Pregame from The Pavilion

Posted Feb 24, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Feb 24, 2010 at 09:16 PM

Hey folks, coming to you live from the press room here at The Pavilion, Villanova’s on-campus home gym.

This place has a much different feel than the enormous Wachovia Center, where the Wildcats play many of their home games in the Big East.

This is the final time they will play at the Pavilion this season, and it’s Senior Night, so USF will not only face the No. 7-ranked team in the nation tonight, but a festive crowd as well.

The Bulls already have one victory to their credit this evening: they are on a charter flight immediately after the game back to Tampa. That means they’ll beat the blizzard-like conditions expected to move into the area sometime after midnight.

Myself, I’m not so lucky. I just got a call in the cab on the way over that my 8 a.m. flight back to Tampa in the morning has already been cancelled. I just hope I make it back to town in time for Saturday’s game against Providence.

As for tonight’s game, looking forward to watching Dominique Jones and Scottie Reynolds go at it. Jones is the second-leading scorer in the Big East at 21.6 points per game, and Reynolds fifth at 19 points a game.

USF must somehow find a way to slow down Villanova’s fast-paced attack the way Pittsburgh did Sunday. The Panthers held Villanova to a season-low 65 points as the Wildcats suffered their second consecutive loss.

Meanwhile, Bulls radio analyst Todd Kalas received a nice welcome here in the press room here at The Pavilion, returning to the city where his late father, Harry, remains a beloved figure.

I’ll check back in once the game starts with some live blog updates. Hope you enjoy the game.