Villanova nice and loose entering tournament play
RADNOR >> Kris Jenkins had just finished a phone interview and decided to have a little fun with teammate Josh Hart, who also was being questioned by the media after Villanova’s practice Monday at the Pavilion.
Jenkins, the hero of last year’s national championship victory, positioned himself behind the TV cameras, in Hart’s direct line of sight, stuck his hands on either side of his head and wiggled his fingers. It took every fiber of Hart’s being for the 6-5 senior not to burst out in laughter.
A few minutes later, Hart took a brief pause from his interview session to acknowledge Mikal Bridges as the 6-7 sophomore swingman walked toward the center of the floor.
“What’s up, Mikal,” Hart said.
The business part of the day was done so it was time for the second-ranked Wildcats (28-3) to let off a little steam before they
boarded the bus that will take them to New York for the Big East Tournament, where Villanova opens play at noon Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between eighthseeded St. John’s and ninthseeded Georgetown.
The Wildcats are nice and loose as they head into tournament play, but do not mistake their actions for a team that is taking a cavalier approach as it heads into the conference tournament. The Wildcats know all too well that nothing is guaranteed.
This is the fourth straight year that Villanova is the No. 1 seed in the tournament, yet the Wildcats only have one tournament title to their credit (2015). Villanova was upset by eight-seeded Seton Hall in the 2014 quarterfinals and dropped a 69-67 decision to the third-seeded Pirates in the championship game last year.
And while Wright hates to admit it, the loss in the Big East Tournament final gave Villanova the motivation it needed to make its run to the national title.
“I like to think that intellectually that we don’t have to lose to get refocused, but I guess its human nature.” Wright said earlier this year. “A lot of coaches have said that to me and I never wanted to accept it, but it’s true. That lost refocused us and we learned. The way they played us taught us a great lesson about how other teams were going to play us, too. Probably, if we win that game we don’t win the national championship.”
Ironically, the loss to Seton Hall also served as a harbinger of things to come. Villanova ran the same play in the closing seconds against the Pirates that they ran to beat North Carolina, 77-74, in the national championship game, only it did not work. Guard Ryan Arcidiacono slipped on a wet spot as he went across half court after taking an outlet pass from Daniel Ochefu and got off a weak 3-point attempt that fell harmlessly in the paint.
Three weeks later Ochefu took mop in hand to remove a wet spot in front of the Villanova bench to avoid a replay of that slip in the Garden. But that loss also taught the Wildcats a more valuable lesson than the need for a dry playing surface.
“That game definitely was humbling,” Hart said. “We didn’t play Villanova basketball for 30 of the 40 minutes. The last 10 minutes we started playing Villanova basketball and it was a different game. So we know that’s what we have to do now. If we don’t have the attention to detail, if we don’t focus on the little things, it’s going to be the same outcome.”
The Wildcats paid attention to those details in the NCAA Tournament. Of the 240 minutes the Wildcats played in six tournament games, they had the lead for 197 minutes and 53 seconds. They only trailed for 41:07 and were tied for 11 minutes, and turned the ball over an average of 10.3 times per game.
“One possession here, one possession there can be the difference in the game,” Hart said. “I don’t know how many times these tournament games comes down to one possession. You see one seeds get upset in the conference tournament by eight seeds because of the attention to detail. You take off a possession in the first half and that possession can come back to bite you. You have to have attention to detail because every possession counts.”
That is the approach the Wildcats will take in New York and beyond.
“It’s win or go home,” Jenkins said. “It’s a one-game tournament from here on out. If you don’t take care of business then you’ll be at home watching it.”