Villanova Basketball

Duke, Iowa State, Villanova Win Conference Tournament Titles

... Patrick Cole scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Dajuan Graf added 17 points and the Eagles earned their second trip to the NCAA tournament in four years. Rashaun Madison made three three-pointers and scored 12 points for top-seeded NCCU (25-8). Zaynah Robinson had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists for No. 2-seeded Norfolk State (17-16), which was seeking its second MEAC tournament title. Kent State 70, Akron 65: Jaylin Walker scored 30 points, Jimmy Hall added 19 and the sixth-seeded Golden Flashes (22-13) earned its first NCAA tournament berth since 2008 by knocking off the MAC 's top three seeds — Buffalo , Ohio and Akron — to win their sixth conference title. They barely advanced to Cleveland, needing overtime to edge 11 th-seeded Central Michigan in the opening round. Isaiah Johnson scored 24 as the top-seeded Zips (26-8). SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC. Texas Southern 53, Alcorn State 50: Kevin Scott had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the top-seeded Tigers won the conference tournament title for the third time in the last four years. Marvin Jones added 14 points on ...

Villanova Player Comparisons

... out as a nationally known player his junior year, Fredette spent his sophomore season scoring a team second best 16.2 PPG and shooting 38% from 3. That season he also led BYU in assists with 4.1 per game. Brunson is currently second on the team in scoring, shoots 38% from 3, and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game. The only difference is that Brunson could still become a household name this season with another run through the NCAA tournament. Other comparisons include ‘09 Chris Wright (Georgetown), ‘15 Anthony Barber (NC State), ‘12 Justin Cobbs (Cal), and ‘07 Tyrese Rice (Boston College). Mikal Bridges is playing like ‘15 Josh Hart (Villanova). Outside of volume, Mikal Bridges is almost playing at the level of ‘17 Josh Hart. Both are averaging double digit scoring, including shooting over 50% from the floor. They’re also both Top 3 in rebounds, assists, and steals per game. Bridges is even shooting a ridiculous 92% from the charity stripe. Hart is still shooting a career best 75.4%, and takes a lot more free throws (88 more attempts to ...

Villanova's National Championship Recreated With Legos

... Jacobs. Jacobs' Instagram page (Gold Yeller) is overflowing with Lego re-enactments of some of sports most recent memorable moments, ranging from Marshawn Lynch interviews to Michigan-Michigan State football. His latest creation was a bit more endearing. Jacobs, a long-time North Carolina basketball fan, described on his Instagram page. " My oldest daughter was born right at the beginning of March Madness. I remember watching non-stop basketball in the hospital and the first few days of bringing her home. Maybe that's part of the reason her and I have shared a special bond when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. Last year she picked @novambb to win the whole thing and I picked @unc_basketball I'll never forget watching her reaction to the final 10 seconds of that game. This year for her birthday I wanted to do something special for it. So I told her I was going to make a Lego re-enactment video dedicated to her. Happy Birthday Jovie! I hope this year is as magical as last year. ". Jacobs followed through, and for Jovie's 11 th birthday, he created the re-enactment Lego-style. From Marcus Paige's double-pump shot to Kris Jenkins' buzzer-beater, Jacobs nailed the final ...

Villanova's Hart A Force As Top Player Of The Year Candidate

... for the NBA until he heard his stock was more second-round pick than late first. "If a team wanted to pick me with the 22 nd pick, I definitely would have been gone," he said. Wright said Hart's lethargic showing was a side effect of the tournament grind. "He was worn out from our long run," Wright said. "He really didn't take much time off. He went right back to working out for the workouts. I don't think they really got a good look at him.". Hart rallied his senior season and helped the Wildcats reach No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll, win a fourth straight Big East title. He also had the first triple-double for a Wildcat in 30 years and has them a lock for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. "For four years now he's given his teammates confidence and energy. You can see the improvements in his game offensively that let you know he's working in the practice court, too, when it's not a contest. And he finds a way to impose his will on most contests that they have, Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "Sometimes it's for long stretches, sometimes it's for the entire ...

Villanova Captures Big East

... from 3-pointers to acrobatic drives. He finished the tournament with 63 points and was 21 of 41 from the field. The 29 points marked his third-highest total of the season. Creighton was 2 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half and the Bluejays committed 10 turnovers, only 2.3 fewer than they averaged per game this season. The title game was played before a sellout crowd of 19,812 at Madison Square Garden, which hosted the tournament for the 35 th consecutive year. SEC TOURNAMENT. ARKANSAS 76, VANDERBILT 62: Moses Kingsley had 12 points and 13 rebounds as the third-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks beat Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals. The Razorbacks (25-8) won their third straight to reach the championship for the seventh time. They will play eighth-ranked Kentucky, a 79-74 winner over Alabama , for the second time in three years Sunday. Arkansas simply smothered Vanderbilt, especially in the paint where the Razorbacks had a 46-16 scoring edge. Jaylen Barford led Arkansas with ...

