Villanova Devours Duke; Pittsburgh is Served Up Next

Villanova did what they have been doing all season -- hang close and get a read on the team in the first half and then come out strong and crush them in the second half. The mighty Duke team was no exception. Playing highly ranked teams in the tournament is nothing that Villanova is not used to. In fact, they have beaten higher ranked teams more than any other school in tournament history. Duke needed more than their reputation and Dick Vitale talking about how great they are to get past this game and it just did not happen.

To be perfectly honest, Duke has not been firing on all cylinders for quite some time. Their second round struggle against an overrated and underachieving Texas team was proof of that. There were those that had Duke killing Villanova based on their earlier match-up against the same team where Texas came out on top. The fact of the matter is that Texas was playing much better when they beat Villanova and 'Nova is playing as good as anyone in the country right now.

It has been said before and I will say it again, Villanova is a complete team without a major superstar that can play and compete against any team in the country. Do they have to play a perfect game and catch the other team with their guard down, absolutely but the bottom line is that they are capable of beating any team that is left in the bracket right now.

Next up for Villanova is Pittsburgh who is one of the odds on favorites to capture the title. My prediction is that come Saturday night, Villanova is the one making arrangements to go the Final Four, not Pittsburgh. Before you start shaking your head and dismissing me as crazy, take a few things into consideration.

Pittsburgh had not had an appearance past the Sweet 16 since that glass bottle on your table was sand. They then get into the Big East tournament and lay an egg and go out in their first round. There were those that looked at it as a time to get a break and get better, but that is hardly how they arrived at the tournament.

Pittsburgh first round game was against 16th seeded E. Tennessee. This game was much closer than the 10 points spread that it finished with. Pitt was playing in this game like they were walking on egg shells the entire time. There are few schools in the Big East that would not have knocked them out in that game. They then limp into their second game against Oklahoma St. and continue their struggles. They beat a team that finished 4th in the Big 12 by only 8 points, but while that score was close, it did not give a true picture of how close Pitt came to losing that game outright.

Pitt finally makes it to the Sweet 16 and you would think that they have those opening jitters out of the way and they almost lay an egg again. They go up against Xavier, coming out of the very weak A-10, and are again in for the fight of their life. They win this game by a mere 5 points. Now this is a Xavier team that was handled by Temple in their tournament. The point being that Pittsburgh has settled into a pattern of letting these games get closer and closer. They are winning these games on sheer talent and are almost begging to get knocked out.

Now this game can go one of two ways. Pittsburgh will get into a comfort zone as they play a team from their own conference and that they are very familiar with. They play up to their capabilities and show the championship form that is expected of them or they could go the way I think they will go. They are running into one of the hottest teams in the country that comes from the same conference. Villanova knows Pitt and is ready for them. Their coaching staff has proven time and again that if the team can keep them in the game for the first half, they will take advantage of whatever weaknesses their opponent is showing them in the second half and close the game out.

Personally, I don't even think this game is going to be close. Villanova is playing inspired basketball and Pittsburgh is playing like they are scared of losing, not wanting to win. Let them show that weakness in the first few minutes of the game and Villanova will shut down their stars and light them up with their shooting. Get them into the locker room with a lead, and this game is over. It is very likely that there will be 3 Big East teams in the Final Four. I just think that the third team is going to be Villanova instead of Pittsburgh.