Villanova

Josh Hart, Villanova Deal With High Expectations

... The Wildcats (31-3), the No. 1 overall seed, begin defense of their title Thursday night against Mount St. Mary's (20-15) at Key Bank Center. The Mountaineers, champions of the Northeast Conference, advanced with a 67-66 victory Tuesday night over New Orleans in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio. With a strong senior class in Hart, Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds, a group that has gone 128-16 in their careers, the Wildcats are a popular choice to not only reach the Final Four but also to win it all again. They begin their quest after winning the Big East double - regular-season and tournament champions. Villanova coach Jay Wright has said that recent expectations surrounding his team have been constant and "I think we've learned to appreciate it but not let it distract us" while trusting those around his program to handle them better. He said Wednesday that his players may be focused enough on preparations for Thursday that they don't allow themselves to enjoy "all the lead-up and all of the hype.". "I think they want to enjoy the end results, that's ...

Villanova Over Msm

... his career without having to knock down shots.  Jenkins has had some good bounce-back games coming off poor shooting performances this season.  To extend his career he will need to improve his offensive efficiency, pronto. Mikal Bridges (31 Min, 13 points, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3 PFG, 3-3 FT, 3 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Blocks, 1 Steal, 1 Turnover, 159 ORtg)  Bridges played well on both ends of the court after shaking off the early doldrums that seemed to have the entire ‘Nova team struggling out of the gate.  His three-point stroke looked solid and he used his length to make a difference on defense.  Struggles a bit when he tries to do too much off the bounce but when he plays within himself he is super-efficient on offense. Jalen Brunson (29 Min, 14 Points, 7-11 FGs, 0-1 3 PFG, 0-0 FTs, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Turnovers, 0 Steals, 127 ORtg)  Brunson did an excellent job of finding ways to get the team a bucket when buckets seemed hard to ...

From The Last Guy Who Did

... to the NBA because they wanted to “come back to try to do it again.”. But there is one similarity, Donovan sees, between Wright’s Wildcats, led by Josh Hart, and his old Gators: players who truly perform for one another. “I don’t know if Jay’s team feels that [pressure], but certainly they’ve been outstanding the entire year. They’ve been great,” Donovan said. “Jay has a very, very unique team. I know [Jalen] Brunson because I had him with the USA team. … You’ve got a group of kids who have a great competitive makeup. They play for each other, and if every team in sports can create that, you’d have the team that Villanova has had the last couple of years.”. A team that Villanova fans want to repeat, maybe even expect to. Rick Pitino instructing Donovan in 1987. AP. “I would say to the Villanova fans, ‘Cherish and enjoy this group of guys because they don’t come across all that often.’ The best teams are the teams that are the most connected and together and play for each other,” Donovan said. “Villanova plays ...

Fatal Flaw For Villanova, And Every Other Contender

... the only other WCC team in the NCAA field, lost by 18 points. Gonzaga has played one close game the past three months. It’s fair to be skeptical if this team is tied with a good opponent with two minutes left. South No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats : A lack of successful 3-point shooting could do in Kentucky. Tied into this is Malik Monk’s streaky shooting. De’Aaron Fox is Kentucky’s most valuable player. Monk is Kentucky’s most exciting player. If Monk goes cold, the only other guy to turn to from long distance is senior forward Derek Willis. He and Monk are shooting 40 percent from 3. Mychal Mulder could be an option, but is not in the same category as Monk or Willis. Kentucky shoots 35 percent from distance. Not terrible, but in the bottom half of tournament teams. West No. 2 Arizona: Freshmen panic. Lauri Markkanen has ...

Wright A Finalist For Naismith Coach Of The Year Award

... teams ranked in the top-10 this season and 4-0 against top-five opponents. • Self was named the 2017 Big 12 Coach of the Year earning conference coach of the year accolades for the eighth time in his career and the seventh time at Kansas. • The Jayhawks earned a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. • Self won the 2012 Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Award. • Guided Villanova (31-3) to its fourth consecutive regular season BIG EAST Conference Championship. • Won the BIG EAST Conference Tournament title for the second time in three years. • The Wildcats have not been ranked outside of the Top 4 in either the media or coaches poll all season. • Earned the overall No. 1 seed (East Region) in the NCAA Tournament. • Is one of only three (John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski) coaches to win multiple Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year awards; ...

History Favors Villanova Final Four Run

... listed above. Outside of the basic lessons of check your work, the problem I have here is again that not all defending Champions are created equal. Heck, just two years ago UConn missed the NCAA tournament as the reigning Champions, so of course they missed the Final Four. When trying to find an analytical way to compare these Wildcats to previous seasons, you need to pick metrics that compare apples to apples, not apples to terrible UConn teams. Only 28 of 78 Reigning Champions Advanced Past The Sweet 16. This statement is so incredibly, horribly wrong that I barely know where to start. Ok, that’s not true, I know exactly where to start. HEY, DUMMIES, IF THERE HAVE BEEN 78 NCAA TOURNAMENTS, THERE CAN’T BE 78 REIGNING CHAMPIONS! THERE WAS NO DEFENDING CHAMPION IN THE FIRST ONE. Whew, ok, thanks for bearing with me, I was holding that one in way too long. Now that we know that 78 number is wrong, let’s start ripping into the 28. First of all, there hasn’t always been a Sweet 16. Heck, the first tournament only had 8 teams. So if we go by all 77 tournaments that there’s been a reigning champion, 31 teams have gotten to or started in/beyond the Sweet ...

