In the first ever Big East Tournament, both of the underdogs advanced to the championship game, as the 4th seeded Red Storm of St. John's stunned the top seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-7 and the 3rd seeded Syracuse Orange crushed #2 Villanova by the score of 15-6. St. John's and Syracuse advance to the title game on Saturday afternoon at noon at Villanova Stadium. Notre Dame will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but Villanova's loss effectively ends their season with an 8-7 overall record.

Syracuse jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the 2nd quarter, but the Cats sliced the deficit to 6-4 at half. The second thirty minutes was all Syracuse though as they outscored Nova 10-2. Besides the score, the stats were pretty much even except the groundball differential, which proved to be the key factor in the game. The Orange scooped up 41 groundballs and the Cats only notched 22 for the contest. The extra possession time allowed the Orange offense to wear the Nova defense, which has been the weakness for Villanova all year. As Villanova head coach Mike Corrado put it,

I thought Syracuse came out in the second half and did a great job on the faceoffs. They really controlled the faceoffs. That was tough. Then you start pressing out and you give them high percentage scoring chances.

What once looked like a promising season came to a crashing halt last night, and it will be interesting to see Villanova responds next year since they lose a ton of talent to graduation this year.

For those interested, the NCAA Lacrosse Selection Show is this Sunday night, May 6th, at 9 PM on ESPNU.

On Saturday afternoon in Providence, Rhode Island, the Villanova men's lacrosse team dropped a 15-11 affair to the lowly Providence Friars. With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 8-6 on the year and 4-2 in the Big East. The win for the Friars is their first ever Big East win, as they end the season at 2-12 overall, 1-5 in the conference.

The loss could prove to be quite costly for Villanova, as they were in prime position to obtain an at-large spot in the 16 team NCAA Tournament. Now, the chances of an at-large bid are virtually gone, so the Cats will most likely have to win the upcoming Big East Tournament to be held this week at Villanova Stadium. The winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Villanova, the #2 seed in the Big East Tournament, will open up with the 3rd seeded Syracuse Orange on Thursday, May 3rd at 7 PM. The winner advances to the championship game on Saturday against the winner of the St. John's-Notre Dame game.

After losing to Notre Dame on Saturday 10-7, Villanova falls into the #2 seed for the upcoming Big East Tournament to be held at Villanova Stadium on May 3rd and May 5th. Although there are still conference games this weekend, the seeds are set, with Notre Dame being the top seed, Syracuse #3, and St. John's sitting at #4.

On Thursday, May 3rd, Notre Dame will take on St. John's, while Villanova matches up against Syracuse. Earlier this season, the Wildcats beat the Orange 11-10 at the Carrier Dome, which was probably the biggest win in program history. The winners advance to the championship game on Saturday, May 5th at noon. Time for the semifinal games have not been announced yet. The winner of the conference tournament earns an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Tournament.

After last week's historic win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, the 12th-ranked Villanova men's lacrosse suffered a setback on Saturday, losing to #18 Penn State in University Park, PA 13-8. With the loss, the Wildcats drop to 5-4 on the season, although they are still 1-0 in Big East play. This game was the last non-conference affair on the schedule for Nova. The Nittany Lions, from the Colonial Athletic Association, improve to .500 at 5-5.

The first thirty minutes of regulation saw each squad netting 6 goals, but the second half was dominated by Penn State, as they scored the first 6 goals after intermission bridging the 3rd and 4th quarters. As a result, the Cats never really threatened down the stretch, especially since goalie Austin Kaut was a brick wall in the cage for the Nittany Lions. Kaut recorded 17 saves for the contest, while Nova keeper Dan Gutierrez only saved 6 shots.