Last Year's Star, Ryan Arcidiacono, Likes Villanova's Chances This Year

... than this one, despite the 28-3 record and likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Not only that, the Wildcats boast the third-most efficient offense in the nation, due in large part to Hart’s national player of the year-caliber season and the breakout season of sophomore point guard Jalen Brunson. Arcidiacono says if he fills out a bracket he’ll probably put his Wildcats all the way through to the end. But he, like many Villanova fans, does have one concern — which could prove to be a limiting factor for this team. “I mean, we all know that they're going to be really good,” Arcidiacono says. “But the only thing that I'm curious to see about is if their legs just — not give up, because I know Coach Wright knows how to take care of their bodies, but I just hope that they're able to stay healthy. … At some point they might be down to five, six guys. I'm just hoping they can ...

Seniors Lead Villanova To Yet Another Milestone

... coach Jay Wright said of his seniors. With its 79-63 victory Saturday over Creighton, the senior class of Jenkins, Hart and Darryl Reynolds now owns a national title, four Big East regular-season crowns, a 127-13 overall record and a perfect 16-0 mark in the Big 5. In four years, Villanova has never lost back-to-back games. It is a run of excellence more even than dominance. And as Jenkins pointed out, it's a run that is nowhere near over. Because if you think the Wildcats can’t defend their national title, you simply haven’t been paying attention. The game against the Bluejays was emblematic not just of who Villanova is, but why the Wildcats can win it all again. They were short-handed - Reynolds didn’t play for the fifth consecutive game because of a deep rib bruise - but they’ve been short-handed all season. Phil Booth hasn’t played because of knee tendinitis and Omari Spellman was ruled out by the NCAA in the preseason. The Wildcats couldn’t shoot well - they were just 4-of-19 from behind the arc - ...

Mikal Bridges Doing A Little Bit Of Everything For Villanova

... basketball, golf, and the Penn Relays. A graduate of Temple University, he also worked for 10 years with United Press International, the last seven as Philadelphia sports editor. More by Joe Juliano. Arrow icon. If there is such a thing as a five-tool player in college basketball, Mikal Bridges is the model. Villanova's redshirt sophomore can slash to the basket, shoot from the perimeter and convert free throws. He is making 40.6 percent of his three-point attempts and 90.4 percent from the line, with only two misses (31 of 33, 93.9 percent) in Big East play. At the other end of the court, he was voted one of three winners of the Big East defensive player of the year award announced Monday. At 6-foot-7 with long arms and quick hands, Bridges is third in the Big East in steals at 1.9 per game, and has blocked 17 shots in his last 10 contests. He also is the Wildcats' third-leading rebounder. It's no wonder that coach Jay Wright calls Bridges, "as important as any guy on our team.". "He can guard any position," he said. "If you put intelligence on top of it, he can play any position offensively, which means he can remember the plays from ...

Big East Champ Villanova Looks Primed For Another Run

... manufacturing motivation entering the NCAA tournament. A loss to Seton Hall in the league tournament title game provided the wakeup call they needed to enter March Madness with a sense of urgency that served as a buffer for the sort of early-round lapses that doomed them in two previous seasons. This year, with a conference tournament championship and another dominant regular-season under its belt, Villanova is cruising into the Big Dance. Its performance this week suggested it’ll moonwalk once it gets there; anything other than a smooth glide past its first couple of opponents would be surprising. “Play our way, and then good things will happen,” Bridges said, in a terse encapsulation of what neither Creighton, Villanova’s opponent in the Big East Tournament final on Saturday, or the teams who draw the Wildcats in the NCAAs can dispute. Villanova, at its best, is going to be incredibly difficult to beat. Power Rankings: Analyzing the offenses of the NCAA tournament's likely No. 1 seeds. And so, a postseason event that began Wednesday with an ...

Villanova Seniors Ready For Last March Hurrah

... games in four seasons. Hart has controlled his emotions better, and his game has improved to the level of a national player-of-the-year candidate. Jenkins has dropped at least 20 pounds since arriving at Villanova and that has helped him with the increased minutes he has played this year. Reynolds doesn't look to score, but he is the Cats' best inside player and post defender, and directs traffic in the team's zone. Wright thinks the true measure of his players is reflected by the type of people they are, and Hart, Jenkins, and Reynolds set a fine example. "I'm incredibly impressed with the way they conduct themselves with all the success they've had and the way they lead," he said. "They've grown every year to the point where they're great leaders. They're humble. They have great respect for everybody around them. "Then you look at them as students - all three of them are going to graduate on time. All three of them are serious students. Sometimes you may come in and not be that serious because you're young. Then you get successful and then as a senior ...