Villanova Basketball: Wildcats face difficult challenge in Alabama, Collin Sexton

After cruising to an easy win over Radford, Villanova faces a difficult task on Saturday against Collin Sexton and Alabama.

Leading up to Thursday’s game against the Radford Highlanders, the Villanova Wildcats seemed pretty confident in their chances of advancing to the second round, although it was a little concerning early on before Jay Wright’s team finally got hot from beyond the arc on their way to an 87-61 win. Now, it’s up to the Wildcats to carry the momentum over into Saturday’s game against the Alabama Crimson Tide to prove once again they are the real deal, but that’s always easier said than done, especially when seeing how good Collin Sexton has been playing as of late.

After making a name for himself in the SEC tournament to help the Crimson Tide earn a trip to the big dance, Sexton picked up right where he left off during Thursday’s game against Virginia Tech by scoring 25 points to help his team pull off the 86-83 win. For a player that averaged less than 20 points per game during the regular season, Sexton is averaging 25.4 points per game since the SEC tournament got underway last week, and after seeing him lead the way for Alabama over the Hokies, Villanova better be prepared for what should be a difficult battle.

While the Wildcats’ defense has looked impressive at times as of late, previous years will show that sometimes not even a solid game plan can stop a player like Sexton. Just look at what Sexton did against Auburn a little over a week ago when he finished the game with 31 points while connecting on 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range, and it’s clear just how special of a player the Alabama guard is, especially if he single-handedly can take over a game.

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Even if the Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the East Region for a reason, the team has had a target on their backs since Selection Sunday, and the Crimson Tide are playing with enough confidence to believe they can in fact knock them out on Saturday. Alabama has been considered a sneaky team that could make a surprise run in the tournament since recently taking down Auburn, and if they do in fact eliminate Villanova, chances are Sexton will be a main reason why.