Finally, the month-long road stretch is over for Villanova, but obviously, it did not end on a good note. At 5-4, the Wildcats are certainly on the outside looking in for a potential NCAA Tournament berth. Out of their 5 remaining regular season games, they should easily beat St. John's, Rutgers, and Providence. Georgetown should be a close game, but I still think the Cats are better than the Hoyas. Beating Notre Dame will be a tall task, although the game is home. If Nova can finish the regular season at 9-5, they will probably still have to do some damage in the Big East Tournament in early May to get in the 16-team NCAA field.

Villanova returns to action on Wednesday, April 4th for a crucial conference showdown with Georgetown. Faceoff is slated for 7 PM at Villanova Stadium.

On Sunday afternoon at the Carrier Dome, the Villanova men's lacrosse team looks to right their season when they take on the 9th ranked Orange of Syracuse to open up Big East conference play. After 2 straight blowout losses, the #14 Wildcats sorely need a win, not only for their confidence, but also to stay in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid. Syracuse is 4-2 overall; their 2 losses have come to #1 Virginia and #2 Johns Hopkins, but they don't have any real quality wins. Nova enters the contest with a 4-3 record.

Historically, Syracuse is a run and gun team that scores 10+ goals week in and week out, but this is not your typical Syracuse team. For the season, the Orange have averaged 9.67 goals per game, with the coach's son, Tim Desko, being the focal point of the offense. Desko has recorded 13 points thus far, while JoJo Marasco also has contributed 13 points. The leading point getter for Cuse is Derek Maltz, as he has notched a healthy 13 goals and 5 assists through 6 games.

On the defensive end, the Orange let up just over 9 goals a game, but they have experienced issues in the cage after graduating John Galloway last year. Dominic Lamolinara started out the season as the starter, but he has recently split time with Matthew Lerman. They have combined for a 49.5% save percentage to date.

If there's any year to beat Syracuse, this is the year. Cuse lost a lot of key cogs to graduation, so they are somewhat inexperienced. However, this will be no cake walk for Villanova; Syracuse may be weaker than in recent years, but the Orange don't rebuild, rather they reload. It will be important for the Cats to get out to a quick start in this contest, which I'm sure head coach Mike Corrado has stressed this week after being down 6-0 early on to Maryland last Saturday. In addition, last year's 5-4 heartbreaking loss should be in the back of the Cats' minds still, so the revenge factor could come into play. It should be a good one up at the Dome on Sunday. The game will be aired live on SNY at 2PM.

In a matchup of top 10 teams on Saturday afternoon, the #7 Maryland Terrapins jumped on Villanova early and often en route to an 11-5 win at Byrd Stadium in College Park, MD. With the loss, the #10 Wildcats fall to 4-3 on the year, while the Terps improve to 5-1.

Maryland opened the game by blitzing the Villanova defense for 6 goals on 14 shots in the first quarter. On the other hand, Nova only had 2 shots over the first fifteen minutes with neither of those shots being converted. The remaining three quarters were even for the most part, but being down by 6 to a strong and physical Maryland team is a tough hill to climb.

Attackmen Owen Blye put on a show for the home squad, as he notched 4 goals and 2 assists. Niko Amato continued his impressive goalie play with 12 saves on the day. For the Cats, only 7 players registered points on the day and nobody had more than 1 point, which basically sums up the abysmal offensive performance. The lone bright spot for Villanova was Thomas Croonquist, who was 11-16 on faceoffs. Without Croonquist, this game could have been a lot worse.

The daunting stretch of games for the Wildcats continues next weekend as Nova travels to Syracuse on March 25th to open up conference play.

After a decisive 14-8 loss to Princeton on Tuesday night, the schedule does not do the Villanova Wildcats any favors, as they will travel to College Park, Maryland on Saturday to take on the Maryland Terrapins at 1 PM. The Cats enter this top 10 showdown with a 4-2 record, while the host Terps have amassed 4 wins and 1 loss on the young season. Maryland's biggest win was a 10-7 victory over Duke, although the Blue Devils are struggling thus far. Their only loss came at the hands of UMBC back in early March.

