Villanova Wildcats receive respectable No. 6 spot in latest Coaches Poll
By Dan Parzych
In what seems like a respectable place for now, the Villanova Wildcats sit at No. 6 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll while preparing for the 2017-18 season.
Before fans know it, the 2017-18 college basketball season will officially be here, and once again for the Villanova Wildcats, expectations are high for Jay Wright’s squad, as this team hopes for a better outcome than last year after losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It’s never easy to see a No. 1 seed like Villanova fall as early as they did against Wisconsin, but at least based off early indications, the team will have another chance to earn a high seed once March rolls around.
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In fact, the Wildcats have to like their chances even more when seeing the latest Coaches Poll from USA TODAY that has them sitting at the No. 6 spot at the moment, which seems fair. Ahead of Villanova in the top five (starting with No. 1) include Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, Kentucky, and Arizona, so it’s easy to see why Wright’s team is in this spot at the moment.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see how the Wildcats adjust to playing without some of their star seniors from a year ago, mainly Josh Hart. Not only did the Los Angeles Lakers rookie have a fantastic senior year at Villanova by 18.9 points per game, but the guard played a major role in the team’s championship run in 2016.
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Moving forward, the Wildcats will rely heavily on junior Jalen Brunson throughout the 2017-18 season after a successful first two years with the team. If Villanova plans on remaining in the top 10, or even move up a few spots over the months, of the Coaches Poll, it will fall on the shoulders of Brunson to make sure the team is playing at a high enough level to remain there.