Soft Pretzel Logic

How often do you see a team post more free throw attempts, more offensive rebounds, more total rebounds, more steals and fewer turnovers and still lose? Not to nention holding one of the nation's best post men to only four field goal attempts, even if he was hampered by foul trouble?

Well, that's what Villanova did yesterday, falling to the Hoyas, 58-55. It was a great game, full of drama and lead changes, and I don't think it will do any harm to the Wildcats' NCAA Tournament hopes. Georgetown's very good, but Villanova proved it could match them step for step until the very last few.

And it was in those last few that the game was won. Specifically, Jeff Green's faked three, after which he took a few steps inside the line and calmly drained what ended up being the game-winning jumper. So the first line of the day goes to him:

The second line of the day goes to the team that got the most impressive win of the day. I have to be honest, I have no idea what to think of Drexel now. Beating Creighton on the road was a huge deal, but there's still a ton of work to do to get to the NCAA Tournament because of that loss at William and Mary. A run to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament, if not farther, is a must, I think.

Nonetheless, last night's win was a big deal. So the man who hit the shot that gave the Dragons the lead for good gets a Line of the Day:

St. Joe's also got a win, though not as important, at St. Bonaventure. Nonetheless, freshman point guard Jawan Carter had a huge game, especially given that he did the following in only 20 minutes on the floor:

The news was not as good for Temple and La Salle. The Owls lost at George Washington, which isn't too surprising because the Colonials are pretty good (at least as the A-10 goes). But there was yet another 30-plus-point scorer in cherry and white, and this time it wasn't Dionte Christmas:

As their remaining games are against George Washington, UMass and Xavier, I thought last night's game at St. Louis was the game La Salle had to have to make it to the A-10 Tournament. But it wasn't to be, as the Billikens pulled out a 59-55 win. The main reason for that was a 20-point second half from Kevin Lisch:

Let's close with a winning effort for a local team. Penn solidified its standing in first place and dealt a serious blow to Cornell's Ivy League title hopes with a 83-71 over the Big Red at a raucous Palestra last night. It was back and forth for all 40 minutes, and the game wasn't at all as close as the final score would indicate. But when it came time to decide the thing, it won't surprise you to see who stepped up for the Quakers:

More to say about all of this in this week's College HoopsCast. It might be held until Tuesday for Villanova-Marquette, and I'll let you know if it is. Enjoy the rest of your day.