City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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BROOKLYN – Villanova players had put up with the question for 52 weeks, calmly talking about the ghosts of second-round-past each of the many times it was brought up.

With the way the Wildcats beat down Iowa on Sunday, it has people asking a new question: How far can this team go?

Villanova played arguably its best game of the season against the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes, turning the game into a 34-point drubbing early in the second half. The win propelled the program into its first Sweet 16 since 2009, and unlike some of Villanova’s top-seeded counterparts, it didn’t even give hope to either of its opponents for an upset.

“I really think they can go a long way. They're a really difficult team to guard,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, who watched his Hawkeyes give up repeated open looks as Villanova shot an astounding 60.6 percent in the first half. “A lot of times, really talented offensive teams plays defense in spurts, and they don't. They play defense equally as well as they play offense.

“…There's a winning culture there that says a lot about the character of the individuals on that team. I think, if you possess that kind of character, then you have a real legitimate shot to advance in this tournament because that's what you need.”

McCaffery added that it doesn’t hurt to depth and athletic players who can make size – things Villanova put on full display as the nation tuned into watch the first game of Sunday’s madness.

Villanova put up 54 first-half points, turning a game which was tied seven minutes in into a laugher by halftime.  Four players scored in double figures – Josh Hart led all players with 19 – and the Wildcats out-rebounded the lanky Hawkeyes, 32-29.

Meanwhile, Villanova held Iowa to a 7-for-24 performance on 3-pointers and forced 13 turnovers from a team which did not give the ball away once in the first 36 minutes on Friday against Temple. Jay Wright’s team even had a second half lull in which Iowa went on a 13-2 run, but it barely made a dent on the scoreboard.

Senior Ryan Aricidiacono called it the best defensive and best all-around game the Wildcats have played this season. Does he think that will carryover on Thursday when the Wildcats face Miami for a trip to the Elite 8? Not necessarily, but Sunday showed the rest of the remaining field just how dangerous the Wildcats can be.

“It shows how capable we are when we’re all playing together as one unit,” Arcidiacono said. “We’re diving on the floor, we’re taking charges, we’re getting stops and scoring in transition. It just shows when we all play together and everyone is in it, we’ll be a tough team to beat.”

The Wildcats’ stellar showing against an Iowa side that spent four weeks in the AP poll top 5 this season may have been the tournament’s most complete performance so far. Villanova beat Iowa in pretty much every facet of the game, including an 18-0 advantage in fast break points and a total of 23 assists on 32 field goals.

The Wildcats will return to Philadelphia on Sunday evening and get back on the practice court Monday. They’ll find some flaws to work on before departing for Louisville, where they’ll attempt to cut down the nets as champions of the South region.

The last time the Wildcats made it to the second weekend, they wound up in the Final Four. So why not think even bigger after Sunday?

 “We definitely can go all the way as long as we stick to what we do,” Arcidiacono said. “If we defend like we did in the first half and stay solid like that, our offense will eventually come. I just think, once we set the tone on the defensive end and rebounding, we can go as far as that takes us.”