Wildcat What Ifs: 2015 Villanova

With the abrupt end to the 2019-20 Villanova basketball season, many members of Nova Nation were left wondering, “what if?” It wouldn’t be the first time. The Wildcats, like every team, have a few games or moments that could have led to potential glory if things would have broken differently. In the Jay Wright era, there are definitely a few of them. So this week we’ll be taking a look at some of those seasons. Next up…

The 2015 Villanova Wildcats

The moment - Second round vs. North Carolina State

The Wildcats entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 overall seed and the top seed in the East region. After an easy first round win, Villanova unbelievably fell to No. 8 seed North Carolina State, 71-68. The game was the worst time for the team to have its worst game of the year. Villanova shot 31 percent from the field and missed many open looks around the basket. The Wolfpack team had more losses (13) than Villanova had from 2015 to 2017 (12).

What lied ahead

Sweet 16 - No. 4 seed Louisville

Elite 8 - No. 7 seed Michigan State

Final 4 - No. 1 seed Duke

Title game - No. 1 seed Wisconsin

The optimist’s view

With a few more baskets on easy layups, no one ever remembers the NC State game. From there, it’s smooth sailing to the Final Four. Once undefeated Kentucky loses, that leaves the Wildcats as the top remaining seed. Darrun Hilliard and JayVaughn Pinkston would have gotten their glory.

The pessimist’s view

Yes, Villanova may have gotten to the Final Four, but that’s where it would have ended. Duke and Wisconsin were really good teams, and beating one, let alone both, would have been a tall task for the Wildcats. The team was still a year away at this point.