Villanova grades itself against its past success
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Jalen Brunson describes the Final Four as “the top of the mountain,” the highest of highs. It’s a feeling unlike any other. Yet he claims that at Villanova, where the Wildcats won the 2016 national title, the Final Four is not the ultimate measuring stick for a season that went right or wrong.
“I think we measure ourselves on our past teams and our ability and potential of what we can do this year,” he tells USA TODAY. “We try not to use anything besides us as motivation.”
This philosophy leads to the question: Which team would win if the 2016 squad squared off with the current version of the Wildcats (26-4, 13-4 Big East), ranked No. 5 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and a contender to nab a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday?
“Hmm,” Brunson says as he folds his hands behind his head and leans back in his chair. He needs to think.
While he does, let’s take a closer look.
Comparisons with ’16
The 2015-16 team won the national championship on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Kris Jenkins, upending blueblood North Carolina 77-74 and catapulting the Big East program located just outside Philadelphia. No one from that team was picked up in the
2016 NBA draft.
Those Wildcats finished 35-5 after winning the Big East regular-season title but dropping the conference tournament title game (to Seton Hall). They earned a No. 2 seed in the South Region, beat top-seeded Kansas 64-59 to punch their ticket to the Final Four, then cruised into the title game after embarrassing Oklahoma and All-American Buddy Hield in a 95-51 semifinal win.
“Some people have said we ran it up, but actually Oklahoma had beat us by like 25 earlier in the season,” coach Jay Wright says. “So we’re up 25 but they have Buddy, and I’m thinking, ‘These guys are really good, they can come back from this.’ Then it’s 30 and I’m still thinking they can come back. Then it got to 40 and I remember saying to the guys (on the bench) this is unbelievable. Can you believe this is happening?!”
He hasn’t had a moment like that with this group … yet.
Villanova has looked brilliant at times, particularly in wins vs. Gonzaga
(88-72 in Madison Square Garden) and two dominant conference victories against No. 4 Xavier. But the Wildcats have lost to St. John’s, the worst team in the Big East, and unraveled on the road. They’ve dealt with injuries, too, as three Wildcats missed time with broken hands. Another suffered a concussion.
“We’ve been a high-octane offense … but we have a lot of work to do defensively and on rebounding,” Wright says. “And we’ve only got (one) regular-season game and the Big East Tournament left. We’re running out of time.”
But each time it has stumbled, Villanova has immediately righted the ship. The Wildcats haven’t lost back-to-back games in five years, a streak they put to the test Wednesday at Seton Hall, where Nova eked out a 69-68 overtime win.
Villanova hosts Georgetown in its regular-season finale Saturday. The Big East Tournament starts Wednesday in Madison Square Garden; Villanova likely will be the No. 2 seed, behind Xavier, another team that could grab a one seed come the Big Dance.
Brunson makes Wildcats go
Brunson is back now. This is what the national player of the year contender — maybe the national player of the year favorite — believes: “I’m going to ride with my guys now,” he says. “Our toughness (separates us). We have a lot of talent, and we can match up well.”
Although Brunson is too outwardly humble to acknowledge it, if the current team were to beat the 2016 team, it likely would be because of him. Yes, this version of Villanova has 6-7 future pro Mikal Bridges (17.4 points per game, 5.5 rebounds) and potential one-and-done freshman Omari Spellman (10.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG), but it’s Brunson, the 6-3 point guard who averages 19.1 points and shoots 52.6% from the field, who makes the Wildcats go. In one of the wackiest seasons in recent memory, he is a calm, consistent and confident presence.
Brunson played plenty as a freshman, starting 39 games and averaging
9.6 points. But as a junior he better understands efficiency. He knows how to use his body to create space. A gifted distributor, he has 143 assists; five fewer than all of last season.
“He is everything that college basketball stands for,” Wright says. “He’s a leader; he’s a winner. He’s obviously talented and skilled; he’s efficient, his numbers are incredible and he’s going to graduate in three years. He’s everything we should be celebrating” — especially in a time when the sport is being dragged through the mud.
Perhaps most important: he’s always on the floor at the end of games now. When Jenkins’ game-winner swished through the net two years ago, Brunson was elated to be a national champion and furious to be stuck on the bench.
Wednesday, Brunson was 1-for-8 from the field midway through the second half. But in crunchtime, Villanova turned to him. Brunson scored 12 of his
14 points in the final 8:56 and hit two free throws with six seconds to go to give the Wildcats a three-point lead.
He’s also mature enough to understand that even though Villanova didn’t defend its title last year — the Wildcats lost in the second round — the season was not a failure. “Not at all,” Brunson says. “We were trying to be the best team we could be … we fought to the end, and that’s what you want.”
He has poise and experience. And second thoughts.
“You know actually, I don’t know,” he says of who would win between the two Villanova squads. Man, the 2016 team, that was a well-oiled machine. … We were shooting pretty hot that tournament and things were really rolling. It would be a great, great battle.”
There’s only one way to find out: Achieve the same end result as the 2016 squad. Here at Villanova, those guys are the measuring stick.
Brunson smiles. He’d be just fine with that outcome.