Villanova had quite a run in the NCAA Tournament this year en route to their second national title in three years. Remember when Kris Jenkins hit the three pointer to win the title a couple years ago? Well this time around it was pure dominance by Villanova, winning all of their tournament games by double digit margins, the first team to do it since North Carolina in 2009. The first game Villanova played was in Pittsburgh when they faced the 16th seed Radford. Unlike the biggest upset in tournament history where UMBC defeated Virginia, a number one seed, no upset here as Villanova defeated Radford 87-61. Key players in that game were Jalen Bronson with 16 points, Omari Spellman with 7 rebounds, and Donte Divincenzo with 8 assists.
Next came a matchup with one of the emerging teams from the SEC, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Starting out slow in the first half, Villanova got the three pointers to fall as they ended Alabama’s season 81-58. Then, the Big 12 gauntlet lied ahead if Villanova wanted to go to the title game. West Virginia tested them all the way, but ultimately fell to Nova 90-78 in Boston.
The East Regional Final saw Villanova matched up against Texas Tech, and Elite 8 first timer. The three pointers continued to fall for Villanova as Texas Tech was humbled 71-59 to advance to their second Final Four appearance in three years. Kansas waited in the midst as the Jayhawks beat Duke in overtime to get to the Final Four. All of Kansas’s accolades were nothing of importance as Villanova defeated them 95-79 to advance to the title game.
Michigan would be the team that Villanova would face which had a storybook tournament run of their own. After hitting a miraculous buzzer beater to send Houston home and after beating the surprising Loyola Chicago squad, they were the ones to meet Villanova in the title game. Business as usual for the Wildcats as they defeated them 79-62 to win their third overall title and second in three years. Jalen Bronson was named the National player of the year and Donte Divincenzo was named the Final Four’s most valuable player. Congratulations to the Villanova Wildcats on a phenomenal season!
Source: ESPN.com