Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Nor’easter is snow problem for Wright and Wildcats
BUFFALO, N.Y. >> With a winter storm warning for Western New York and a nor’easter rolling up the East Coast, the NCAA urged all the teams playing at the Key Bank Center to get to Buffalo as early as possible.
For top-seeded Villanova, that meant an abbreviated stay on the Main Line after winning the Big East Tournament title in New York Saturday night. Originally, the Wildcats were scheduled to leave Philadelphia early Monday evening, but that timetable was moved up several hours because of the weather.
Welcome to late winter in Erie County.
“I lived in Rochester for two years, so I know exactly what this is,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “I didn’t expect anything different, Six to 12 inches up here is like a little sprinkle. It doesn’t bother anybody. You just roll and nothing stops. It doesn’t affect anybody.”
For NCAA Tournament newbies like Northwestern, that kind of sudden schedule change can be a nerve-wracking experience, but for old hats like Villanova, it was no problem.
All it meant was a few extra hours in the team hotel.
“Everything’s got its positives and negatives,” Wright said. “I didn’t like leaving because we got back Sunday and I felt like we went to the selection show and had to leave right away, so they really didn’t get to be home. They went to classes for half the day Monday so I don’t feel they got a chance to be home and rest.
“I feel like they went from the Big East Tournament to the NCAA Tournament so that’s the negative. The positive is, we enjoy being on the road together and hanging out so that’s the positive.”
And so, while snow fell from Washington to New England, Villanova did what it does best, prepare for its next opponent, which was to be the winner of Tuesday night’s play-in game between Mount St. Mary’s and New Orleans.
The fact that the Wildcats did not know who they were going to play when they arrived in Buffalo was the only negative of the trip. It’s the first time Villanova is playing the winner of one of the four play-in games.
“I would rather know the opponent than have to wait to watch this game and then have two assistants have to scout each team,” Wright said. “We practiced today on some things Mount St. Mary’s does and some things New Orleans does and they are different teams. I’m not going to complain about it. It is what it is.”
Neither the weather nor the lack of a defined opponent prevented the Wildcats from going through their routine Tuesday. They practiced at the Koessler Athletic Center on the campus of Canisius College, where they worked on some of the things Mount St. Mary’s does and then went over some of New Orleans’ tendencies before heading back to the hotel.
“We have to focus on what we’ve been doing since June and stick to that,” senior guard Josh Hart said. “If we do that, there is no fear of failure. The only failure for us is if we don’t stick to our habits.”
That focus, as always, is the next game. Not even a blizzard could deter Villanova’s laser-like attention to detail.
“Personally, I think leaving early kind of helped,” freshman guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “We’re able to get away and be by ourselves. We love the support we receive on campus, but sometimes that can be a distraction. When we leave early like we did we’re by ourselves and can really focus on our work.”
Of course, they are students, too, so there’s that little matter of schoolwork that has to be taken care of, but the Wildcats have that little matter down to a science, too.
“Our guys do a good job of being ahead of schedule with classes,” assistant coach Ashley Howard said. “Our academic support staff does a great job of making sure that they get their assignments done early, but it’s a difficult time of year. Our guys do a good job of staying on top of everything. When we get back they have to report to their professors. A lot of times they communicate with their professors through email while they’re on the road. When they have some down time they’ll get some ready and get some studying done, but we try to make sure that they get a lot of that done before we leave.
“We just try to be consistent with what we do all the time, on the court and off the court. Once we get to this point we already have our routine so nothing changes. We keep doing what we do, stick together, get on the floor and play hard, smart, together and with pride to keep this thing going.”
And so, after practice, it was back to the hotel where the Wildcats grabbed a bite to eat and relaxed in their recovery boots, which are compression devices that are designed to relieve soreness in the legs and improve circulation.
The plan for later in the night was to gather as a team to watch the game that would determine their opponent Thursday night.
“It’s really compartmentalizing your focus, which is not easy, especially for 18to-20 year olds, but these guys have been pretty good so far,” Wright said.
To contact Terry Toohey, email ttoohey@delcotimes. com. Follow him on Twitter @TerryToohey.