Rollie Massimino’s return to Villanova didn’t end well for the legendary former Wildcats coach.
The Wildcats, No. 5 in the Big East preseason poll, topped Massimino’s Northwood (Fla.) team, 75-37, at the Wachovia Spectrum. It was ‘Nova’s first game inside the building since 1998.
Massimino, of course, led Villanova to the 1985 NCAA championship with a stunning upset of Patrick Ewing and Georgetown.
Villanova senior forward Dante Cunningham scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and junior guard Scottie Reynolds had 14 points and six assists. Cunningham also had a game-high eight rebounds and sophomore guard Corey Fisher of St. Patrick of Elizabeth (N.J.) scored 10 points.
Senior forward DeSean White led the Seahawks with 15 points and Northwood used the exhibition to play all 16 players on its roster. Onetime Seton Hall big man Augustine Okosun managed just 5 points on 1-of-2 shooting while making 7 turnovers.
**Seton Hall fans will get their first chance to see the Pirates play against another school tonight when they host Molloy College in an exhibition at 7:30 at Walsh Gym. I’m going to try and make it out to see Bobby Gonzalez’s team in action. The Pirates feature just 8 eligible players pending an announcement from the NCAA Clearinghouse on 6-11 freshman Melvyn “Big Mel” Oliver.
**Anthony Mason Jr. and St. John’s will take on Kevin Willard’s Iona club in a closed exhibition on Saturday. Should be interesting to see what comes out of that matchup of Big East and MAAC teams.
**Rutgers hosts an exhibition against Division II Caldwell College on Monday night at the RAC. St. Anthony senior wing Dominic Cheek is expected to make an unofficial visit to the school for the game.
**Luke Winn of SI.com has a nice roundup of the Top 10 preseason tournaments, including the Puerto Rico Tip-Off featuring Seton Hall.