The Villanova Wildcats can put the past behind them, as there won't be any more questions about them getting past the second round of the NCAA Tournament following their dominating 87-68 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes Sunday.
Head coach Jay Wright has his team playing their best basketball at the most important time, as the Wildcats came out firing taking a 54-29 lead by halftime. The Wildcats have had a history with shooting too many contested three-point shots, but Sunday Villanova played smart, driving the lane and dishing passes for wide open looks.
The Wildcats finished the game shooting 52 percent from behind the arc, and took quality shoots shooting 59 percent from the field. "We're thrilled that we came out and played a first half like that," Wright said. "When I shook hands with Fran (McCaffrey), I just said, 'Hey, I'm sorry.' We haven't played a first half like that in a long time."
The Wildcats received a total team effort Sunday, as four of their starters scored in double digits. Junior guard Josh Hart led the way for Villanova scoring a team-high 19 points and making seven of his 11 shots. Senior forward Daniel Ochefu came up with a big game against the Hawkeyes, as he finished the game with 11 rebounds, three steals, three blocks and six points.
The Wildcats will look for their big-man to have another strong performance in the Sweet 16, but they face a difficult challenge against the Miami Hurricanes. The ACC has been proven themselves to be the best conference in college basketball with their play in the tournament thus far, and Miami is coming off an impressive victory in which they took down the Wichita State Shockers 65-57.
Villanova is loaded with upperclassmen in this year's tournament, and outside of freshman guard Jalen Brunson its entire starting lineup is filled with juniors and seniors. "We wanted it badly for this senior class," Wright said. "I really didn't want them to go down as the winningest class in Villanova history but never got past the first weekend."
The South Region of the bracket already has the top three seeds advanced to the Sweet 16, and many are already anxiously anticipating a matchup between the Hurricanes and the Wildcats this upcoming Thursday.
