City of Basketball Love

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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After an opening 16 minutes that saw 15th seeded UNC-Asheville within two points of No. 2 seed Villanova, the Wildcats went on a 16-4 run to close the first half that they would never look back from.

Taking a 40-26 lead into the half, Villanova (30-5) continued to build upon that momentum and beat the Big South champions by a score of 86-56 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday afternoon.

“I think it came down to our two seniors right here, Daniel (Ochefu) and (Ryan) Arcidiacono,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright. “What the score indicates is we have two seniors that got a bunch of young guys to understand, if you don't bring it 100 percent against a team like that, they'll beat you. They're good enough to beat us, but we played well because we really brought it and we had great leadership.”

Jay Wright’s two seniors, who now have now been apart of 112 wins in a Villanova uniform, used their past tournament experiences to help their team prevent a third first round tournament exit since 2011.

Daniel Ochefu, who had been limited to just 47 total minutes in three Big East tournament games due to an ankle injury, was a force for the Wildcats on Friday as he finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists on 7-of-9 shooting.

“He was really good, really efficient. 17 and 10 on nine shots. We just didn't have a whole lot for him down there. Early, I thought we kept him off balance,” said UNC-Asheville coach Nick McDevitt. “But like all great players, he recognized what we were doing and had a heck of a game.”

Ochefu, who only had five points at halftime, needed some time to shake the rust off before turning it up in the second half and put the Bulldogs away for good.

“In the second half, we told him, just choose score first,” said Wright. “Just go, and then if they come, trust your instinct. You'll make the right decision. And he did. He was great.”

Along with Ochefu’s 17 points, Villanova also got double digit efforts from Ryan Arcidiacono (14), Kris Jenkins (12), Mikal Bridges (12) and Jalen Brunson (10).

While being one of the teams in the field of 68 is a great accomplishment for most teams, Villanova’s recent struggle with getting out of the first weekend of play has overshadowed that accomplishment.

After reaching the Final Four in 2009, Villanova has lost in the first weekend of play in their last five tournament appearances; twice in the round of 64 in 2011 and 2013, and three times in the round of 32 in 2010, 2014 and 2015.

Villanova isn’t letting the recent struggles get to them, as they are excited to be able to have another opportunity to get to the Sweet 16.

“We're just excited to be able to get a win in the first round, and we're just excited to be able to play again,” said senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono. “But I know the people have been asking the questions, and they're allowed to. They have every right to ask them, but it's definitely going to be a game we look forward to just because it's our next game.”

Villanova might not have the opportunity to play in a next game if it weren’t for their incredible shooting display in the second half, which saw them shoot 72% from the field over the course of the half, with five of their seven misses coming from beyond the arc.

UNC-Asheville entered the game as one of the nation’s best three-point defenses, holding opponents to under 30% and less than six field goals per game, but Villanova wasn’t phased by their pressure.

The Wildcats shot 13-of-28 from the field to shoot over 46% and Wright attributed that all back to his senior big man.

“They were doing what they do. They were guarding us one-on-one in the inside and taking away the threes,” said Wright.  “But when Daniel got it going, they had to come after Daniel.”

Ochefu and Arcidiacono, who have never made it past the first round of the NCAA tournament, both know that the next game will be one that is looked forward to with much anticipation.

“Everyone's been talking about this next game coming up for the whole year, even before we got in the tournament,” said Ochefu. “Just going forward in this game, we can't think about the shortcomings in the past years. We have to focus on the things we can take care of that will help us get this ‘W’ on Sunday.”