Villanova's Dante Cunningham, Temple's Dionte Christmas and Saint Joseph's Ahmad Nivins, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, were named honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press.

Tyreke Evans, the Memphis freshman from Chester via American Christian, also was named honorable mention.

Duke's Gerald Henderson, from Episcopal Academy, was named to the third team, finishing 15th in the voting.

Here is the voting, courtesy of the Associated Press:

FIRST TEAM

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, 6-10, 251, sophomore, Oklahoma City, 21.9 ppg, 14.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 63.5 fg pct (71 first-place votes, 335 points)
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina, 6-9, 250, senior, Poplar Bluff, Mo., 21.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 52.2 fg pct, 85.6 ft pct (50, 304)
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, 6-7, 265, sophomore, Pittsburgh, 15.6 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 59.9 fg pct, 1.5 steals (49, 294)
James Harden, Arizona State, 6-5, 218, sophomore, Los Angeles, 20.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.2 apg, 35.8 minutes, 50.2 fg pct (45, 290)
Stephen Curry, Davidson, 6-3, 185, junior, Charlotte, N.C., 28.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.7 apg, 87.6 ft pct, 2.6 steals (49, 288)

SECOND TEAM

Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, 7-3, 263, junior, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 13.7, 10.9 rpg, 4.6 blocks, 64.3 fg pct (19, 238)
Ty Lawson, North Carolina, 5-11, 195, junior, Clinton, Md., 15.9 ppg, 6.5 apg, 46.7 3-pt fg pct, 80.9 ft pct, 2.0 steals (28, 232)
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, 6-8, 255, junior, Schererville, Ind., 23.2 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 2.1 apg (6, 135)
Jodie Meeks, Kentucky, 6-4, 208, junior, Norcross, Ga., 24.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 40.1 3-pt fg pct, 89.7 ft pct (8, 117)
Jerel McNeal, Marquette, 6-3, 200, senior, Chicago, 19.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 40.6 3-pt fg pct (7, 114)

THIRD TEAM

Terrence Williams, Louisville, 6-6, 215, senior, Seattle, 12.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 2.5 steals (4, 103)
Sherron Collins, Kansas, 5-11, 200, junior, Chicago, 18.3 ppg, 5.0 apg (3, 94)
Toney Douglas, Florida State, 6-2, 200, senior, Jonesboro, Ga., 21.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 36.4 minutes, 1.9 steals (4, 85)
Sam Young, Pittsburgh, 6-6, 220, senior, Clinton, Md., 18.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg (1, 79)
Gerald Henderson, Duke, 6-4, 215, junior, Merion, Pa., 16.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg (4, 74)

HONORABLE MENTION

Jeff Adrien, Connecticut; Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton; Cole Aldrich, Kansas; Alex Barnett, Dartmouth; Marqus Blakely, Vermont; Craig Brackins, Iowa State; Michael Bramos, Miami (Ohio); Jon Brockman, Washington; Brandon Brooks, Alabama State; John Bryant, Santa Clara. Chase Budinger, Arizona; DeMarre Carroll, Missouri; Jeremy Chappell, Robert Morris; Dionte Christmas, Temple; Earl Clark, Louisville; Darren Collison, UCLA; Dante Cunningham, Villanova; Devan Downey, South Carolina; Tyreke Evans, Memphis; Levance Fields, Pittsburgh.
Jonny Flynn, Syracuse; Kenny Hasbrouck, Siena; Jordan Hill, Arizona; Matt Howard, Butler; Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin; Matt Kingsley, Stephen F. Austin; Kalin Lucas, Michigan State; Eric Maynor, Virginia Commonwealth; Kellen McCoy, Weber State; Tywain McKee, Coppin State. Orlando Mendez-Valdez, Western Kentucky; Derrick Mercer, American; Luke Nevill, Utah; Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph's; Artsiom Parakhouski, Radford; A.J. Price, Connecticut; Alex Renfroe, Belmont; Tyrese Rice, Boston College; Kyle Singler, Duke; Jermaine
Taylor, Central Florida. Jeff Teague, Wake Forest; Marcus Thornton, LSU; Evan Turner, Ohio State; Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State; Gary Wilkinson, Utah State; Booker Woodfox, Creighton; Ben Woodside, North Dakota State.
 

North Carolina won the South Regional with a 72-60 victory over Oklahoma in Memphis.

