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Happy Tuesday Nova Nation! If you’re around the Villanova area today and have some free time, be sure to get down to campus and send the team off to San Antonio as they prepare for yet another appearance in the Sweet Sixteen!
See you tomorrow at 12:15pm NovaNation ! pic.twitter.com/VLqO8PSkQU
— Jay Wright (@VUCoachJWright) March 21, 2022
Like I said, this isn’t the team’s first trip to the Sweet 16. Villanova has nine players on their roster with Sweet Sixteen experience. In fact, if you take out Jordan Longino who likely will be ineligible with injury, 7 of the 8 players in the current rotation can say they’ve played double digit minutes in the Sweet 16. The only one that can’t... Collin Gillespie, who only saw 5 minutes against West Virginia in 2018. I think he’ll be fine. But it’s not just the current players that have the experience, Villanova has had plenty of historical success getting to and winning in the Sweet 16.
Since 1951 when the field was expanded to sixteen teams, Villanova has participated in the the Regional Semi-Final in 20 of their 39 appearances (51%). Under Jay Wright the team has had similar success, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 8 of their 16 tournament appearances (50%). In fact, it’s become a more common occurrence since their Championship runs, as Villanova has made the tournament every year (that there was a tournament), and advanced to the second weekend in four of the last six tournaments.
Getting to this round is certainly a great accomplishment. The “madness” of the tournament itself means that regardless of whether your seed dictated you should make it or not, you have to be happy to be there. So today I figured we’d look at the 20 times Villanova has been four games away from the National Championship, and how they fared by seed.
Unseeded Teams
From the time the field expanded to 16 teams in 1951 until 1977, there were no seeds in the tournament. In fact, it wouldn’t be until 1979 that all teams were seeded. That means Villanova had eight participants that we don’t really know if they were favored to move on or not. Here are the results from those teams:
- Lost in Sweet 16: ‘51, ‘55, ‘64, ‘72
- Lost in Elite 8: ‘62, ‘70, ‘78
- Lost in National Championship: ‘71
Not too shabby! Nova again continued their run 50% of the time, including the team’s first appearance in the National Title game. It wouldn’t be their last.
9 through 16 Seeds
It hasn’t been often that Villanova advanced to the second weekend when they weren’t even favored to make it out of the first round, but there was one plucky team out there that did just that. In the eight times that Villanova has entered the tournament as a 9 seed or lower, only the 12th seeded 2008 team advanced to the second weekend.
You may remember it as the “Turmoil in Tampa”, where all four of the double digit seeded teams playing in that region pulled the upsets over their respective 4 and 5 seeded opponents. For Villanova, it meant a come from behind victory over Clemsen and then a stomping of Sienna to advance. They’d eventually get routed by 1 seed Kansas, but it was a great run for a Wildcat team that wasn’t supposed to make much noise.
5 through 8 Seeds
These teams were supposed to pick up a win in the tournament, but still not expected to make it to the second weekend. Well don’t tell that to the 1985 team! Villanova has made eight appearances in the tournament as a 5-8 seed, and advanced to the Sweet 16 3 times (37%).
- Lost in Sweet 16: ‘21
- Lost in Elite 8: ‘88
- Won the National Champions: ‘85
We all know about the Cinderella run of the 1985 Championship team, the lowest seed to ever win it all.
The most recent over-performing came just last year. The Wildcats were likely underseeded after losing Collin Gillespie for the season with a knee injury, but they made short work of two double digit seeds to make their way back to the Sweet 16. Their March run would end there as they fell to eventual Champion 1 Seeded Baylor.
There was also the ‘88 team, which made it all the way to the Elite 8. This team led by Doug West and Mark Plansky would run through 11 Seed Arkansas, 3 Seed Illinois, and 2 Seed Kentucky before eventually falling to 1 Seed Oklahoma. The Sooners would go on to the National Championship game where they lost to Kansas that season.
1 through 4 Seeds
These teams are expected to make the Sweet 16, if not push on with a shot at the title. Since seeding began, Villanova has claimed one of the top tier seeds fourteen times, advancing to the second weekend now for the seventh time, just 50%. Like we said, no matter your seed winning in March is hard.
- Playing in Sweet 16: ‘22
- Lost in Elite 8: ‘82, ‘83, ‘06
- Lost in Final Four: ‘09
- Won the National Championship: ‘16, ‘18
If history repeats itself, that’s good news for Villanova. Not every highly ranked Wildcat team has made it to the Sweet Sixteen, but those that do have all advanced to the Elite 8. This year’s team will look to do just that when they take on Michigan on Thursday.
In other news...
Sweet 16: Villanova vs Michigan
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The men's teams will face off in San Antonio on Thursday.
First Look: Villanova Wildcats | UM Hoops.com
Michigan is headed to the Sweet Sixteen and will face No. 2 seed Villanova in San Antonio on Thursday night (7:15 ET, TBS). The Wolverines are 4.5 point underdogs against the 28-7 Wildcats, who finished second in the Big East but won the conference tournament.
Villanova vs. Michigan picks, odds, TV channel: Expert predictions for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game | The Athletic
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Villanova Men’s Basketball
March Madness Sweet 16 ranking of every 2022 team left | Sports Illustrated
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Collin Gillespie excels in 2022 NCAA Tournament win vs. Ohio State | The Inquirer
Gillespie didn't shoot well, but he played winning basketball. “We have the ultimate faith and trust in him,” said Jermaine Samuels, Gillespie’s fellow fifth-year player.
Toohey: Big-body Dixon’s perimeter game giving Villanova a big boost – Delco Times
Eric Dixon didn’t hesitate. As soon as he caught the pass from Collin Gillespie with time winding down and Villanova clinging to a five-point lead, the 6-foot-8, 255-pound redshirt sophomore cocked his left arm and let fly.
NBA Wildcats
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Former Wildcats
Former Villanova assistant Ashley Howard out as La Salle head coach | The Inquirer
The former Villanova assistant amassed just a 45-71 overall record with the Explorers after replacing John Giannini in 2018.
La Salle fires coach Ashley Howard after 4 difficult seasons | AP News
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — La Salle fired coach Ashley Howard on Monday after four seasons without a winning record. Howard, once a top assistant under Jay Wright at Villanova, went 45-71 in four seasons and finished 11-19 this season.
Big East
Big East Baller Update No. 19: The opening weekend, the best weekend | The Daily Campus
The first and second round games are played for a reason. College basketball fans witnessed firsthand some of the shocking upsets that came down from No. 15 St. Peter’s going to the Sweet 16 to both second-seeded Auburn and top-seeded Baylor losing in the second round.
Villanova Women’s Basketball
Michigan beats Villanova, 64-49, in NCAA women's tournament | Detroit Free Press
Naz Hillmon had 27 points and 11 rebounds as Michigan women's basketball beat Villanova, 64-49, Monday at Crisler Center to advance to the Sweet 15.
Villanova women’s team falls to Michigan in NCAA tournament, 64-49 | The Inquirer
The Wildcats and their swarming defense gave the team a fighting chance, but this time, their key shots didn't fall.
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