1 and we just wanted to talk about DePaul," Jay Wright said. 8 seed N.C. State in its second game of the NCAA tournament.Villanova graduated two starters from its 2015 team — leading scorer Darrun Hilliard (14.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg), pictured above, and JayVaughn Pinkston (9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), while guard Dylan Ennis (9.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.5 apg) transferred.The Wildcats enrolled a three-player freshman class in 2015:Villanova finished the 2015-16 season ranked No. 10 seed in tournament history to reach the Final Four. Subscribe Subscribe now! "In a fierce Big East contest, Villanova pulled out a one-point road win behind Ryan Arcidiacono's go-ahead layup in the final minute and Daniel Ochefu's block on the other end. "Playing at Maryland, Villanova fell by three despite a career-high 29 points and 16 rebounds from Ed Pinckney. Eric Paschall, who made 35.6 percent of his shots from deep in 2018, was the Defensively, Villanova was great at limiting opponents' 3-point shooting, holding them to 31.7 percent from deep on the season.Here is Villanova's scouting report from kenpom.com.The 2018 NCAA tournament was the seventh year of college basketball's current postseason format. 15 Boston College behind Harold Pressley's 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting with eight rebounds as the Wildcats won their 18th game in a row in the Villanova Field House.Villanova needed just seven minutes to build a double-digit lead and the Wildcats led by as many as 21 behind Dwayne McClain's 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Eric Paschall was a monster on the boards, pulling down 14 rebounds, while Texas Tech had just 28 as a team. 2 nationally in 2-point percentage (57.4 percent) and second in free-throw percentage (78.2 percent). The Wildcats turned a slim, two-point lead with roughly four minutes left in the half into a 14-point lead at halftime, and they never looked back.For the third time in eight games, Mikal Bridges set a new career-high, this time it was 28 points against a big-time non-conference foe in Gonzaga. "It was one of those nights we couldn't make shots but hung in there defensively. The Wildcats made eight 3-pointers but only shot 29 percent from deep — something that troubled coach Jay Wright. "Notoriety never bothered me," McClain said, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. "It was definitely a big-time sigh of relief," Ryan Arcidiacono said. "That's what we should be fired up about," Bridges said. "They're just big in the big games," Jay Wright said of Arcidiacono and Ochefu. 8 seeded Wildcats remain the lowest seed to win the title.This year's event is also notable in that it was the last one before the shot clock. "We have not started well any game this season and to do it against a team like that and to try to come from behind against a team like that, you're going to be in trouble and that's what happened," Jay Wright said.Villanova scored 38 points in both halves behind Josh Hart's team-high 18 points. "We are not playing great," Jay Wright said. "We played pretty good defense but couldn't rebound with them," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. This is the place to get INSIDE Villanova basketball. 5 Xavier. The 64-team format continued until 2001, when the tournament expanded to 65 teams and later 68 teams in 2011.Villanova upset defending national champion Georgetown 66-64 in the national championship. "Villanova shot 71 percent from the field, including 11-of-18 (61 percent) from three, while the Wildcats held Oklahoma All-American Buddy Hield to just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting. 2 seed, Villanova got past Iowa in the second round behind a balanced scoring attack with four players scoring at least 12 points. My teammates know I can play. The 27-foot heave gave the Wildcats the program's second title and first since 1985 — the inaugural year of the tournament's current 64-team format.Oklahoma and Syracuse also reached the Final Four in Houston. We have to focus on the things we can take care of that will help us get this 'W' on Sunday.
He rattled off 11 Villanova points in a row during a stretch in the second half, winking at former teammate Josh Hart, who had helped Villanova win the 2016 title and was sitting near the court at the game.