The Tar Heels, heading to their 18th Final Four, will face Villanova on Saturday at Detroit's Ford Field. Start time is approximately 8:47 p.m.

In the first game, UConn takes on Michigan State, beginning at 6:07.

Michigan State spoiled Louisville's bid for a third Big East team in the Final Four, just like 1985, when Villanova, Georgetown and St. John's all made it to Lexington. You might have heard that Villanova beat Georgetown for the national title.

North Carolina has been on a roll in the NCAAs, with an average margin of victory of 22.5 points per game in its four wins. The total is probably skewed by a 43-point win over Radford in the first round.

Some other notes on the Tar Heels

* They were favored to win last year, came close and have just about everything back

* Love him or not, Tyler Hansbrough is one of the top talents, and competitors, around

* Wayne Ellington, of course, is from Episcopal Academy. He’s the guy who can hurt you the most from the arc

* Danny Green might be one of the more underappreciated parts of this equation

* Ty Lawson is the glue. And the absolute catalyst. He has been struggling with a toe injury

* This group doesn’t seem overly interested in playing a bunch of defense, which could be a problem in those instances when the offense isn’t necessarily revving. Carolina is averaging 90.5 points per game

* Roy Williams used to be the guy who couldn’t win the truly big one. Most folks don’t mention that quite so much these days.

BOSTON – Scottie Reynolds went coast-to-coast, like Brigham Young’s Danny Ainge once did some three decades back against Notre Dame. And put in a basket that will live in Villanova history forever. An Instant Classic. And because he did, the Wildcats are back in the Final Four for the first time since they won it all in 1985. They advanced with a 78-76 win in the East Regional Final against Big East rival Pitt at the TD Banknorth Garden.

It was everything you could ever want for a game this late in March. Maybe even more.

In the final 28 minutes, nobody led by more than five points. Pitt’s Levance Fields made two free throws with 5.5 seconds to go, to tie things at 76. Following a timeout, Reggie Redding inbounded to Dante Cunningham halfway between midcourt and the free-throw line. Cunningham immediately got it to Reynolds, who dribbled down the right sideline, then got to the lane. He put one up, a little off balance, from about 5 feet away, with Gilbert Brown right in front of him. No sweat. It went in, and Villanova was headed to Detroit for next weekend’s Final Four. But not until the officials put a half-second back on the clock, which allowed Fields to heave one from about 70 feet that hit off the glass just to the right of the rim.

“I just made a layup,” Reynolds joked. “I made an instinct play. I knew how much time was left. I got lucky with it.”

Good doesn’t hurt, either.

“He’s a jet,” said Cunningham. “It’s kind of hard to catch him.”

Added Dwayne Anderson: “We work on that play in practice. It’s just how we draw it up.”

Reynolds brought the ball with him to the interview room. He probably won’t be letting it go any time soon.

“They said this is it,” he said. “They could be lying … Thanks.”

The Wildcats (30-7), who beat Pitt (31-5) in the final college basketball game at the Wachovia Center on Jan. 28 (67-57), will meet the winner of Sunday’s game between North Carolina and Oklahoma.

It’s the Wildcats fourth trip to the Final Four. They made it in 1939, when there were only four teams in the field. They went back in 1971, losing in the title game to UCLA.

Another Big East team, Connecticut, advanced in the West Region by beating Missouri. Still one more, Louisville, will play Michigan State in the Midwest finale.

In 1985, of course, three Big East teams all made it to Lexington.

Rollie Massimino, who directed that magical run, was in the house for this one.

“I’m so proud of him,” Massimino said. “It’s just great. I’ve known him since he was a baby. Now, he’s a superstar. It’s because of his work ethic, and his personality, everything he is.

“On this team, it doesn’t matter who’s who. They’re all catalysts. I hope they enjoy it. They’re going to enjoy the heck out of it. It does bring back memories. The little Catholic school on the Main Line. It’s wonderful.”

Villanova led by 10 after 10 minutes. But Pitt led by two at the half. After that, it was simply a game of punch and counter-punch. Then the Panthers ran off four straight points, to take a four-point lead with 3:20 left. And they had possession, after a Nova turnover. But they turned it over two straight times, and Nova converted them into five points to go back on top.

