Villanova Wildcats to play Radford Highlanders in first round of NCAA Tournament
By Dan Parzych
The Villanova Wildcats will face the Radford Highlanders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
All season, the Villanova Wildcats felt confident enough in their chances of earning a top seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, as long as they didn’t suffer some sort of crazy collapse that resulted in the team falling outside the top 10. And while the Wildcats had to wait a few extra days to figure out their first opponent in the opening round, it looks like Jay Wright‘s team will be taking on the Radford Highlanders on Thursday night.
One of the downfalls of earning a top seed (although deep down there’s no REAL reason to complain) is the chance of having to face off against the winner of one of the play in games, which was exactly the case for Villanova. With Radford hanging on for a 71-61 win over the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds thanks to Ed Polite Jr. (13 points with 13 rebounds) and Carlik Jones (12 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists) leading the way, now the challenge becomes trying to make NCAA history by trying to knockoff a team many consider a favorite to win this year’s tournament in the Wildcats.
No team in NCAA history has ever knocked off a No. 1 seed in the big dance, and while there’s a good chance that Villanova will have little trouble getting by Radford when seeing how the two teams compare on paper, Wright knows his team can’t afford to have this kind of mindset. When looking at how many favorites have been knocked out in the first round as a No. 2 seed, it’s only a matter of time before a No. 16 seed pulls off the unthinkable by becoming the first team to finally earn a win.
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Luckily, the Wildcats are fortunate enough to have two of the nation’s top players in Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson, who will be extra motivated to make sure Villanova doesn’t end up on the wrong side of history come Thursday. Then again, if Villanova picks up right where they left off in the Big East tournament with their tough style of play, they should be just fine against Radford.