There are a lot of questions that will be coming Villanova’s way this week but none of them will have to do about getting out of the NCAA Tournament’s first weekend.
The Wildcats used a near flawless first half to open a 25-point lead at the break and never let Iowa mount any serious threat in the second half as Villanova rolled to a convincing 87-68 victory over the Hawkeyes in an NCAA Tournament second-round game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Villanova (31-5), the No. 2 seed in the South Region, now moves on to face Miami in a Sweet 16 South Region matchup Thursday night in Louisville.
Xavier, the BIG EAST‘s other No. 2 seed, lost to Wisconsin Sunday night 66-63.
Ryan Arcidiacono breathed a sigh of relief as the final horn sounded, knowing that Villanova was one of 16 schools still standing in the tournament. For the senior guard, the heart of this Villanova team, it was a moment to cherish as he and fellow senior Daniel Ochefu, two members of the winningest class in Villanova history, were headed to parts not seen by a Villanova team in seven years.
“Yeah for sure, it was definitely a big sigh of relief,” Arcidiacono said. “I was ecstatic that we won our game against Iowa because we know how good a team they are. But I’m happy for our senior class to be able to get to experience it.”
Villanova head coach Jay Wright swore he and his players felt no added pressure to emerge with a win Sunday versus Iowa to end what had become a something of a recurring March nightmare for the Wildcats as they failed in their last five NCAA Tournament appearances to get out of the first weekend. And right from the start the Wildcats played like it was a Tuesday night non-league game in December rather than a win-or-go-home tournament game in March. The Wildcats were loose, confident and well-prepared as they built their first double-digit lead with 8:00 to play in the first half when a three-pointer by Kris Jenkins (15 points, 6 assists) gave Villanova a 31-21 lead.
It ballooned to a 21-point lead with just over a minute to play before the break when Jalen Brunson (12 points) tossed in a layup for a 50-29 lead and became a 25-point cushion when Arcidiacono (16 points, 4 assists) converted a layup off a steal to conclude a stellar first 20 minutes.
In the half, Villanova shot 60.6% from the field, 58.3% from three-point range (7-of-12) and, outscored Iowa 12-0 off turnovers and owned a 12-0 advantage over the Hawkeyes in fast break points.
“We have a really mature group. The will of a really determined athlete is much greater than any of the pressure the media or coaches or anyone puts on them,” Wright said. “They were so determined to win this game and give their best effort in this game that it just superseded everything.”
When Villanova still came out smoking to start the second half, hitting five of its first six shots, the Wildcats’ lead hit its peak at 34 points (65-31) with 15:53 to play after a layup by Josh Hart (game-high 19 points). All that was left to do at that point was to start making travel plans for Louisville as the Hawkeyes (22-11) never got closer than 17 points the rest way.
Villanova’s overwhelming performance made a fan out of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery.
“It’s clear to me, as a group, Jay has got those guys committed to one thing and that’s playing together and winning,” McCaffery said. “I think that’s evident in their success over the years. It is this year, it’s last year, the year before, the year before. There’s a winning culture there that says a lot about the character of the individuals on that team. Villanova is a team that I look at as an elite team, but I look at them more as an elite program.”
Arcidiacono was almost as happy that the endless questions about Villanova’s past tournament performances were now put to rest as he was with the victory. Almost. And he also thinks the best is yet to come for this Wildcats team.
“I’m honestly just done answering the questions about getting past the second (game),” Arcidiacono said. “I know it was always in the back of our seniors’ minds and our team. But we can definitely go all the way as long as we stick to what we do. 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 in rebounding, we can go as far as that takes us.”
The second-seeded Wildcats will now head to Louisville with a chance to reach their first Final Four since 2009 and it all starts against the No. 3 seed Hurricanes Thursday night. Wright does wish the game was going to be in Philadelphia rather than Louisville, but that hope went out the window when the Wildcats fell off the top line last weekend. But hey, he’s just happy to still be playing.
“I would love being at home in Philly for a week right now,” Wright said. “I’ve just got to be honest about that. But Louisville is a good spot.”