When Reggie Redding made one of two free throws (the only Nova miss, on 23 attempts), it was 76-72. But DeJuan Blair’s layup at 10.6 cut the margin in half. Nova tried to inbound long, from Redding to Cunningham, but it resulted in a turnover at the far end of the court, giving Pitt one last chance. When Fields got fouled by Redding crossing midcourt, he had the opening. And made the most of it.

It just wouldn’t be enough. You knew it was going to be painful for somebody.

The Wildcats got 17 points from Anderson, 15 from Reynolds (the obvious Most Outstanding Player), 14 from Cunningham and 11 from Shane Clark, including three big three-points early on. Corey Fisher had nine off the bench, Corey Stokes seven. Fisher made four foul shots in the final 46.5, and a backdoor layup with just over two minutes showing that put Nova up, 68-67.

There were 15 lead changes, and 10 ties. Other than that, it wasn’t much of a game.

Poll: Who will carry Villanova in the Final Four? (760 votes)

Villanova vs. Pittsburgh
NCAA East Regional Final
Saturday, 7 p.m.
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
TV/Radio: CBS3/ESPN (950-AM)

Records: Villanova 29-7, Pitt 31-4

History: Villanova leads the series, 31-27. The Wildcats beat the Panthers at the Wachovia Spectrum on Jan. 28, 67-57.

How they got here: No. 3 seed Villanova beat No. 14 American, 80-67, No. 6 UCLA, 89-69, and No. 2 Duke, 77-54. Top-seeded Pitt beat No. 16 East Tennessee State, 72-62, No. 8 Oklahoma State, 84-76, and No. 4 Xavier, 60-55.

Coaches:  Jay Wright is 177-90 in 8 years at Villanova, 299-175 in 15 seasons overall. Jamie Dixon is 163-44 in 6 years at Pitt.

Three things Villanova must do:
1. Play the way it did the last two games. Or at least come up with a reasonable facsimile. Because the Wildcats have simply overpowered UCLA and Duke, particularly at the defensive end. Pitt figures to present a different challenge, but it’s nothing they haven’t seen, and been able to deal with, before.

2. Get contributions from as many sources as possible. They don’t all have to be major contributions, but in a scrum where every possession is probably critical, even the small stuff becomes major. And the Wildcats have been very good at dotting the I’s and crossing those T’s.

3. Keep Dante Cunningham on the court. Especially if Pitt’s DeJuan Blair manages to stay on the court. He played 34 minutes in the first game. There’s going to be a bunch of banging, and you never know how those whistles are going to toot. The Wildcats need his presence. And his production.

Three things Pitt must do:
1.  Not play like it has so far, because it might not be enough. The Panthers have looked like a team playing not to lose. That might not get it done in this spot. Maybe the Panthers will be looser, now that they’ve made it this far. It wouldn’t hurt.

2. Keep Blair out of foul trouble. He played 23 minutes in the first game, took three shots and had eight rebounds. He’s obviously capable of a whole lot more. Against Xavier, he got banged around a lot and didn’t get many calls. On defense, he seemed to play like a guy who was trying to avoid contact. It’s a fine line, for someone who can be a monster.

3. Get Sam Young off. Blair was the Big East co-Player of the Year, but Young might be Pitt’s most dangerous weapon. He had a quiet 19 points against Xavier. But he’s shown that he can carry this team for stretches, if that’s what it takes. He’ll probably be guarded by Dwayne Anderson, at least for starters.

What to expect: In all likelihood, this won’t be pretty. The previous encounter certainly wasn’t. It’s the Big East. It’s not supposed to be pretty. Live with it. I’ve always been a revenge kind of guy when it comes to picking these things. But what I’m seeing is telling me otherwise. Still, I’m going to do ’Nova Nation the biggest favor ever, and go with Pitt by the slightest whatever. The coin came up tails. Which probably ensures the Wildcats continue to roll. Sharpen those scissors.

This is Mike Kern’s game story from the Jan. 29  Daily News after Villanova defeated Pitt, 67-57, in the final college basketball game at the Wachovia Spectrum.

By  MIKE KERN
kernm@phillynews.com
Maybe it was only fitting that the last college basketball game at the Wachovia Spectrum — site of two Final Fours and arguably the greatest 45 minutes the sport's ever seen — ended in a court-storming.

Well, it would have, if the security folks had allowed it. But this was sure worthy of one.

Villanova 67, Pittsburgh 57.

