For Syracuse, Villanova, The Game Is Finally Here

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The game's been sold out for nearly a month. The local T-shirt shop has been cranking out "Beat 'Nova" shirts for weeks. Syracuse students have camped out for days to guarantee the best seat possible to be a part of history.

Saturday night in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse fans will have their collection of big cardboard heads -- Jim Boeheim, Wes Johnson, et al -- bopping up and down. They will be surrounded by 34,616 of their closest friends in what will be the largest on-campus basketball crowd in NCAA history.

No. 7 Villanova (23-4, 12-3 Big East) visits No. 4 Syracuse (26-2, 13-2) with the Big East regular season title in the balance and also, quite likely, a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed possibly locked up for the winner.

"It's going to be crazy," Johnson said. "I just know that it's going to be crazy. They've been talking about this game for a couple weeks now."

Even when Johnson was getting ready to play at Providence on Tuesday, Syracuse fans were asking him about Villanova.

"Everybody's excited to see what will happen," Johnson said. "Saturday night will be a big fight. Everybody's coming into town to see a showdown."

Saturday's showdown could also carry a great deal of weight in determining the Big East's player of the year between Johnson and Villanova's Scottie Reynolds.

A 6-foot-7 junior forward, Johnson ranks 15th in the league in scoring (15.8 points), fifth in rebounds (8.7) and fourth in steals (1.8). Reynolds, a 6-2 senior guard, is fifth in scoring (19.0), eighth in steals (1.6) and also ranks among the top 10 in free throw percentage and 3-point percentage.

Boeheim said he's one of the best guards in Big East history.

"Scottie Reynolds is as good a guard we've had in this league in my experience," Boeheim said.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins has already played both Syracuse and Villanova. The Mountaineers got both teams at home, but lost to Syracuse 72-71 on Jan. 16 and to Villanova 82-75 on Feb. 8.

"I think it will be a great game," Huggins said. "Syracuse is hard to score on in the half court and Villanova is a terrific transition team. The game will come down to which team can get the other team to play their style."

Besides playing before the largest on-campus basketball crowd ever -- and almost 1,000 more fans than were at the Carrier Dome to watch a football game between Syracuse and No. 5 Cincinnati last Halloween --and impacting the Big East title and the league's MVP race and the top seeds in the NCAA tournament, there's also what Notre Dame coach Mike Brey calls the "three-ring circus" to deal with.

ESPN's College GameDay will broadcast 10 hours before tipoff from inside the Carrier Dome before a crowd of at least 6,300 fans.

Both teams are proficient on offense -- Villanova leads the league in scoring (83.8 points per game), while Syracuse is third (81.2). Yet, the game's outcome might hinge on defense and that's where the Orange has a big advantage.

Syracuse ranks sixth in the Big East, allowing 65.3 points, while Villanova is only 14th, allowing 73 points per game. Still, Boeheim knows the Orange's matchup 2-3 zone must slow down the Wildcats' guards.

"I think they have the best backcourt in the country by far," Boeheim said. "I have for two years and they've gotten better with experience. By far the best perimeter guard tandems in the country."

The Wildcats may alter their starting lineup after an incident involving junior guard Corey Stokes that occurred following VU's victory against South Florida Wednesday night.

Stokes was issued a citation for public urination about 3AM. Thursday when police caught him urinating between two parked cars after Stokes and some teammates had left an off-campus bar, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Stokes was not arrested and will have to pay a fine. A Villanova spokesman told the Inquirer no decision had been made yet whether it would affect Stokes' playing status. Stokes, who is averaging nine points and 4.1 rebounds, has started 22 games this season.

"This was a simple mistake by a college student," Villanova coach Jay Wright said in a statement. "Corey regrets it and apologizes for it. We will now deal with it within our basketball family."

Contact FanHouse senior writer Brett McMurphy at brettmcmurphy@gmail.com