Villanova eager to end NCAA second-round curse
NEW YORK After nearly 12 months and thousands of questions asked in every way, shape and form about why Villanova hasn't been able to get past the second round of the NCAA tournament, the day has finally come for the Wildcats to reverse the narrative.
NEW YORK – After nearly 12 months and thousands of questions asked in every way, shape, and form about why Villanova hasn't been able to get past the second round of the NCAA tournament, the day has finally come for the Wildcats to reverse the narrative.
The Cats, seeded second in the NCAA South Regional, take on No. 7 Iowa on Sunday at Barclays Center to try to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the Final Four team of 2009 did it.
Since 2009, the Wildcats (30-5) have reached the second round three times as a No. 2 or a No. 1 seed but lost. Two of those defeats came in each of the last two years, including a 71-68 heartbreaker as the top seed last season in Pittsburgh against No. 8 North Carolina State.
Questions, questions . . . and more questions.
"Hopefully we can get past it and there won't be any more of these questions," said junior Josh Hart, the team's leading scorer. "This is a game that everyone's going to judge Villanova basketball on. They're not going to judge us on being Big East champions or Big Five champions or anything that we did during the season.
"The whole year's questions have been about this game. Obviously we didn't know the opponent but it was about this game, this round. We know we're going in focused, ready for a dogfight playing a great team."
The questions Saturday to every player in the Villanova locker room came with such regularity that one had to wonder if the Wildcats would lay awake all night burdened by the pressure of expectations. But senior Ryan Arcidiacono dismissed that idea.
"I think it'll be the biggest game ever because it's our next game, the game that we're playing right here, right now, in the NCAA tournament," he said. "I don't think anyone will lose sleep because it's our second game, I just think they'll lose sleep because it's the NCAA tournament and they don't want the season to end."
Villanova coach Jay Wright said he feels his players thrive on the excitement, not lose sleep over it.
"I think kids are just wired differently now," he said. "I think they're so excited about playing in a game against a great team like Iowa on national TV in the tournament. They love the hype of all this, and I sometimes have to calm them down. These guys play in big games. They just love the moment, and I think that's what they get fired up about."
The Hawkeyes (22-10), coached by former La Salle High and Penn star Fran McCaffery, barely squeaked into the second round after a followup basket by Adam Woodbury at the buzzer gave them a 72-70 overtime win over Temple. They have the size and length to give the Wildcats problems, a degree of similarity to the N.C. State big men last year.
Wright mentioned Iowa's two big men – the 7-1 Woodbury and 6-9 senior all-American Jarrod Uthoff, who has the ability to hit from inside and outside while blocking shots at the defensive end.
"We don't have a body like" Uthoff, he said. "We don't have a guy that has that length and is strong enough. Mikal [Bridges] is long but he's real thin. If [Uthoff] posts us up at the basket, he's going to cause real trouble."
The Wildcats' best big man, 6-11 Daniel Ochefu, appeared recovered from a sprained right ankle in Friday's 86-56 win over UNC-Asheville, going for 17 points and 10 rebounds. And he, too, would like to end the questions about the Cats' second-round curse.
"Everybody's been talking about this game for the whole year, even in the summertime before the season started," he said. "So the fact is that the game is here and we can finally just get it done. Hopefully, we'll get the win, and people will stop talking about it."
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