No, it wasn't Duke-Kentucky for a 1992 regional title. But it was, finally, the kind of big-time win for Villanova that figures to keep on giving right up until Selection Sunday.

The Wildcats certainly had come close. All four of their losses had come against ranked opponents. Two had been in the previous four games, by one and six points to Louisville and Connecticut, currently Nos. 7 and 2, respectively. Pittsburgh came into South Philly at No. 3, having lost just once (at Louisville).

This time, No. 21 Villanova (16-4, 4-3 Big East) took advantage of a Ratings Percentage Index photo-op, rallying from a five-point halftime deficit for a victory that obviously enhances the old resume.

Nevertheless . . .

"I want to be honest," coach Jay Wright said. "I don't think it's that big a deal. I know everyone else thought we needed it. If we don't play well against Cincinnati [at the Pavilion on Sunday], we'll get beat. Everyone else looks at the NCAA Tournament. We're just looking at the next game, getting better. That's how this league is.

"We never talked about it as a team. We wanted to get this because [PITT'S]really good. We wanted to prove we could beat that kind of team.

"I understand perception, I really do. Now we have to deal with coming back and playing Cincinnati."

That's tomorrow's reality. This was a keeper. The Wildcats will have many more similar chances before the postseason arrives. But it never hurts to get some out of the way sooner than later. One less thing, in the words of Forrest Gump.

"When you're a player, you have to have a short memory," said senior forward Dante Cunningham, who stayed out of foul trouble for the first time in three games and finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two memorable first-half blocks in 34 minutes. "You can't focus on the past.

"I don't think it ever bothered us. But it's definitely in the back of our heads. We talked about it, had little reminders of what we can do, just to get where we want to be at the end of the year. "

The Wildcats trailed by five at the half and it probably could have been worse, since Pitt center DeJuan Blair played 10 minutes before going to the bench with his second personal. The Panthers (18-2, 6-2) were up 10 when he departed. He would pick up his third early in the second half, and be on the floor for just 23 minutes. It makes a difference.

Villanova took the lead for keeps, at 50-48, on a pair of free throws by Reggie Redding with 8 minutes to go. Soon, the margin was seven. It would never dip below four.

The Panthers, who struggle at the foul line, missed five freebies in the closing 7:36. The Wildcats also bricked four, but converted their last six.

It was a typical Big East taffy-pull between programs that rely heavily on grit.

"They're just so physically tough," Wright said. "And they have veterans. Our vets are tough, too. And we played smart. You have to play like a team against them. And we were finally able to get Dante the ball [10 points after intermission].

"You can't simulate what they do in practice. We don't have bodies like that. "

Whatever his guys do possess, it was sufficient.

Redding, who missed the tap-in at the horn that would have beaten Louisville, had a career-high 18 points. He went 10-for-10 from the line, to go with seven boards, in 34 minutes.

"My pop was a big fan," he said of the Spectrum. "When I was young, he was always talking about Doctor J, Moses Malone, Andrew Toney and those guys. But I never actually got a chance to watch a game in here. Coming from Philadelphia [St. Joseph's Prep], I love it and respect it. It was great to finish it off like that."

When it was over, the players paraded to both ends of the court to salute each student section. Nice touch, since the fans couldn't come to them.

The Wildcats, as they often do, got contributions large and small from all eight guys who got in. Somehow, it adds up. In a game in which a lot of bodies ended up on the floor, they held their own with the intangibles. You don't get the best of Pitt any other way.

Scottie Reynolds shot 3-for-11, but he drilled a trey with 5 1/2 minutes left that made it a seven-point game. And he only had one turnover. Corey Fisher provided some big buckets and energy off the bench. Shane Clark had seven boards, including four at the offensive end, in 17 minutes. Individually, the Wildcats don't always look the part. Collectively, they're capable, just never quite capable enough, at least not in this large a spot. At least not until now.
The Panthers got 14 points from Sam Young, 13 from Roman Catholic's Brad Wanamaker and 11 from Levance Fields. But they shot 3-for-16 from the arc, and turned it over 17 times.

"At the end, when the place was going crazy, it was awesome," Wright said. "I'll talk about the [Spectrum's] history with them tomorrow, about everything that's gone on here.

"The Center's great, but this has a different sound to it. They're right on top of you. It's a big stadium that's like a gym. That was cool. It brought back some great memories."

