City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Villanova’s thrilling National Championship Game victory over North Carolina was a ridiculous ending to what was a remarkable run through the NCAA Tournament by the Wildcats. Here are six stats that stand out about Villanova’s six-game run to glory:

58.2/50.0/81.4: OK, this one is technically three stats, but Villanova’s shooting percentage was otherworldly for the duration of the NCAA Tournament. In six games, the Wildcats shot 58.2 percent from the field, 50 percent from three and hit 81.4 percent of their free throws. You kept waiting for Villanova to cool down, and the only time the team did (shooting 40.4 percent against Kansas), it came up with its best defensive effort of the tournament. On the flip side, Villanova’s opponents shot 42.1 percent from the field. The Wildcats’ opponents shot 26 more field goals than Villanova and made 39 less shots.

20.7: Villanova outscored its opponents by a total of 501-377 in the NCAA Tournament, winning games by an average of 20.7 points. The Wildcats’ 95-51 beat down of Oklahoma will go down as one of the most lopsided games in Final Four history, while their 77-74 National Championship win over North Carolina was the only game of the six decided by one possession.

4: On the way to the title, Villanova beat four teams ranked in the top 10 of the last Associated Press poll prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats – who were ranked No. 6 at the regular season’s end -- beat No. 10 Miami in the Sweet 16, No. 1 Kansas in the Elite 8, No. 7 Oklahoma in the Final Four and No. 3 North Carolina in the National Championship Game. For good measure, Iowa, Villanova’s second round foe, was also in the final AP poll at No. 25.

23: Villanova’s senior duo of Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu combined to miss only 23 field goals in the entire tournament. The pair went 67-of-90 (67.8 percent) from the field and Arcidiacono scored 15.8 points per game, while Ochefu had 11.5. In the Wildcats’ final game before the NCAA Tournament, a 69-67 loss to Seton Hall in the Big East Title Game, Arcidiacono and Ochefu both struggled. Arcidiacono went just 2-of-10 from the field for five points, while Ochefu – who was nursing an ankle injury – had five points on 2-for-6 shooting in 19 minutes.

18.6: Kris Jenkins will naturally be remembered for what he did in the final second of the National Championship Game. But he shouldn’t be forgotten for what kind of spark he gave the Villanova offense in the final month-and-a-half of the season. In the season’s first 26 games, Jenkins averaged a modest 10.9 points per game, but that number rose to 18.6 points per game in the Wildcats’ final 14 contests. This included a career-best 31 points against DePaul, and Jenkins shot 48 percent on 3-pointers during the last 14 games compared to a 32.7 3-point percentage in the first 26 games. He scored 93 points (15.5 per game) during the tournament run, including three of the biggest in NCAA Tournament history.

5: It was the halftime deficit Villanova faced against North Carolina on Monday night. It was also the same margin the 1985 team trailed the Tar Heels by during the Elite 8, 31 years ago. Both Wildcats teams rallied to win. The 1985 club did so by 12 points, outscoring Carolina 39-22 in the second half to head to the Final Four. The 2016 Villanova team had more of a flair for the dramatic against the Tar Heels.