It's no secret this year that the Nova defensive unit has not been stingy enough on a consistent basis. The Villanova defense enters the contest allowing over 10 goals a game, and netminder Dan Gutierrez's save percentage has dropped to 49.2%. If the Cats don't improve on these numbers this weekend, it could get ugly at Byrd Stadium, because the Terps are averaging almost 12.5 goals a contest. Three players are in double figures for Maryland so far; Joe Cummings (14 pts), John Haus (13 pts), and Drew Snider (10 pts). Luckily for Nova, it looks like midfielder Jake Bernhardt will not play on Saturday, as he has missed every game with a shoulder injury.

Although Villanova only put up 8 goals in the loss to Princeton, the Wildcat offense is still the strength of this squadrant. As usual, Will Casertano, Jack Rice, CJ Small, and Kevin Cunningham are the catalysts that spark this offensive unit to a 11.5 goals per game average. Nova will need a balanced offensive output against last year's national runner-ups, because Maryland has a goalie that is on a roll this year. Goalie Niko Amato, from Philadelphia, is a top-tier keeper with his 63.3% save percentage. As a whole, Maryland's defense only gives up a meager 7.2 goals per game.

Villanova looked very good early on this season, but the last week has been troubling. Penn is not an NCAA caliber team this year and the Cats needed a miracle to squeak out that game. Three days later and they get routed by Princeton at home. I would expect a renewed focus from Nova this weekend against a very physical Maryland team. The Cats need to get off to a quick start in this one, because if not, Maryland has horses that can run all day and make it a long afternoon down in College Park.

After a thrilling last second win over the Penn Quakers in downtown Philly this past Saturday, the #10 Villanova Wildcats have no time to relish the victory, as the #16 Princeton Tigers head to Villanova Stadium for a Tuesday night showdown. The Cats enter the game with 4-1 record, while Princeton sports a .500 record at 2-2. After 2 wins to start the season over Hofstra and Manhattan, the Tigers have lost consecutive affairs to Johns Hopkins and North Carolina.

Each squad excels in a certain area of the field; for Nova, it's the offensive end with their 12.2 goals per game average and an astounding 64.5% shooting percentage. Countering the Villanova offense will be Princeton's stalwart defense. The Tigers have one of the best goalies in the nation in senior Tyler Fiorito. Although he has struggled this year, he is due for a breakout game. Long sticks Chad Wiedmaier and John Cunningham are experienced veterans who have played in big games. Their matchups vs. Kevin Cunningham, Will Castertano, Jack Rice, and CJ Small for Nova may prove to be the deciding factor.

On the offensive side of the ball for Princeton, Tom Schreiber is a premier midfielder, as he leads the squad with 18 points through 4 games. Nova's defense has been suspect at times this year, so it will be important for them to limit Schreiber's touches in front of goalie Dan Gutierrez. Tucker Shanley and Alex Capretta also are viable scoring options for Princeton.

I have seen Princeton play three times this year; every game except the Manhattan contest. After a 4-8 season last year, the Tigers are certainly better than that in the 2012 campaign, as their disappointing season was largely a result of numerous injuries. With that said, Schreiber is the key cog; contain him and take smart shots against Fiorito and the Cats should have a good chance to notch their 5th victory of the season.

March Madness is upon us once again, although this year is a lot less exciting for Villanova fans. Of the 68 team field announced by the Selection Committee tonight, 9 Big East teams received bids; 1 automatic bid for Louisville for their Big East Tournament victory and 8 at-larges consisting of Syracuse, Marquette, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Cincinnati, South Florida, West Virginia, and Connecticut. Still weird not to see Pittsburgh and Nova in the bracket. Good luck to all for those who join a bracket pool.

This Saturday, March 10th, the Villanova men's lacrosse team tries to rebound from their 1st loss of the season, as they travel to Franklin Field to take on the University of Pennsylvania Quakers at 3PM. Villanova enters the game at 3-1 on the season after last weekend's loss to Delaware, while Penn sports a 1-2 overall record. The Quakers lost their first 2 games of the season, but recently, they upset #8 North Carolina in Philly.