And left a proper exclamation point. *
 

BOSTON -- You could tell by the looks on the faces of the Duke players in the first half that the ferocity Villanova was displaying on defense was not something they expected or experienced. The Wildcats, at times, seemed like they had seven players on the court. They were anywhere and everywhere, running the shooters off their shots and recovering to help in the lane when the ball actually got in there. A team simply can't play defense any better, especially when you consider how offensively efficient Duke usually is.

Duke, a team that loves to play fast and space the court, had to go slower and got little or no space at TD Banknorth Garden. It only took a few trips up and down the court to realize that the speed edge Villanova appeared to have on paper was even more pronounced on the court.

It was like that early, in the middle and in the end. Villanova won as convincingly as you can win a game at this stage of the NCAA Tournament, holding Duke to just 16-for-60 shooting (27 percent) and winning 77-54. The last time a Duke team lost like this in the NCAA, it was that infamous 1990 championship game when UNLV beat them by 30.

Villanova, the third seed in the East Regional, faces top-seeded Pittsburgh on Saturday at 7:05. Villanova beat then-No. 3 Pitt, 67-57, on Jan. 28 in the last college basketball game played at the Spectrum. Pittsburgh advanced tonight with a win over fourth-seeded Xavier.

If you just watched the game without a scoreboard, you would have thought the 'Cats had a double-digit lead. But they could not shake Duke, which was getting to the foul line just enough to stay within hailing distance. Villanova was getting almost all its points on drives and post-ups, outscoring the Blue Devils by 18-6 in the lane and getting 11 second-chance points over the first 20 minutes.

You could have predicted a lot about this game, but few would have predicted the halftime leader would have less than 30 points. This really looked like a game where it would take 80 to win.

Gerald Henderson, who got just about every Villanova defender at one time or another, also got two early fouls. But Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, perhaps sensing the game could get away from his team, rolled the dice late in the first half and put ``G'' back into the game. His two free throws with 70 seconds left were his only points of the half. He missed all five of his shots from he field. In fact, Duke's three top scorers, Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler, shot a combined 3-for-20

Yet, the Blue Devils trailed just 26-23 at the break.

Villanova was getting a much better class of shots, but the 'Cats made almost nothing outside the lane and squandered several chances to run its lead out to double digits. They gave Duke life when it didn't really look they had much.

The Devils scored the first basket of the second half and, before you could even think of how the lead really should have been much more, the ;Cats scored six straight and Coach K, again sensing trouble, called timeout just 126 seconds after play resumed.

It only got worse. Villanova was driving the ball, pounding it into the low post or both. Nine of the 'Cats first 10 second-half baskets were layups, dunks or follow shots. That two-point lead became 16 in barely 7 minutes.

"Attack, attack don't settle for jump shots,'' Villanova coach Jay Wright told his team during one timeout. ``Drive it, drive it, drive it.''

Coming out the huddles, Villanova players, as they have done all season, chanted ``attitude.''

They had plenty of that from beginning to end. Duke had no answers for that or anything else.

With Henderson on the bench with four fouls and unable to make a shot when he was on it (he was 0-for-11 until he finally knocked in a three), Coach K was trying every combination of players he could think of. He was calling timeouts much quicker than he wanted. He was pressing with a team ill equipped to press. Each team was in the bonus with 13 minutes left which offered some hope for Duke. But the Blue Devils were even leaving some freebies short, the sign of a very tired team that had been worn out by the pressure. Nothing the Hall of Fame coach tried was working.

If one play summed up the night for Duke, it was when Scheyer got his shot blocked by one `Nova player and another Wildcat threw the ball off Singler out of bounds. That went down right before the final media timeout. Those final 3 1/2 minutes were just something to do. This game was decided long before.

And with Villanova's dominating win, the Big East had three teams in the Final Eight with two more playing Friday.
 

East Regional semifinal: Villanova vs. Duke

When: Tonight, 9:57

Where: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston

TV/Radio: CBS3/ESPN (950-AM)

Records: Villanova 28-7, Duke 30-6

History: Duke leads the series, 7-3, having won the last five meetings. Villanova's last win came in 1958. Duke is 2-1 in NCAA Tournament games, the last being the 1978 East Regional final.

How they got here: Third-seeded Villanova beat No. 14 American, 80-67, and No. 6 UCLA, 89-69. Second-seeded Duke beat No. 15 Binghamton, 86-62, and No. 7 Texas, 74-69.

