Villanova

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Redshirt sophomore forward Taylor King has voluntarily withdrawn from the Villanova basketball program.

PHILADELPHIA — Jay Wright hears his name in coaching rumors this time of year about as routinely as he leads Villanova to the NCAA tournament.

It was a beautiful 64 degrees outside Temple’s great facility, and drills were run on FieldTurf. These kids competed their tails off and don’t be surprised if several of the above mentioned players end up fulfilling their dream of playing in the NFL.

PROVIDENCE, R.I — Scottie Reynolds ended his career in tears, not in another Final Four.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Omar Samhan was an unstoppable Gael force. The only time the Saint Mary’s star slowed down was to enjoy the moment.

No. 2 Villanova (25-7) vs. No. 10 Saint Mary’s (27-5)

1:05 p.m. ET Saturday, Providence, R.I.

It was fitting the first day of what may well be the final NCAA Tournament as we know it offered all the evidence anyone could need that dramatic expansion of the field is not only unnecessary, but

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The littlest guy from a small school in this year’s NCAA Tournament nearly helped produce the biggest shocker of the opening round on Thursday.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Scottie Reynolds learned a lesson starting the game on the bench.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Villanova guards Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher will not start in the NCAA tournament opener against Robert Morris.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Jay Wright could pass on a second career as a dog walker.

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Scottie Reynolds is down to his own Final Four.

PHILADELPHIA — Maybe Temple should have entered the NCAA tournament in a slump.

The drumbeat was growing louder and louder before half the teams in the Big East even arrived in New York.

From double-bye to bye-bye.

That was the story for the Big East Conference elite.

NEW YORK — Same old story for Marquette. A close game and another win.

Same old story for the best teams in the Big East tournament. Earn a double bye and head home early.

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Villanova is stuck in a rut.

First team

G James Anderson, junior, Oklahoma State.

VILLANOVA, Pa. — The 10th-ranked Villanova Wildcats could play the Big East tournament without forward Taylor King because of an undisclosed personal issue.

More: Keep up with all the conference tournament champions.

Scottie Reynolds is SN's choice for Big East Player of the Year.
Scottie Reynolds is SN’s choice for Big East Player of the Year.

First team

G Andy Rautins, senior, Syracuse

Reason to watch: The basketball bloodletting that has been scattered across two time zones, a dozen states (and whatever you call the

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PHILADELPHIA — Da’Sean Butler scored 21 points, including the decisive basket with 5.8 seconds left in overtime, leading No. 10 West Virginia to a 68-66 victory over No.

Villanova and West Virginia were picked to finish as the top two teams in the Big East in the preseason. At this point, both would love second place.

We’ve all known February is the shortest month since first learning about calendars in first grade, but the Villanova Wildcats had reason to doubt this by the time they woke up on March 1, 20

CINCINNATI—It took Villanova only 21 games to ring up a 20-win season this winter. That’s how fast the Wildcats were moving.

CINCINNATI — What we learned as Tuesday night as No.

CINCINNATI — Scottie Reynolds scored all of his 17 points in the second half Tuesday night, and No.

Each week, Sporting News college basketball expert Mike DeCourcy ranks the BCS conferences—and teams within each league—plus the best of the rest based on achievement.

Villanova gave up plenty of offensive rebounds and free throws in two straight road losses, but coach Jay Wright insists things are not as bad as they look.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Rick Jackson scored 19 points and Arinze Onuaku had 17 as Syracuse’s two big men dominated the second half, helping the No. 4 Orange rout No.

Prior to the season, it wouldn’t have been hard to envision Villanova, fresh off a Final Four appearance and returning a loaded roster, playing in one of the nation’s biggest regular-season games.<

There will be more than 34,000 people in the stands at the Carrier Dome, and ESPN will be doing its GameDay thing from morning to evening and all or part of the Big East Conference championship wil

It’s easy to pick a bunch of No. 1 seeds to make Final Four runs — Clark Kellogg has made a career of it.

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points and Antonio Pena had 14 to lead No. 7 Villanova to a 74-49 win over South Florida on Wednesday night.

Sporting News college basketball columnist Mike DeCourcy addresses five topics currently in his sport’s headlines.

Scottie Reynolds and Villanova never lost consecutive games last season en route to the Final Four. This season has been a different story.

Selection Sunday, that glorious day when the teams are announced and the brackets are revealed for the NCAA Tournament, is a mere 19 days away.

The Mountain West has waited nearly a dozen years for a conference basketball game this big, this competitive, this essential. Surely the rest of us can wait another half-dozen days.

PITTSBURGH — Ashton Gibbs scored 21 points and No. 19 Pittsburgh upset No. 3 Villanova 70-65 on Sunday.

Scottie Reynolds put himself into Villanova lore with his shot that beat Pittsburgh and put the Wildcats into the Final Four last year.

Each week, Sporting News college basketball expert Mike DeCourcy ranks the BCS conferences—and

PHILADELPHIA — Kemba Walker scored a career-high 29 points and Connecticut continued the four-day run of Big East top 10 upsets, beating No. 3 Villanova 84-75 on Monday night.

Prior to the start of the season, Villanova and Connecticut were expected to contend for the Big East crown. Only one is still in the race.

PHILADELPHIA — Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher scored 22 points each and No. 4 Villanova pulled away late to beat pesky Providence 92-81 on Saturday.