Villanova Could Become 1st Repeat Champs In 10 Years

... Wildcats are the first defending champion to earn the tournament's overall top seed since, yup, Florida in 2007. The Wildcats also have the fewest losses entering the NCAA Tournament by a defending national champion since Duke lost three times in 2001-02. That's the resume of a program primed for a repeat. MARCH MADNESS SCHEDULE  |  TICKETS  |  SHOP  |  DOWNLOAD MARCH MADNESS LIVE APP. Wright, who also led Villanova to the 2009 Final Four, has refused to let the season become defined by a championship. "I think when you're a one seed to fans and media, it would look like a failure," he said. "We're not afraid of failure, we're not afraid of people defining us as failures. As long as we play hard for each other, we're good.". The Wildcats, a No. 2 seed last season, aren't as stacked with potential ...

Villanova Awakens And Cruises In Ncaa Opener

... to come out and play harder.". If it wasn't for Brunson and Donte Di Vincenzo, the Wildcats might have trailed by more than the eight points that was the Mount's largest margin in the first half. Brunson scored 10 of his 14 points in the half, including a layup that gave the Cats a 30-29 lead at the break. Di Vincenzo, a redshirt freshman, took over in the second, scoring 15 of his 21 points. He also contributed a career-high 13 rebounds, posting his first double-double. "My job off the bench is just to bring energy, focus on defending and rebounding," he said. "The offense came tonight after just pushing it on offense, after getting a rebound. So if I just focus on that, all of the offense will come.". Di Vincenzo scored the Wildcats' first points after a 7-0 start for the Mount, which answered with Elijah Long's three-ball by Elijah Long for 10-2. But the Cats hit 12 of their last 22 shots, took their first lead with 1 minute, 22 seconds left in the half, and turned it on in the second. After the Mountaineers opened ...

Sluggish Villanova Eventually Shakes Off No. 16-seeded Mount St. Mary's

... Carolina, Jenkins missed his first 10 shots and finished just two of 13. “I'm not worried about him at all,” Wright said. “. The Mount St. Mary's players wear warmups with “Mayhem” written on the back, and they caused quite a commotion in the early going. Showing no fear against a team the smart-money guys in Las Vegas said would beat them by 25, the Mountaineers jumped to a 10-2 lead against the Wildcats, who missed their first eight shots, committed two turnovers and had three shots blocked in the opening five minutes. “I thought we were capable of coming out and, you know, missing some shots, coming out and making some mistakes,” Wright said. “But the level of energy we started the game with, I just didn't think we were capable of that. I'm in a little bit of shock myself.”. Villanova's players looked nervous and played that way, and when Long threaded a no-look pass to Chris Wray for an easy basket to put the Mountaineers ahead 23-20, two seminarians — one of them clutching Rosary ...

Villanova Tames Mount St. Mary’s With A Dominant Second Half

... Wildcats with 21 points and 13 rebounds, his first career double-double, and was Villanova’s only source of energy before intermission. Mount St. Mary’s aggressive offense to start caught the Wildcats flat-footed, but Villanova improved a 40 percent shooting performance from the floor in the first half to 53 percent in the second. They jumped from 11.1 percent shooting in from the three-point line in the first — Sidwell Friends alumnus Josh Hart (11 points) had the Wildcats’ only three-pointer before halftime — to 35 percent in the second. Miles Wilson led the Mountaineers with 22 points and seven rebounds. Villanova had 13 turnovers overall, eight of which came after they had a comfortable lead in the second half. The Wildcats advance to play the winner of No. 8 seed Wisconsin and No. 9 seed Virginia Tech. 2017 March Madness: Live game updates and NCAA college basketball analysis. The fun is just getting started. (Gregory Shamus/Getty ...

Ucla, Villanova To Meet For Title

... I also like SMU to upset both Baylor and Duke, to really shake up the bottom half of the bracket. The winners: First round - Villanova, Wisconsin, Virginia, ETSU, SMU, Baylor, Marquette, Duke. Second round - Villanova, Virginia, SMU, Duke. Third round - Villanova, SMU. Champ - Villanova. The region champ: Arizona - The Wildcats sort of quietly were co-champs of the regular season, winning the Pac-12 title by beating UCLA and Oregon along the way. Arizona has a nice mix of size and talent, but the one worry might be that some of their best players are freshmen, which can be a recipe for March disaster when facing a veteran team. The upset: 10-VCU over 7-Saint Mary's - A lot of people like Saint Mary's as a candidate to make a deep run, and they are talented, but not sure they're suited to the role of favorite. VCU knows how to win in March, and the Gaels whiffed in their opportunities to impress us ...