Even though both squads made the NCAA Tournament last year, the teams are quite different in the 2012 campaign. The Wildcats have a lot of veteran experience, as juniors and seniors account for 86% of the offensive output. Most notably, junior Will Castertano leads Nova with 16 points, while seniors CJ Small and Kevin Cunningham have tallied 14 points each. On the offensive end for a young Penn team, Dan Savage and John Conneely are the top point getters, with Savage recording 9 points and Conneely notching 8 points through 3 games.

On the other end of the field, Chris Creighton, Ryan McDonagh, Chris Conroy, and netminder Dan Gutierrez are allowing just over 10 goals a game for the Cats. Gutierrez has posted a stellar 54.4% save percentage thus far. Countering Gutierrez in the cage is sophomore Brian Feeney for the Quakers. Feeney has only saved 45.1% of shots seen this year, and overall, the defense is allowing 9.33 goals per game.

It's only early March, but this is a large game for Villanova. After Penn on Saturday, the Cats play a string of 5 straight games against quality opponents. They host Princeton on March 14th, then travel to Maryland, Syracuse, and Penn State on consecutive weekends before returning home to play Georgetown on April 4th.

Today, the Big East announced the selections of the all-conference teams. Maalik Wayns earned Second Team All-Big East honors with his 17.5 points per game and 4.6 assists per game. Wayns was the lone Wildcat representative on any of the teams, which were voted on by the league's coaches. See below for the comprehensive list of the honorees.

A little surprisingly, JayVaughn Pinkston did not make the All-Rookie team.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM

Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut, G, So., 6-5, 185, Norcross, Ga.

Jason Clark, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-2, 170, Arlington, Va.

*Jae Crowder, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-6, 235, Villa Rica, Ga.

Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette, G, Sr., 6-2, 215, Raleigh, N.C.

Kris Joseph, Syracuse, F, Sr., 6-7, 210, Montreal, Quebec

Kevin Jones, West Virginia, F, Sr., 6-8, 260, Mount Vernon, N.Y.

See the rest of the teams after The Jump.

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On Saturday afternoon at the Verizon Center in the nation's capital, Villanova provided a lackluster offensive output in losing to the Hoyas of Georgetown 67-46. Even with the return of Maalik Wayns to the lineup, Georgetown's lock-down defense stifled the Wildcats all day, as the visitors finished with a total of 14 field goals for the game. Four players scored in double figures for the nationally ranked Hoyas; Jason Clark and Otto Porter had 15 each, while Henry Sims scored 12 and Hollis Thompson put up 10 points. For the reeling Cats, Dominic Cheek was the lone bright spot on the offensive end. Cheek poured in 19 points, but the rest of the squad was 8-37 from the floor, including Wayns' 1-10 effort. As a whole, Villanova shot 28% for the game, committed 13 turnovers, and scored 23 points in each half.

The downward spiral continues for Jay Wright's squad, although it's certainly not for lack of effort When Gtown jumped out to a 17 point lead in the first half, Villanova could've folded the tent, but they battled back to make it a 7 point game at intermission. Georgetown broke the game open late, as Nova just could not get anything going on the offensive end. It didn't help that JayVaughn Pinkston hurt his ankle in pregame warmups and only played a few minutes even though he shouldn't have been out there at all. With James Bell still out, the rotation is thin and the legs got real tired today down the stretch. Even if the Cats had a full squad, Georgetown is a much better team on both ends of the floor. They don't have any stars, but they all know their roles and feed off each other. In addition, the Wildcats just don't have enough weapons to carry the load.

Two games remain in the regular season; Thursday at Rutgers and Saturday vs. Cincy. After that, it's off to Madison Square Garden and the Big East Tournament.