Villanova basketball well deserving of No. 1 spot in latest AP Top 25 poll
By Dan Parzych
Thanks to all of the upsets that took place over the last week, the Villanova basketball team was able to make the leap to the No. 1 spot in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
Expectations were high heading into the 2017-18 season for the Villanova basketball team when looking at the talent Jay Wright had to work with, ranging from Jalen Brunson to Omari Spellman. Early on, the Wildcats certainly seemed worthy of being considered a top-10 team, and thanks to a recent week filled with plenty of crazy upsets, it looks like Wright’s squad will now face the pressure of being the No. 1 team to take down for the time being.
That’s right, Villanova has worked their way into the top spot in the latest AP Top 25 poll after earning 41 of 65 first-place votes to beat out Michigan State, who made the move from No. 3 to No. 2. Between Duke falling to Boston College along with Kansas suffering two tough losses in a row at home to Washington and Arizona State, the Wildcats received a ton of help over the last week to work their way up to being the new No. 1, although they still have a lot of work on their plate moving forward since now comes the additional pressure of being looked at as the team to beat.
While Villanova has been able to take advantage of a favorable schedule for the most part on their way to a 10-0 start, their recent 88-72 win over Gonzaga was a statement that this team does in fact have what it takes to compete with some of the nation’s top teams. And with an upcoming battle on Wednesday against a familiar face in the Temple Owls, there’s nothing the Wildcats would love more than to keep their impressive start going to continue building their case for being the No. 1 team in the country.
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Of course, that’s always easier said than done now that the Wildcats have a target on their backs. Not to mention, there’s nothing Temple would love more than to accomplish what La Salle was unable to do the other night, which is hand Villanova their first loss of the season to provide another shakeup to the Top 25 while building a strong case of their own by continuing their hot start.