Villanova Basketball: What Lies Ahead in NCAA Tournament?

After capturing the Big East regular season and tournament crowns, the Villanova Wildcats will be looking to repeat as NCAA Champions this March.

The Villanova Wildcats [31-3] journey to the Final Four was figured out Sunday afternoon, as they received the 1-seed in the East Region. They will be out to defend their 2016 NCAA Championship, and the road starts Thursday against the winner of Mount St. Mary’s and New Orleans. The Wildcats received the number one overall seed in the tournament, further proving Jay Wright‘s ability to successfully build off of last year’s success. A look at the East Region in its totality is below:

The initial analysis from the bracket reveal is that Villanova has a fairly manageable road to the Regional Final at Madison Square Garden. There are certainly some huge threats to Villanova in the East, but Jay Wright will be happy with the other 5 top seeds in his region. The biggest threat will likely come in the form of the newly crowned ACC Tournament Champs, the Duke Blue Devils. Duke beat Notre Dame 75-69 in the ACC title game last night, becoming the first team in tournament history to win 4 games in 4 days of the tournament to win the crown.

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A slight sleeper that Nova will not want to cross paths will be the SMU Mustangs. SMU is coming off the AAC Tournament title, and are coming in with some serious momentum. Their last loss was a 2 point heartbreaker January 12th at Cincinnati, the South Region’s 6 seed. But regardless of who’s in their region, the Wildcats would like to think they have to be the favorites.

The obvious reliance for the Cats will be on Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins, and Jalen Brunson. The three combined for an average of 47 points per game, and all three will certainly need to be at the top of their game during the next few weeks. The key for the Wildcats will be their bench. The Wildcats will likely use a 7, maybe 8 man rotation during the tournament. Contributions from Sophomore F Eric Paschall and Freshman G Donte DiVincenzo will be crucial to give the starters occasional spells on the bench. Both have gotten big minutes and played well down the stretch, and will be further asked to carry the load this March.

Emerging from this region will not be easy, and here’s my take on Nova’s 2 biggest threats, as well as the 2 biggest pretenders in this region:

2 Biggest Threats

• SMU– As noted, the Mustangs haven’t lost since January 12th, and just won the American Athletic Tournament. The Mustangs are fantastic at defending along the perimeter, a place Nova will be looking for much of its success. Jay Wright will be weary of SMU’s long guards (and team in general) in a potential matchup.
• Duke– The obvious biggest threat, the Blue Devils are coming off a miraculous ACC Tournament Championship. Many were outraged they didn’t receive a 1 seed, thus showing the strength and momentum this team has going for them. If Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard, and Jayson Tatum all have strong games in a potential matchup, the Wildcats will have a very tough time dealing with Duke’s overall athleticism and threats.

2 Biggest Pretenders

• Virginia- Since their heartbreaking 2 point loss at Wells Fargo Center January 29th, the Cavaliers have stumbled to a 6-6 record. While they are statistically the best defensive team in the nation, their offensive woes have been glaring down the stretch. In a potential Sweet 16 matchup, the Wildcats would seriously fancy themselves against the ACC strugglers.
• Baylor– Another team similar to Virginia, Baylor faltered down the stretch. Coupled with the fact they’ve been bounced from the tournament the last two years as a top-5 seed, Baylor would be up against it majorly if they stumbled into Villanova. The Bears have had a tough time of late beating top teams, so it might be down to a major psychological edge to the Wildcats if the two meet.

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Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats should be pleased with their road to the Final Four. There are some dark horses in their way, but just as many overrated and vulnerable squads are there as well. The two teams they should fear the most wouldn’t come until the Elite 8, giving them plenty of time to build further momentum for a potential titanic tilt. Not many are picking the Number-1 overall seeded Wildcats to repeat, but they will certainly be one of the biggest threats for the 2017 title in the nation.