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March Madness: Villanova Scores No. 1 Seed in NCAA Tourney

March 13, 2017 by Digital Sports Desk

PHILADELPHIA – (Special to Digital Sports Desk by The Sports Xchange) – The much-anticipated release of the NCAA Tournament bracket always ends up with perennial No. 1 seeds, upset-minded schools and, of course, teams that believe they were snubbed.  There are predictions to make down the road like a potential Villanova-Duke East Regional final at Madison Square Garden.

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Jay Wright

There are teams looking to advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history such as Gonzaga.

There are teams making their first-ever appearance in the field such as Northwestern.

There are teams like Syracuse, which was left out just one year after earning a surprising at-large berth as a No. 10 seed and going to the Final Four.

It’s all part of March Madness.

“There are so many talented teams in college basketball,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose team finished 31-3, won the Big East tournament title and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. “There isn’t much separation between many of these teams. For us, we’re focused on the one game at a time approach. I think you have to be. But I think there are 20 teams that can win it.”

Once again, the power conferences provided a bevy of teams led by the Atlantic Coast Conference with nine. The Big East and Big 10 had seven teams apiece. The Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference each had six, followed by the Pac-12 with four and the Atlantic 10 with three.

Villanova, which won 15 regular-season games in the rugged Big East, is in search of consecutive national championships. Only Duke (1991 and 1992) and Florida (2006, 2007) have accomplished the feat over the past 40 years.

This Wildcats’ team was decimated by injuries with Wright playing mostly a seven-man rotation. Guard Phil Booth, who led them with 20 points in last season’s national championship game against North Carolina, played in only three games all season because of left knee tendinitis.

But Villanova still managed to earn the No. 1 overall seed.

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“There are so many good teams out there and we saw that in our conference alone,” said Villanova sophomore guard Jalen Brunson. “Every night, we were playing a very, very good team. It was a battle every night. We respect every opponent we face and that will be no different as we head into the NCAA Tournament. We’re not looking past our first game. That’s always our approach.”

In the history of the 64-team field, a No. 16 team has never beaten a No. 1 seed since 1985. In 1989, Georgetown eked past No. 16 Princeton 50-49 in a controversial finish. There have been other fairly close games in this matchup through the years, but expect the No. 1 seeds to move on again.

On the No. 2 seed line, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville and Arizona are all quite formidable. But No. 2 seeds have been knocked off in the past and it’s conceivable that it could happen again.

Last season, No. 15 Middle Tennessee upset Michigan State. In 2013, Florida Gulf Coast wowed the country with its high-flying dunks and flashy play with a win over Georgetown. In 2012, Lehigh took down Duke behind current NBA star CJ McCollum.

So it can happen.

Let the Madness begin. Storylines will play out. Upsets will likely occur.

“It’s the greatest time of the year,” said Villanova senior guard Josh Hart, a National Player of the Year candidate. “It’s my senior year, so I’m all in. We’ll start with the first one and take it from there. I do believe that as a senior, I appreciate everything even more and I don’t want it to end.

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Filed Under: Big East, March Madness, NCAA, NCAA Basketball Tagged With: March Madness, NCAAB, Villanova

DIGITAL SPORTS DESK The LEDE Villanova Takes the EAST

March 11, 2017 by Digital Sports Desk

Villanova 74, Creighton 60
When: 5:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 11, 2017
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 19,812
NEW YORK – (Special to Digital Sports Desk by The Sports Xchange) – Josh Hart had 29 points and six rebounds as second-ranked Villanova captured its second Big East tournament championship in three years with a 74-60 victory over Creighton on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Jalen Brunson scored 17 points and Kris Jenkins added 14 for the top-seeded Wildcats (31-3).

Hart made 9 of 18 shots from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point territory, and 7 of 8 free throws.

Villanova had advanced to the Big East tournament title game for the third season in a row. It became only the fifth team in conference history to move to the championship game in three consecutive seasons. Louisville, Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Syracuse are the others to accomplish the feat. The Wildcats routed eighth-seeded St. John’s 108-67 in the quarterfinals and edged fifth-seeded Seton Hall 55-53 in the semifinal round on Friday before closing out sixth-seeded Creighton for the title. Villanova is now 3-5 all time in the Big East tournament final, with its other championships in 1995 and 2015.

Marcus Foster and Cole Huff led Creighton with 13 points apiece and Justin Patton added 10.

Despite the loss, their third of the season against the defending national champion Wildcats, the Bluejays (25-9) are a lock for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Villanova didn’t relax after building a 14-point halftime lead.

When Hart drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, the Wildcats went ahead 46-26.

After Creighton got within 57-45, Hart and Brunson each knocked down two free throws to quickly extend Villanova’s lead back to 16 at 61-45.

The Bluejays never cut the lead within double figures in the final four minutes.

Villanova broke open a close game early with Hart scoring 11 straight points for a 22-17 lead.

Hart stayed aggressive and the Wildcats went on a 8-0 run to take a 30-20 advantage. Hart and Brunson combined for 26 points in the first half as Villanova went into the locker room with a 36-22 lead.

It was the second consecutive game that Villanova held its opponent below 30 points in the first half.

NOTES: The 35th Big East tournament final at Madison Square Garden was a complete sellout. … Creighton had 10 turnovers in the first half and wound up with 17, tying a season high. … The Bluejays are 5-4 all time in the Big East tournament. … Villanova was 15 of 19 from the free throw line. … Creighton has at least 25 wins for the sixth time in program history. … Villanova G Jalen Brunson scored in double figures in all three Big East tournament games.

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Filed Under: Big East, March Madness, NCAA, NCAA Basketball Tagged With: Big East, Big East Championship, Creighton, Villanova

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