Villanova Basketball: Jevon Carter could be nightmare for Wildcats in Sweet 16

As the Villanova Wildcats prepare for a tough Sweet 16 battle against the West Virginia Mountaineers, Jevon Carter could give Jay Wright’s team some tough problems.

So far, the Villanova Wildcats have been fortunate to play in two favorable games in the 2018 NCAA Tournament when looking at how little trouble they had getting by the Radford Highlanders and Alabama Crimson Tide after winning by a combined 49 points. But as the team prepares for their next game on Friday in the Sweet 16, the Wildcats realize the West Virginia Mountaineers isn’t going to be anything like the first two games, especially when it comes to Jevon Carter.

Similar to Villanova, West Virginia was able to cruise through their first two games of the tournament against the Murray State Racers and Marshall Thundering Herd by defeating the two teams by 40 points combined, with Carter leading the way in both occasions. After opening up the tournament with a strong outing against the Racers by dropping 21 points, Carter was even stronger in the Round of 32 against the Thundering Herd by scoring 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting.

The senior guard has carried the way for the Mountaineers all season, and when seeing how much he’s improved his NBA stock over the last few months, Carter seems determined more than ever to help his team earn a trip to San Antonio. However, the only chance that’s ever going to happen for Carter and company is if West Virginia knocks off Villanova on Friday night in what is expected to be quite the showdown by two teams that seem Final Four worthy.

Everybody knows the Wildcats that heavily relies on their 3-point shooting, and seeing them attempt a season high 41 shots from beyond the arc against the Crimson Tide will back that statement up. However, Villanova may need more than 3-point shooting to take down a tough team like West Virginia that has already pulled off some impressive wins over ranked teams this season, including the Virginia Cavaliers.

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Ever since the Wisconsin Badgers eliminated them early on in last year’s tournament, the Wildcats have been looking forward to this opportunity at redemption to potentially earn their second championship in three seasons. West Virginia isn’t going to make it easy, but if Villanova can figure out a way to shutdown Carter early on, Villanova’s chances of advancing to the Elite 8 could be looking pretty solid.