Can Villanova Make it to the Final Four?
Villanova has played great basketball all season long and has absolutely dominated the second half of games. This is attributed to the great adjustments that Jay Wright and staff have been doing at the half, but also to the team themselves as they manage to stay in just about every game they are in.
Let's face facts, a lot of these teams know little to nothing about the opponents that they face in the tournament in the early rounds. Villanova got the scare of a lifetime in game one by American because of just this. To be perfectly honest, if they game was not in Philly, they very well may have lost the game. The crowd picked them up on their shoulders and carried them to victory. They didn't need that help in the second game as they absolutely destroyed UCLA from the moment of the opening tip.
Now they have Duke on deck and it is time to step up their game. Villanova is one of the few highly ranked team that does not have an outright star. That is the main reason that they will beat Duke and have a great chance to face off against either Xavier or Pittsburgh and make another Final Four appearance.
This squad is truly a team. One person has an off night, there are always two other guys there to pick up the slack. They have lock tight defense and when their shooters are on, they can light it up with the best of them. Duke has had its ups and downs this season and have been very unimpressive at times. They struggled mightily against Texas, a team that they should have been able to put away. Texas can play incredible defense, but they have been spotty all season and have flat out failed to deliver against major programs.
If Villanova can keep this game close in the first half and give the coaching staff the chance to break them down and make the adjustments, they are going to be tough for Duke to beat. They match up well against Xavier and Pittsburgh has its own demons to deal with. This is a team that is going to be tough to beat and looks destined for the Final Four.
Published by Gerald McConway
In addition to writing for AssociatedContent.com, I also have a published column on Examiner.com as well as my own professional writing service, Simply the Best Writing. I specialize in article marketing, sp... View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentI agree with you on all points, but realize this article was specifically about how teams are playing right now. As the season wore on, Texas actually started playing worse and I was less and less impressed with them. I went from thinking that they were a legitimate Elite 8 team to one that would be lucky if they made the tournament.
Right now, Villanova is playing great basketball and while I will be the first to admit that Duke is probably the better team, I think they are struggling a bit right now. The same can be said for Pittsburgh. You can look past their first game, but the second round was proof positive that they are holding on a little too tight.
Back to Duke and Nova. In all honestly, either of these teams can win this game and I would not be surprised by either of them. However, I think Villanova is firing a little better right now and if Duke plays the way they did against Texas, Villanova can walk out with a win and an appearance in the Elite 8 if not the Fin
You fault Duke for failing to win handidly against Texas, yet Villanova lost to Texas earlier in the season. December teams are obviously different than March teams but nothing like common opponents to gauge level of play.