The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Villanova goes from dominant to dynasty
Wildcats have plenty coming back for a repeat performance
PHILADELPHIA » Villanova players flash their fingers in a “V” symbol to celebrate big wins.
For coach Jay Wright, that’s a finger for every national championship ring.
Already cemented as a dominant program in college basketball, the Wildcats are flirting with putting their names on a more opulent D-list: dynasty.
The Wildcats’ romp through the NCAA Tournament that ended Monday with a second national title in three seasons has them up for debate as one of the top programs since the tourney field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
You know, the year the Wildcats won their first national title.
There’s plenty of time to talk about Villanova’s place in history after the partying is done this week. The Wildcats were to return home to a raucous celebration at their suburban campus on Tuesday and a parade was planned for Thursday in downtown Philadelphia just hours before the Phillies’ home opener.
Parades have suddenly become a thing in Philly. See: the Eagles. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and breakout star Donte DiVincenzo helped the Wildcats win all six tournament games by double digits, joining Michigan State in 2000, Duke in 2001 and North Carolina in 2009. Villanova also joined the 1968 UCLA team as the only ones to win both their Final Four games by 16 or more points.
“I knew we were good, but you don’t think we can win this,” Wright said.
He should know they can: The Wildcats set a program best in wins (36-4) and won an NCAArecord 136 games over a four-year span.
And if anyone is still stumped about how Villanova could be considered on the short list of college basketball’s blue bloods following a decade of dominance, consider:
— In the post-John Wooden/ UCLA era, only three other teams