Jimmy V Classic Recap

Some thoughts and quick-hitters from the games tonight.

Davidson 68 vs West Virginia 65

Stephen Curry's sidekick, whether he likes it or not, is senior big man Andrew Lovedale. He possesses a fantastic inside-out game because of his feathery touch and fearlessness to mix it up inside. He finished with 15 points and also collected three critical blocks. Curry may be the entree but Lovedale is certainly a tempting appetizer.

Davidson controlled the game until they lost it with under two minutes to play, only to gain it back when Curry launched a three to cut WVU's lead to one and then another bomb thirty seconds later to put Davidson ahead by two. It was a lead they never gave up. Kudos to forward Ben Allison and his ten points off the bench tonight. Davidson was playing without guard Max Paulhus-Gosselin (sounds like a Renaissance monarch) and needed someone to step up, it was Allison. He had several thunderous slams in the first half that energized the team and kept them going.

What more can you say about Curry? When his team needed him he delivered, what a special player.

For the Mountaineers team, they have to be happy about having one of the best forward tandems in the Big East in Da'Sean Butler and freshman Devin Ebanks. Butler has a nice shot, can play superb defense, and is athletic. He crashed the boards and ended up with 17 of them to go with his team-high 24 points. As for Ebanks, he is a Rudy Gay clone. He possess a similar build and at this point in his career, he rebounds better than Gay and is not afraid to shoot. Ebanks has some problems with the nuances of the game but what freshman doesn't? Ebanks will be a special player in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers failed where all of Curry's foe's have also failed: late game defense. Curry is not unguardable by any stretch of the imagination but in late game situations, WVU needs to find the shooters and stay with them. Curry faked a pick and used a step back to create space that led to the first of his pair of threes that ended WVU's chance to win. Also, not sure what happened to PG Joe Mazzulla but WVU was struggling with their half court sets because he was not in. His ability to get in the lane and draw defenders is so important to the team.

Butler's travel with 23 seconds left pretty much ended the game and Butler looked upset. Lets hope he has another chance to redeem himself.

Texas 67 vs Villanova 58

Rick Barnes should be absolutely ecstatic about the way his bench played tonight. The bench scored 14 points and collected 21 rebounds. Underused guard Varez Ward was thrust onto the court and played very well and did not look nervous playing in front a pro-Villanova crowd at Madison Square Garden. Sophomore Gary Johnson was active on the glass and always took a shot when he was open. His 3-11 night looks bad on paper but his willingness to shoot and grab boards will pay dividends down the road.

The defense of Dogus Balbay on Scottie Reynolds in the first half was exquisite. He forced Reynolds into two offensive fouls and got in his head because the usually unflappable Reynolds was visibly upset and frustrated with himself.

Texas has a great two man game with Damion James and AJ Abrams, who combined for 42 of the teams 67 points. That won't win the Big 12 (or maybe it will) but it will keep them in contention. Their teammates need to learn how to pick their spots and find open space when James and Abrams play the pick and roll game. Justin Mason could be that third star but for now, Rick Barnes will settle with Mason's steady hand (seven assists) and timely defense ( two steals). His ability to run the offense will allow Abrams to focus on scoring.

If Dexter Pittman gets in shape, watch out. The big (huge) man from Texas played only 15 minutes but was very effective. Texas constantly fed him the ball with a high lob into the post. His frame lets him easily carve out space in the paint and that was visible against a small Villanova team ('Nova seems to always be small).

Davidson needs to rebound if they want to be a player in March again.

West Virginia needs consistency and the steady hand of Joe Mazzulla.

Texas needs to find another reliable scorer to go with Abrams and James.

Villanova needs to cut down on turnovers (they had 19) and also force Corey Stokes to diversify his game (took nine shots and seven were from deep).

Picks for the weekend coming on Friday