wildcats play like they did against UCLA, which is asking a lot, they can obviously beat anyone.

I received an interesting e-mail from a UConn fan the other day, after I wrote how Villanova was one of only two teams, with North Carolina and Memphis being the others, that had now made it to the Sweet 16 in four of the last five years.

I also duly noted that UNC and Memphis had made it to Final Fours in that time, and either won or nearly won the whole thing. But the UConn e-mailer basically told me that 'Nova was a fraud program, because UConn had won two titles and sent numerous guys to the pros, etc. I don’t think he gets it. In fact, I know he doesn’t.

I wasn’t suggesting that Nova is one of the greatest programs in America. I was just pointing out the facts. Jay Wright has done a great job of putting the Wildcats back where they belong. Are they as good as UConn, Pitt or Louisville? Maybe not. I know they almost won at UConn, did beat Pitt and nearly beat Louisville in the first meeting before losing the second after being tied at 50 with 8 minutes to go.

I don’t know if Wright is ever going to make a Final Four. Or win it all. Maybe he’ll do one or even both this year. Maybe he won’t keep going to Sweet 16 after Sweet 16, either. The point is, 'Nova is once again a really good program. A relevant program. Probably not quite as elite as Nova Nation would like to believe. But an accomplishment is an accomplishment. Any time you can say you did something that only UNC and Memphis did is pretty noteworthy in my book.

Maybe UConn will cut the nets for the third time in a decade, and I’ll get more e-mails from up there. They should be proud of their program, too. That doesn’t mean that 'Nova somehow doesn’t measure up, because it hasn’t won any rings since 1985. I’m not a 'Nova basher or a 'Nova lover. I’m just a guy covering a team. A very good team. A team that’s fun to watch. With a bunch of players and a coach who are a pleasure to be around. If that’s not something to be proud of, too, then I’m in the wrong line of work. Sorry.

Villanova may never be at quite the same level as the UNCs and Dukes of the food chain. So what? Wright has one of the best recruiting classes coming in next season. Doesn’t mean he’s going to get a constant stream of McDonald’s All-Americans. Whatever the outcome of Thursday’s game, Duke is going to get most of the players Duke wants. Just because. Which kind of makes 'Nova’s accomplishments all the more noteworthy.

I kind of understand where the UConn e-mailer was coming from. Doesn’t make it right.

It’s the company you keep. Right now, 'Nova’s keeping some pretty solid company. Don’t assume for one moment that it doesn’t belong, regardless of how far it goes in this tournament. Or how far anyone else goes.
 

As Dick Jerardi reported in today's Daily News, Atlantic 10 officials decided that they liked their 3 years in Atlantic City so much that they will hold their tournament at Boardwalk Hall for 3 more years.

The formal announcement announcement was made today.

The A-10 opened up the tournament for bids and got interest from several cities, including Springfield, Mass., Pittsburgh, Dayton and Cincinnati. Penn expressed interest in having the tournament at the Palestra, but did not submit a formal bid.

“The decision to return to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City provides a great opportunity to grow our marquee event and truly brand the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship,” commisioner Bernadette McGlade said in a statement. “The facility is well-suited for this championship, Atlantic City is a historic seashore resort, and the city has welcomed the Atlantic 10 and committed to host 3 more great years.”

In 2010, the format will be changed slightly. First-round games will be on Tuesday, March 9 at campus sites, with seeds 5, 6, 7 and 8 hosting seeds 12, 11, 10 and 9, respectively. The top four seeds will still get byes into the quarterfinals, which will be on Friday, March 12 at Boardwalk Hall. The semis will be on Saturday, March 13. The championship game will be on Selection Sunday (March 14) on CBS at 1 p.m.

Dates for the 2011 tournament are March 8, 11-13, while the 2012 tournament will be held March 6, 9-11.
 

If you are heading to Boston to watch Villanova in the East Regional semifinals on Thursday, you can also take in all four teams practicing on Wednesday at the TD Banknorth Garden.

As the sessions were at the Wachovia Center, they are free and open to the public.

Here is the rundown:

Noon 12-50 p.m.: Xavier
1-1:50 p.m.: Villanova
2:10-3 p.m.: Pittsburgh
3:10-4 p.m.: Duke

Pittsburgh plays Xavier in the early game, scheduled to begin at 7:27, with Duke-Villanova to follow at approximately 10. 

UPDATE: CBS has just revealed the game time for Thursday night and Villanova vs. Duke is scheduled for 9:57 p.m. (appoximately) as the second game in Boston. Pittsburgh plays Xavier in the first game. Announcers are Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery.

It’s starting to get a little scary. OK, more than a little bit. Villanova is a very live team.

Not many would have thought the Wildcats would be in this position when they started 2-3 in the Big East. Or maybe even when they were down 14 against American with 19 minutes to go in Thursday’s opening round. But this much is clear: When they bring their A game, they’re going to be a very difficult out. Not just for Duke, but anyone left in their path.

I’m not smart enough to know just how far this run is going to take them. A week ago, I picked Duke to get out of the East Region. No particular reason. Just because. The Blue Devils will be a slight favorite. Which means whatever you want it to.

If the Wildcats play the way they did against UCLA, they’ll probably win. But putting back-to-back games like that together at this point is almost impossible. Duke is good, not great. I think the Wildcats have to do exactly what they did against the Bruins. With one difference. They have to play physical. But they also have to be careful. Against UCLA, the officials pretty much let them play. Against Duke, who knows? Coach K has been known to get his share of calls before. Just a thought. Anyway, the Wildcats can’t afford to get in too much foul trouble. They survived Dante Cunningham being on the bench for much of the first half. In fact, they actually widened their lead. But who really needs to take that chance again?

