Is This Finally the Year for Villanova?

Posted by Justin Kundrat on March 3rd, 2015

Save for one or two uncharacteristically poor seasons, Villanova has been on the college basketball map nearly every year in the last decade. And being on the map doesn’t mean an above average team that wiggles its way into the NCAA Tournament every year; rather, the Wildcats have finished with 20 or more wins in 10 of their last 11 seasons. Still, for reasons unknown to most everyone around the program, Jay Wright‘s team has fallen short of expectations in every season since its magical 2009 Final Four run. One year the issue was a lack of team chemistry in the backcourt; the next year it was supposedly a lack of size. For one reason or another, Villanova has simply been unable to progress past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Is this finally the year for Jay Wright and Villanova? (Getty)

Is this finally the year for Jay Wright’s Villanova Squad? (Getty)

Many initially questioned whether Villanova would be adequately challenged in the new Big East. While the league has had a great season and is likely to place six teams in the NCAA Tournament, the concerns remain. Just how good is Villanova? As of Tuesday morning, Jay Wright’s team is 27-2 and just three wins away from tying the school record for single-season wins. The Wildcats are 10-1 against the RPI top 50, 6-1 against the RPI top 25, and have just two road losses to top 100 teams. According to KenPom, Villanova ranks third in the country in offensive efficiency and is one of five teams to rank among the top 20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency (17th). With Wisconsin and Gonzaga’s losses over the weekend, the team ranks 4th in the AP poll and is firmly on the cusp of landing a No. 1 seed for the first time since the 2005-06 season. And yet, many have failed to take notice. Is public dismissal of the team based on its general lack of NBA-caliber players? Or the falsely-held notion that the Big East is not as good as it once was?

Villanova has as strong of a resume as just about any team in the country, and it’s tough to find an opposing coach that disagrees. “They’re as good as any team in the country,” Xavier head coach Chris Mack said recently. ”They’re a team that can make it to the Final Four,” Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski added. ”They have experience. They’re very well coached.” With the Wildcats locking in their second consecutive Big East regular season crown, the question has once again presented itself: Is this the year Villanova finally makes another run? The team sports a roster full of experienced, dynamic players, almost all of whom can shoot or put the ball on the floor. This combination of lethal shooters and long, rim-attacking wings makes them very difficult to defend.

“It’s amazing how teams around the country and all the speaking heads, who are supposed to be professional, but they aren’t talking about Villanova as a #1 seed. They’re playing as well as anybody in the country and have a chance to make a magical, magical run in March,” said Ed Cooley following Villanova’s sweep of his team. “They easily, in my eyes, should be in discussion for the second #1 seed overall […] when you look at all the wins, all the great teams, Villanova is not respected enough.” While the message has been the same for years, this year’s group has been playing on an entirely different level than some of the under-performing teams of the recent past. Can they sustain it over the next several weeks? That question remains to be answered, but for the first time in years, Villanova appears to have the right combination of ingredients for an NCAA championship contender.

Justin Kundrat (175 Posts)

Villanova grad, patiently waiting another 10 years for season tickets. Follow Justin on twitter @JustinKundrat or email him at justin.kundrat@gmail.com


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