Arcidiacono ready when called on by Villanova offense
Villanova’s Chris Arcidiacono entered the NCAA tournament not having made a field goal since a victory over Middle Tennessee on Nov. 21, 2019.
So when the 6-5 sophomore guard knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing three minutes into Villanova’s 84-61 romp over North Texas Sunday night, and then buried another triple with 8:36 to play in the first half to give the Wildcats the lead for good, it certainly raised some eyebrows to everyone but those inside the Villanova program.
“Chris is always ready to fire,” senior forward Jermaine Samuels said. “He just hasn’t really got an opportunity to do the past couple of games because he’s making plays for others. But Chris has always been ready and he’s been working on it since he stepped into this program. So, yeah, glad to see him make shots.”
That was the plan. “They’ve got a really unique defensive package where they don’t play one guy and they help with him a lot,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said of the Mean Green. “And we thought it might be Arch. And it was. And so he was ready. And he’s a good shooter. It didn’t surprise us. He’s a good shooter.”
Arcidiacono missed his final attempt to the game to finish 2-for-3 (all 3-pointers). He scored six points, which matched his career total — that’s total, not career-high — coming into the game. His second 3-pointer came in a 34-6 run over the last 11 minutes of the first half to break the game open. Eight Villanova players hit 3-pointers to tie an NCAA Tournament record.
“I always would say to him during the season, ‘Arch, just be ready,’ Wright said. “We don’t play him on the first team in practice because he’s always so good at running the other team’s plays and it gives him great experience. And he was ready. He was ready for this. And our whole staff knew it.”
Arcidiacono wasn’t the only Wildcat who was ready when called upon. Juniors Cole Swider and Brandon Slater, and sophomore Bryan Antoine gave Villanova a huge lift on the defensive end off the bench after the Mean Green jumped out to a 21-13 lead midway through the first half.
North Texas hit eight of its first 12 shots and scored on 10 of its first 12 possessions to open up that eight point cushion. Guard Javion Hamlet had a big hand in that fast start with five points and three assists in the first 8:29.
Wright turned to Slater first, then Antoine and then Swider to slow Hamlet and the Mean Green down.
“We were pretty good defensively,” Wright said. “I think our guys are getting comfortable, our young guys are getting experience. And I think them coming off the bench - like we had a session when Bryan Antoine came in, Cole Swider came in. And we brought Chris Arch back in and made a good run. And I think that helped. And I think it was a really good offensive effort. We made shots. That always helps.”
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55 percent (31-for-56) and 50 percent from 3-point range (15-for-30). It’s the first time Villanova shot 50 percent or better overall and from deep in the same game since a 96-64 romp over Marquette on Feb. 10. Villanova had 19 assists, 13 on triples, to advance to the Sweet 16 for the ninth time since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the seventh time under Wright and the third time in their last five tournaments.
Villanova gets top-seeded Baylor, which knocked off No. 9 Wisconsin, 76-63, at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. The Bears (24-2) beat the Wildcats last season, 87-78, in the championship game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
“They’ve been one of the best teams in the country, them and Gonzaga, all year,” Wright said. “So we’ll get to play the best. And that’s why you play in the NCAA Tournament. You look forward to these types of games.”