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Villanova Basketball: Wildcats advance after close call against St. Mary’s

By Dan Parzych

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Phil Booth #5 of the Villanova Wildcats drives with the ball against Jordan Hunter #1 and Tanner Krebs #0 of the Saint Mary's Gaels in the second half during the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Phil Booth #5 of the Villanova Wildcats drives with the ball against Jordan Hunter #1 and Tanner Krebs #0 of the Saint Mary's Gaels in the second half during the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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The Villanova basketball squad escaped with a 61-57 win over St. Mary’s in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament.

After winning two of the last three titles, the Villanova basketball team knew they would be playing with targets on their backs heading into the 2019 NCAA tournament, even if this year’s squad was completely different.

With all due respect to Jay Wright’s team, the talent level on this current squad simply doesn’t compare to the ones the Wildcats head coach had to work with over the last couple of years, although one of the best parts about March Madness is anything is possible.

Thanks to winning their third Big East Championship in a row, Villanova was able to earn the No. 6 seed in the South region of this year’s tournament with a first-round matchup against St. Mary’s.

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Despite the Wildcats being the favorites to win on paper, Wright knew this game had trap written all over it, and the Gaels would be hungry to pull off the upset to advance to the second round for a meeting with Purdue or Old Dominion.

There were numerous times throughout the contest in which St. Mary’s looked like they were going to start pulling away, but luckily Villanova was able to hang on for the 61-57 victory to live another day in the big tournament.

One win over a No. 11 seed may not seem like that big of a deal, but when taking into consideration how the Wildcats have been one of the most difficult teams to figure out this season, it’s huge for Villanova.

As bad as it sounds, many consider the Wildcats to be one of the favorites to be sent home early before the Sweet 16, mainly because the talent just doesn’t seem to be there like previous years.

Players like Phil Booth (20 points and six assists against the Gaels) and Eric Paschall (14 points with six rebounds) can only do so much on their own without consistent support from the rest of their teammates, whether it happens to be Collin Gillespie or someone else.

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If Villanova thought Thursday’s game was filled with heavy pressure, one can only imagine what Saturday will have in store with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. But at least with the Wildcats hanging on to defeat the Gaels, the defending champions seem ready to prove they belong in this year’s tournament, and won’t go down without a fight.

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