Coaches: Jay Wright is 176-90 in 8 years at Villanova, 298-175 in 15 seasons overall. Mike Krzyzewski is 760-214 in 29 years at Duke, 833-273 in 34 seasons overall.

THREE THINGS VILLANOVA MUST DO:

1. Attack the paint, as it did against UCLA. That's where the Wildcats can cause the most damage. That means Dante Cunningham should not just settle for jump shots. And he shouldn't be the only one looking to take the ball to the rim. It works best if it's contagious.

2. Don't let the Blue Devils kill you from the arc. They're going to make shots. That's just the way they play. But don't just let them rain down. That's when the game can get away from you. Quickly.

3. Don't get into foul trouble. I know the Wildcats don't like to give up easy baskets. But they really need to keep their key guys out there as much as possible. You don't want to see Cunningham sitting out the last 7 1/2 minutes of the first half again. Villanova is not going to change its MO now. Just be a little judicious. And smart.

THREE THINGS DUKE MUST DO:

1. Get Gerald Henderson going. He's the only guy they have, or at least the best one, who can get to the basket and make some highlight reels. It can get the momentum flowing. And get everyone else involved, which isn't such a bad thing either..

2. Force turnovers, and turn those turnovers into baskets. And not just necessarily two-pointers. As Jay Wright has pointed out, the Blue Devils are really good at taking your mistake and turning it into three. Daggers, as he calls them. Well put.

3. Try to have as much inside presence as possible. Duke, like 'Nova, plays through its perimeter game. But it might not be able to get by on that alone in this one. The Blue Devils need to establish something in the post, if only to keep the 'Cats honest.

What to expect: Probably one of the best games of the tourney. It has all the makings of a 90-88er. I had Duke going to the Final Four in the old office pool. Don't ask why, because I couldn't tell you. Might have been the best thing I ever did for Nova Nation. If the Wildcats play like they did against UCLA, which is asking a lot, they can obviously beat anyone.

I received an interesting e-mail from a UConn fan the other day, after I wrote how Villanova was one of only two teams, with North Carolina and Memphis being the others, that had now made it to the Sweet 16 in four of the last five years.

I also duly noted that UNC and Memphis had made it to Final Fours in that time, and either won or nearly won the whole thing. But the UConn e-mailer basically told me that 'Nova was a fraud program, because UConn had won two titles and sent numerous guys to the pros, etc. I don’t think he gets it. In fact, I know he doesn’t.

I wasn’t suggesting that Nova is one of the greatest programs in America. I was just pointing out the facts. Jay Wright has done a great job of putting the Wildcats back where they belong. Are they as good as UConn, Pitt or Louisville? Maybe not. I know they almost won at UConn, did beat Pitt and nearly beat Louisville in the first meeting before losing the second after being tied at 50 with 8 minutes to go.

I don’t know if Wright is ever going to make a Final Four. Or win it all. Maybe he’ll do one or even both this year. Maybe he won’t keep going to Sweet 16 after Sweet 16, either. The point is, 'Nova is once again a really good program. A relevant program. Probably not quite as elite as Nova Nation would like to believe. But an accomplishment is an accomplishment. Any time you can say you did something that only UNC and Memphis did is pretty noteworthy in my book.

Maybe UConn will cut the nets for the third time in a decade, and I’ll get more e-mails from up there. They should be proud of their program, too. That doesn’t mean that 'Nova somehow doesn’t measure up, because it hasn’t won any rings since 1985. I’m not a 'Nova basher or a 'Nova lover. I’m just a guy covering a team. A very good team. A team that’s fun to watch. With a bunch of players and a coach who are a pleasure to be around. If that’s not something to be proud of, too, then I’m in the wrong line of work. Sorry.

Villanova may never be at quite the same level as the UNCs and Dukes of the food chain. So what? Wright has one of the best recruiting classes coming in next season. Doesn’t mean he’s going to get a constant stream of McDonald’s All-Americans. Whatever the outcome of Thursday’s game, Duke is going to get most of the players Duke wants. Just because. Which kind of makes 'Nova’s accomplishments all the more noteworthy.

I kind of understand where the UConn e-mailer was coming from. Doesn’t make it right.

It’s the company you keep. Right now, 'Nova’s keeping some pretty solid company. Don’t assume for one moment that it doesn’t belong, regardless of how far it goes in this tournament. Or how far anyone else goes.