Sweet 16 Pants Party: Villanova Vs. Boston College

Villanova Wildcats (27-4) vs. Boston College Eagles (28-7) When: Tonight, 7:10 p.m. Where: Minneapolis

VILLANOVA

1. Dude, Call Collect. Villanova was embroiled, with plenty of other schools, in a silly phone card scandal that damaged a 15-10 start after 12 team members were suspended in 2002-03. 'Nova played with a seven-player team - mostly compiled of freshman - and nearly upset a top-ranked Pitt team anyway. But what s strange about that team s controversy was that it was the same one that Nova class of '96 had a problem with, when then-All-American Kerry Kittles was suspended for the final three games after racking up close to $3,000 in unauthorized phone calls from a stolen phone card code.

2. Celebrity Crap. Most people know Maria Bello from this year s A History Of Violence, but when she showed her backside in The Cooler it may have been recognized by many on the Main Line from her days as a 'Nova undergraduate. Another completely random Villanova graduate was singer/songwriter/giant mustache-wearer, Jim Croce, who supposedly wrote his hit song "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" in Villanova s fabled Grotto area on campus. 3. First Jobs Suck Basketball wasn t Jay Wright's first career choice. In 1984, Wright held a corporate marketing job for the USFL's Philadelphia Stars (coached by a pre-diddly-poo Jim Mora), the last Philadelphia football team to ever win a championship. — A.J. Daulerio

BOSTON COLLEGE

1. When Push Comes To Shove. Despite being new to the ACC, BC has some longish animosity towards Duke (and it has nothing to do with the seemingly vast majority of both student bodies hailing from New Jersey). Towards the end of a close fought game at Cameron in 2001, perfect angel Jason Williams decided to taunt Kenny Walls with some ball fakes to his head. Kenny responded by pushing Williams over the curb scorer s table. Of course Coach K, et al, ignored Williams' provocation and labeled BC thuggish. Fast forward to this year s ACC Tournament: Exuberant Duke frosh Greg Paulus celebrated a deflection (yes, a deflection) with a fist pump to Louis Hinnant s chest. Hinnant responded by pushing Paulus right back into the Duke bench. Based on the two incidents BC is considering changing its motto from "Ever to Excel" to "We don t take shit from Duke." 2. Bald Wins. In a show of unity, the entire team (except Jared Dudley) shaved their heads before their opening game against Pacific. Dudley provided a series of excuses as to why he avoided the Mr. Clean look, including the years he has put into getting his 'rows just right. He also argued that cutting his hair would've messed up his game. Dudley s 43 points in two games backed up his stand. Making up for Dudley s refusal, former BC quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has vowed to stay bald for life. 3. Washington s Footsteps. BC beat Pacific and Montana to advance to the Sweet 16. In 2005, Washington beat Pacific and Montana to advance to the Sweet 16. Washington s road to the Final Four ended shortly thereafter as the Huskies lost their next game to Louisville. BC will try to avoid this potential jinx with solid fundamentals and a sound game plan ... and if that doesn t work they may shave Jared Dudley s head at halftime of the Villanova game. — Bill Maloney

Villanova Wildcats: First Three Tiny Tidbits [Deadspin] Boston College Eagles: First Three Tiny Tidbits [Deadspin]