March 16, 2016
Heading into the NCAA Tournament as the second seed in a deep South Region, there are a couple of burning questions facing Jay Wright and his Villanova Wildcats:
• After he had noticeable trouble moving in the Big East Tournament, what is the status of center Daniel Ochefu’s ankle? The 6’11” senior anchors the Wildcats’ defense and allows them to best play 4-around-1 on the other end of the floor.
• How is Villanova’s collective psyche? In just two short years, this group has collected a lot of baggage in this little tournament. How are they going to handle the not so small amount of pressure on them this weekend up in Brooklyn?
At least for today, let’s focus on the latter.
When you listen to any opposing Big East coach talk about Villanova — Kevin Willard, for example — they will readily admit that the Wildcats have been the conference’s standard-bearers over the past three years. Among their peers, the Wildcats have all the respect in the world. When it comes to college hoops fans and observers around the country, it’s a far different story.
Let’s go to the Twittersphere to get a picture of the country’s thoughts on Nova Nation:
Alright, time to see who beats Villanova in the second round.
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) March 13, 2016
*Pencils in Villanova for a second round exit in bracket*
— Aidan (@ARCurran_10) March 13, 2016
Nobody will be shocked when Villanova loses in the second round
— START ELNENY (@BasedChasen) March 5, 2016
.@PTI just picked both Xavier and Villanova to lose in the 2nd Round. Glad to see @espn respects the @BIGEAST! #LetsMarch #Team94 ⚔
— Xavier Nation (@XavierNation) March 15, 2016
Do I really need to watch Villanova or just go ahead and pick them to lose in the second round?
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 12, 2016
Is this fair? The same UConn team that upset ‘Nova in 2014 just so happened to win the whole thing, after all. After another early exit to NC State last season, Wright knows that it doesn’t matter if the perception is fair or not. It’s his team’s reality.
“We said, ‘Hey, we got to own it,’” Wright said. “People are going to talk about this all year. It happened, we lost in the second round. It was the same kind of game [as the loss to Seton Hall], and we battled and came back and had a wide-open shot to win it.”
”So we know we did all we could, but on the outside you got to deal with it,” he added. “It’s not how we define ourselves but it is how everybody else defines us and you can’t argue it.”
It doesn’t seem fair that Wright and his players have to answer questions all year about their tournament demons. Here they are with another elite team by every conceivable metric, and a pesky four-game sample is all that anyone wants to talk about as the Wildcats keep stringing wins together.
‘Nova can’t argue with perception, but after waiting a year, they can finally start to change it with their play. Assuming that the Wildcats make it past UNC Asheville in the first round (which KenPom only has at a 90 percent chance, bee tee dubs), there is going to be a whole bunch of anxious energy in Barclays Center for Sunday’s game against Iowa or Temple.
“The same thing goes this year,” Wright said on Saturday. “We’re going to try to win the NCAA Tournament, but if we get beat in the first round, it will be a big deal. If we get beat in the second round, it’s going to be a big deal. If we’re a 1 or 2 seed and get beat in the Sweet 16, it’s going to be a big deal.”
Losing would not nearly be as much of a big deal if ‘Nova didn’t respond to getting upset with a 29-5 season. Yet here they are again, the favorites that almost everyone isn’t treating like favorites.
Again, this is their reality. If you’re the top team in the country for a few weeks, making the second week of the tournament is expected of you.
“When you’re in those positions, you got to deal with that,” Wright said. “There’s a lot of positives that come your way when you’re in those positions, and we take it. So if you take that, you got to deal with [the lows].”
One last time, this is the Wildcats’ reality. To their credit, Wright and his team haven’t run away from it. They finally get another crack at rewriting the story beginning on Friday.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
