Villanova no match for Syracuse, but 'getting there'

IT WAS A GAME. Well, for 10 minutes.

Then, it mostly turned into anything but a fair fight.

Which is sort of what you expect, when the No. 1 team in the country plays someone who has now lost four of its last five and nine of 13. Not to mention 11 of 14 in the Big East going back to last season.

That's where Villanova is. So playing unbeaten Syracuse last night at the Wells Fargo Center, losing by 79-66, probably wasn't what it needed.

Whether these Wildcats can find more of what they're searching for Saturday at Cincinnati (13-4, 3-1 Big East), which has won eight of nine, we'll have to see.

This one was tied at 14. Six minutes later, it was 34-16. And 43-24 at the break. While the final margin was 13 points, it had been 20 with 4 minutes to go.

A week ago, Temple beat No. 5 Duke in the same building. There would be no repeat magic.

"I don't understand yet [what it takes], but we're getting there," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "We didn't quit. It's not a good situation when you're pulling out that as a positive. But thank God we've got that. You have to go through these tough times. Right now, that's what we're doing. We have to find ways to enjoy this process. It might not be fun to watch, but we've got to go through it."

At intermission, all 10 players for Syracuse (18-0, 5-0) had scored. In fact, the five subs had 25 points, one more than Villanova (8-9, 1-4), the only Big East team with a losing record.

The Orange bench would finish with 47. Dion Waiters, one of three Philadelphia-area guys on the roster, had a team-best 20. James Southerland added 15, which was seven more than any of the starters (only one of whom played more than 22 minutes).

"We've played against a lot of great Syracuse teams, even back when I was an assistant and they had Sherman Douglas, Billy Owens, Rony Seikaly, but I don't remember them having a team with this kind of depth," Wright said. "A lot of teams have talent but don't play together well and aren't unselfish. These guys come off the bench, they do the dirty work, play their role. It's a really special team.

"It's a lot of little things, fundamentals, they're very well-disciplined in. Like everyone goes to the glass, every play. It sounds simple. But it's a hard thing for kids to do."

And they play that dreaded 2-3 zone. Aggressively. For a team like Villanova that struggles from the outside, that can be a problem.

The Wildcats went 20-for-61 (32.8 percent) from the field, 6-for-20 (30 percent) from the arc. But four of those threes came in the final 4 minutes, when it didn't matter much. Yet, as Wright noted, they at least kept playing. After the 'Cats got to within 52-41 at 11:59, the Orange answered with nine straight. The Wildcats scored 25 in the closing 6:56.

"It was tough, because they're so long," said JayVaughn Pinkston, one of Villanova's five freshmen, who scored 12 to match Dominic Cheek and Mouphtaou Yarou (also 12 rebounds) for team high. "Especially with me not being that tall [6-7]. But we did a good job of going up and getting fouled and going to the foul line."

The Wildcats did attempt 28 free throws, converting 20. They had 14 turnovers, or half as many as they had in Sunday's 16-point win over DePaul at the Pavilion. But their top scorer, junior guard Maalik Wayns, had only three points, 14 below his average, on 0-for-7 shooting.

"They did a great job of denying him," Wright said. "They loaded two guys on him every time, extended out on him. And on a pick and roll, they'd load three. They've got great instincts in the zone. I know that Jim [Boeheim] will come in here and tell you, 'Ah, we just play zone,' but . . . "

First-year lead guard Ty Johnson, whose growing presence is supposed to take some of the ballhandling responsibilities away from Wayns, had five turnovers in his 25 minutes.

"He really struggled," Wright acknowledged. "But I've seen a lot of great guards, with experience, struggle with their zone. That's what I'll talk to him about. It's a great experience to go against, and he'll learn from it. You don't want to be in this position, with a freshman point guard when you're losing, but it is what it is."

Wright has said many times that this is going to take a while. Nova Nation, of course, is not known to be the most patient bunch. But at this point, there's not much anyone can do about it except move on to whatever's next up and beyond.

It could be worse. They could have to deal with Syracuse twice this season.

"Maalik and [Cheek] have always been the secondary [option], playing off Fish [Corey Fisher] and [Corey] Stokes," Wright said. "Now they have to learn how to get their shots, when teams are keying on them. We try to be balanced. When Mouph gets low, we're going to go to him. But he's got to be efficient. If he's not, we're going to lose."

Yarou was 2-for-10, though he did shoot nine freebies. Syracuse had eight blocks. That's hardly the only reason Villanova lost. Yet it's a point taken. Among the many that still need to be addressed.

"We're learning the hard way," Wright said.

Sometimes, fair has little to do with it.