Villanova Becomes First Team To Punch Sweet 16 Ticket
Pardon my Michael Cole voice here, but that was vintage Villanova. The first half started slow with Spellman and Brunson picking up two quick fouls. The offense looked stagnant despite Donte DiVincenzo hitting his first four threes and really keeping Nova afloat. It eventually led to an 81-58 win for Villanova, who is really starting to click at the right time.
Then the second half happened. It was Mikal Bridges hitting open threes. It was Jalen Brunson attacking, finding Bridges and then hitting shots for himself. It was also Nova’s defense, which has been suspect this year. Teams have attacked Nova, but the Wildcats did an unreal job on everyone not named Sexton. Yes, Sexton got his as he finished with 17 and shot 50% from the field, but Nova really wYou had guys as able to limit Alabama from getting out and running.
This is the thing with Nova. When they won the title in 2016, it was the balance to go with shooting that won them the title. That showed today as Phil Booth didn’t really do much, Brunson was in foul trouble. Instead it was DiVincenzo hitting shots. It was Connor Gillespie coming in and playing really good defense as Alabama tried attacking him early. It was Bridges in the second half. This is what makes them so good.
Villanova now plays the winner of West Virginia/Marshall in Boston.