What a freaking game.
I was anticipating Pitt-Villanova to be highly entertaining, closely contested game that came down to the wire, and it was even better than I expected. It was also perhaps my most shining moment as a Sweet 16/Elite 8 prognosticator, as Villanova’s close victory was exactly what I predicted.
And the MMP (Most Memorable Play) of the Villanova victory over Pitt came courtesy of Villanova’s superb guard Scottie Reynolds. The video is below, courtesy of Robert Littal at Black Sports Online:
Video: Scottie Reynolds Last Second Buzzer Beater Leads Villanova to Victory Over Pitt
LOTD: Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds Destroying Many Office Brackets With the Buzzer Beater — (Black Sports Online)
I was unable to actually watch this play live, which is why I hopped online to find video of the Scottie Reynolds buzzer beater as quickly as I could. I was out late last night at a sublime authentic German restaurant for my girlfriend’s grandfather’s 92nd birthday. One of the attendees had the March Madness app on his iphone, and we were able to watch up until about 0:30 left, when the signal went out. We finished listening on the radio, first as Levance Fields made his clutch free throws, and then as Scotte Reynolds dashed the Panthers’ dream with his incredible drive to the basket.
Reynolds actually did not have one of his best games statistically in Villanova’s Elite 8 victory over Pitt. He finished with 15 points and shot 7-7 from the line, but only had 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Dwa
yne Anderson stepped up huge and was the statistical MVP for Villanova. He scored 17 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and had four steals.
And lost in the excitement over Scottie Reynolds’ buzzer beater was the superb play of Pitt’s trio of Levance Fields, Sam Young, and DeJuan Blair. Pitt is going home, but it certainly is not the fault of any of these three guys. Levance Fields made the clutch free throws as mentioned, and also dished out 6 assists against 0 turnovers. DeJuan Blair had another double-double, going for 20-10. And Sam Young was outstanding, scoring 28 points, snaring 7 rebounds, and dominating inside and outside.
Simply put, it was a great game played between two of the five best teams in America.
Unfortunately for Pitt, Villanova just appears to be one of those teams that has caught lightning in a bottle this March, as evidenced by the last second dash of Scottie Reynolds. Villanova is on an absolute roll, having beaten UCLA, Duke, and Pitt in three straight games. That is a pretty impressive list of victims.
Today, they will find out who they play next: North Carolina or Oklahoma. Villanova will be lower seed regardless, but it is going to be very hard to pick against them.
About Jerod Morris