What the Wildcats did against UCLA was attack the basket. Over and over. Not only Cunningham, but Shane Clark, Reggie Redding, Dwayne Anderson. You name it. Even the guards were getting to the lane, because UCLA refused to do anything about it. And nobody could stay in front of Corey Fisher. I think Duke will have similar problems. The Blue Devils like to protect the perimeter. That leaves openings inside. Just ask Texas, which almost knocked them out by driving to the hole or by driving and kicking. The Wildcats like to shoot threes, but they should be judicious. Cunningham should be able to have another big game down low.

On the other end, Duke will make treys. You just don’t want to let them kill you from distance. Gerald Henderson can make you look bad when he goes flying to the hoop, but other than that, the Blue Devils basically are a team of perimeter skills. And they’re obviously very good at it.

This game should be in the 80s, at least. I had Nova beating UCLA, 85-80, and Rollie Massimino came up to me before the game and said I was taking some heat on the radio because people were saying there was no way the score was going to be that high. I said that Jay surely wanted it to be that high. Then I told him they’d make free throws at the end. Turns out, the only thing I was wrong about was UCLA’s total. The Wildcats could have got 100 if they really wanted to.

This game will match two teams that want to get up and down the floor as early and often as possible. I think it has all the makings to be one of the more entertaining scrums of the tourney.

We’ll see. The winner will probably get Pitt on Saturday, but first things first. Whoever wins, it’ll be interesting to see how much they have left in the regional final, especially if they have to play the late game on Thursday and then come right back early Saturday afternoon. But hey, nobody ever said this thing was supposed to be easy.
 

Don’t be fooled by the final score. Villanova was in deep trouble tonight at the Wachovia Center.

But for the second straight March, the Wildcats came back from a double-digit second-half deficit to advance into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Last year, they were down 18 to Clemson and came all the way back. But that was different. They were a 12 seed. No one would have killed them had they not gotten it done.

This time, they were a 3, playing their fourth game of the season in this building. But with 19 minutes left, they trailed No. 14 American by 14.

Shades of 1995, when they lost a 3-14 game to Old Dominion in triple overtime. But all things considered, this would have been worse.

Not to worry. Still down by 10 with 13 minutes left, they scored 17 of the next 19 points. And the Eagles (24-8), champions of the Patriot League, would never get closer than five after that.

The Wildcats (27-7) wound up winning by 80-67. They’ll next get either No. 6 UCLA or No. 3 Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday afternoon.

This team, which already tied the school record for most regular-season victories with 25, are now one win away from matching the overall program standard for a season.

American, a senior-dominated squad, scored the final nine points of the first half to go up 41-31. At that point its starting backcourt had 25 points, or 22 more than Villanova’s. The Wildcats had 11 turnovers, leading to 20 Eagle points. Not good numbers.

But when the Wildcats had to, they finally started getting the ball to the rim. Eventually, that got them to the foul line, where they shoot 74 percent. At the other end, they increased the pressure along the perimeter, and the Eagles just didn’t have much left in the tank coming down the stretch.

Dante Cunningham, who shot 9-for-10, finished with 25 points. As did Dwayne Anderson, who went 4-for-5 from the arc. Corey Fisher was the only other Wildcat in double digits, with 11. Villanova had 11 more second-half rebounds.

Garrison Carr had 22 for American. Derrick Mercer added 17, and Brian Gilmore 16. The Eagles were 8-for-15 from three before intermission, 2-for-16 in the last 20 minutes.

VILLANOVA VS. AMERICAN

NCAA East Regional First Round

Tonight, 7:20

Wachovia Center

TV/Radio: CBS3/ESPN (950-AM)

Records: Villanova 26-7, American 24-7

History: Villanova has won all eight meetings. This is the first time the teams have met since 1993.

How they got here: No. 3 seed Villanova received an at-large bid after finishing fourth in the Big East. American earned an automatic invitation by winning the Patriot League championship.

Coaches: Jay Wright is 174-90 in 8 years at Villanova, 296-175 in 15 seasons overall. Jeff Jones is 149-120 in 9 years at American, 295-224 in 17 seasons overall.

Three things Villanova must do:

1. Continue to do the things that put it in this position in the first place, and play like a No. 3 seed that has a 14 on its home-away-from-home floor. Dictate the tempo from the get-go, and don't give the underdog any reason to think it's got a real shot.

2. Don't get in foul trouble. The last thing Jay Wright needs to be worrying about is sitting somebody like Dante Cunningham or Scottie Reynolds too long. It's been a problem at times this season.

3. Don't let American get too happy from the arc. The three-pointer is the great equalizer in the college game. And the Eagles have the wherewithal to make things interesting from out there. If the Wildcats do get out in front, how about no more of those second halves we saw at the Big East Tournament?

Three things American must do:

1. Play like a team that has won 13 in a row and relies heavily on seniors. To have a chance, it has to play smart. Keep those brain freezes to a minimum.

2. Try to keep Villanova from getting out in transition and getting too many easy baskets. Make the Wildcats work as hard as possible for everything they get.

3. Shoot a relatively high percentage, especially early, particularly from deep. The longer American can hang around, the more pressure it puts on the team that's supposed to win. Maybe the crowd even starts pulling for the upset. Hey, that was what happened when the Wildcats played Monmouth in the first round 3 years ago.

What to expect: Most likely, a Villanova win. The Wildcats are obviously the better team. Sometimes, that doesn't matter at this time of year. I don't think American will just roll over and die. The 'Cats might even sweat for a while. But in the end, I think they get it done.

*

For Dick Jerardi's breakdown of UCLA-VCU, click here.

For Bob Cooney's breakdown of BYU-Texas A&M, click here.

For Ed Barkowitz's breakdown of UConn-Chattanooga, click here.