Ranked fourth in the RPI, there seems to be only one reason why hardly anyone is talking about Jay Wright and this Villanova team. Clearly, the media’s west coast bias has gone too far.
All sarcasm aside, much of the national discussion when dealing with potential No. 1 seeds for the impending NCAA Tournament seems to have skipped over the Wildcats and their 26-2, 13-2 record.
The most likely answer as to why that is, would probably be the lack of star power. Villanova doesn’t have a legitimate National Player of the Year candidate, nor do they have a former five-star freshman tearing up the Big East, and making NBA scouts drool.
What Villanova does have though, is one of the best coaches in the country. Wright is a yearly candidate for most under appreciated coach in the country, and the job that he’s done with this group stacks up with any season he’s had in the past.
Darrun Hilliard II runs the show, but it’s the Wildcats’ balance that makes them most effective. Offensively, they share the ball as well as anyone in the country, while shooting nearly 40-percent from beyond the arc as a team.
With two road games, a home date with St. John’s and the Big East Tournament remain on the schedule, Villanova looks like a team who might control their own destiny while working towards that top seed line in March. Whether or not they reach it, the Wildcats are a serious Final Four threat regardless of their bracket.
