Villanova is suddenly a legit threat to win the national title
For most of the last month of the season there were diametrically opposed opinions about the Villanova Wildcats: 1) The team would be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament; 2) They'd be the vogue upset pick not expected to make the second weekend.
You could believe both. Villanova was, at various points during the season, 7-0, 17-2, 24-3 and entered the tournament 29-5. The Wildcats ran away with a competitive Big East, were loved equally by both the RPI and the statheads (No. 4 in both) and had a fine balance between experienced upperclassmen (Josh Hart and Ryan Arcidiacono) and freshman contributors (unanimous All-Freshman team selection Jalen Brunson). So what was the problem? This should have been a team everyone considered a contender, but it was overlooked by just about everyone. (On ESPN's Tournament Challenge, only 2.4 percent of poolers picked 'Nova to make the final.) What gives?
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It was the name across the front of the jersey. Since making the Final Four in 2009, Villanova hadn't been to a Sweet 16 despite being a top-two seed three times. In 2010, they were a No. 2 and lost to No. 10 Saint Mary's in the second round. There was another No. 2 seed in 2014 and another loss, this time to No. 7 UConn. Then, last year, Villanova had its second No. 1 seed in history and fell to a very-mediocre eighth-seeded North Carolina State.
That's why expectations were so low this time around: In just five years, Villanova had developed a (deserved) reputation of a choker. In 2009, 'Nova won four tourney games to make the Final Four. Between 2010-15, the team won three, going 3-5. As much as Jay Wright would have liked to disagree, you can't argue results. Villanova couldn't get it done when it mattered.
And that brings us to 2016. The tournament started with a 30-point win over No. 15 UNC-Asheville. That doesn't sound impressive until you consider what happened to Michigan State against its No. 15 seed. (Incidentally, if Michigan State had had Villanova's exact résumé, a lot more than 2.4% of people would have picked them to make the finals.) Then, in round two, the 'Cats worked the Big Ten's Iowa by 19 points.
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Thursday night was the best yet. Playing against a Miami team that had legitimate Final Four aspirations, Villanova dropped 43 points in the first half, shooting better than 65 percent. For the game, the Wildcats shot 63 percent and scored 92 points in a game that had the second-fewest possessions of the tournament. No team has had a more efficient offensive performance in the tournament, by far.
Just like that, the choking tag has been shed. Villanova is no longer a choker. Whether it's Kansas or Maryland who they'll face on Saturday for the right to go to the Final Four, there won't be any extra baggage weighing down the Big Five power. It's basketball and basketball only from here on out. On to the Final Four?
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