Saint Joe’s really had no chance coming into Wednesday. The Hawks have such trouble scoring, and they really don’t have a solid inside presence, either. And Villanova is Villanova. Which is to say, the Wildcats are an elite program, wholly deserving of their No. 3 national ranking and possibly headed back to the Final Four. Naturally, because this is the Big 5, and because this is the Holy War, the game was one of those magically loud, spine-tingling nights at the P. More after the jump.

We (regrettably) weren’t there, but from everyone we’ve talked to, the place was loud and it was packed and it was hot, which is just as it should be, no matter the disparity between the City Liners and the Main Liners. Dick Jerardi of the Daily News outlined ‘Nova’s dominance of the city in this piece published the day of the game. And even though ‘Nova has all those guards and all that talent, Saint Joe’s decided to push the issue. And even though the ‘Cats led virtually the whole way, the Hawks made 10 of 26 3-pointers and just kept coming.

In fact, if ‘Nova doesn’t shoot an unheard-of 30 of 31 from the line in the second half — a stat that includes 29 consecutive made free throws at one point — we could be talking right now about one of the greatest upsets in the history of the Big 5. But ‘Nova really is that good. It really can win just about any which way.

And with about 1:30 to play, just after Saint Joe’s had pulled within 84-80 because of three Carl Jones free throws, Taylor King got the ball on the left wing with the shot clock winding down. King must have been 23 feet from the basket, but so what? He’s one of those shooters with no conscience, and if ‘Nova is going to be playing into late March again this spring, King could be a big reason why. Take ‘Nova coach Jay Wright’s take, according to Jerardi’s Daily News column off the game:

“Nothing’s going on in that mind when he shoots the ball. He just shoots it anytime, anywhere.”

Take also Mike Sielski’s column for the Bucks County Courier Times, which highlights King’s clutch play after he missed an embarrassing dunk that triggered yet another Saint Joe’s run in the second half. As Sielski also notes, King and two freshmen — Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns — combined for 37 points. They’re all going to make a difference this winter. Scottie Reynolds, meanwhile, had 22 points and five assists even though he only attempted five field goals (Reynolds was 12-for-14 from the line).

Saint Joe’s had a promising game from big man Idris Hilliard, who scored 22 points by going 5-for-5 from the field and 12 of 13 from the line in addition to hauling in seven rebounds. Darrin Govens (19 points) and Carl Jones (16) both made three 3s. Garrett Williamson had 13 points and handed out seven assists. The Hawks, no doubt feeding off the energy of their rabid fans, played about as well as they could. But against this ‘Nova team, it just wasn’t enough.

Saint Joe’s (3-6) just played Minnesota on the road this afternoon and lost, 97-74, about which we’ll post more later. ‘Nova (9-0) plays Temple tomorrow at the Liacouras, about which we’ll have a preview in the morning.

Links: Villanova owns the city [Daily News]
Saint Joe’s sticks around til the end [Daily News]
King could be difference-maker for ‘Nova [phillyBurbs.com]
Photo credit: [the700level.com]

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