With the title to be decided on Monday night, we are taking a look at the Villanova NCAA Championship run and asking how the Wildcats got here, in hopes that it might shed a bit more light on what might be in store for them in the title game.
Record: 34-5
Winning Streak: 5 games
Margin of Victory in NCAAs: +22.2 points
Key Statistics: 78.2-percent from free throw line, 631 assists to 1058 FGM
Analysis: It’s not so much that Villanova shocked the world by beating Oklahoma in the Final Four to reach their third national title game, it’s just how they beat the Sooners, winning by a whopping 44 points and completely dismantling Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield’s stage. When the Wildcats are at their best, they’re defending all spots on the floor, contesting jump shots, and forcing opponents to run down the shot clock and make a play one-on-one to beat the clock. That was on full display against OU.
Offensively, they’re at their best when moving the ball side-to-side, attacking gaps, and either hitting shooters off the dribble or dumping the ball into cutters near the basket. This is evident by their assist numbers compared the baskets made this season, which obviously doesn’t count trips to the free throw line earned from their ball movement. Averaging only 11 turnovers per game, Villanova doesn’t beat themselves, meaning that North Carolina will have to have all five players engaged on the defensive end each possession.
This Villanova team might not be the most physically imposing and certainly, they’re not the most NBA-talent laden team that we’ve seen this season. But they’re so well coached, one of Jay Wright’s best coaching jobs by the way, and have so much collective buy-in that it feels like they’re much more of a juggernaut than we’ve ever given them credit for.
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