Grading Villanova For The 2014-15 Season

Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright knows a thing or two about expectations. After all, the Wildcats have won nearly 66 percent of their outings since he first assumed the role of bench-boss 13 years ago.

Coming into the 2014-15 campaign, expectations were understandably high for Wright’s team. The Wildcats returned four of five starters from a team that won 29 games to claim the Big East title in 2013-14. They were versatile and deep, featuring five players who averaged more than 16 minutes of game time from the previous campaign.

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Did the Wildcats live up to those expectations? Undoubtedly some in the Villanova community will view the team’s NCAA Tournament, Round of 32 defeat to N.C. State as a lasting blemish on an otherwise sterling campaign. Nevertheless, it’s difficult not to argue 2014-15 yielded enough highs to placate even the most critical of eyes.

Villanova went 33-3, claimed both the Big East regular season and tournament titles, and also gained a top-seed in the Big Dance. Before their untimely loss to the Wolfpack, the Wildcats had racked up a perfect 17-0 record in non-conference action while outscoring their opponents by almost 16 points per game.

Most analysts believed the Wildcats to be a top 10 to 15 team heading into the season. Villanova exceeded those expectations from the outset, ripping off 12 straight wins before dropping their first contest of the year against Seton Hall in early January. The Wildcats went on to drop another game to Georgetown 16 days later. However, Villanova wouldn’t lose again until more than two months had passed.

With Darrun Hilliard and Ryan Arcidiacono already considered the conference’s best back court, Villanova needed someone besides JayVaughn Pinkston to step forward in the front court.

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Enter Baltimore native Daniel Ochefu, who nearly doubled his offensive production from the previous season. The 6-foot-11 post averaged 9.2 points and 8.5 rebounds (opposed to his averages of 5.7 and 6.1 in 2013-14) and did enough to take some heat off Pinkston up front.

Yet it was the contributions of Josh Hart and Dylan Ennis that really made a difference for Wright’s team. Like Ochefu, Ennis’ production nearly doubled from the previous campaign (9.9 points per game in 2014-15 compared to 5.1 in 2013-14). His presence added another outside weapon for the Wildcats while Hart also improved his scoring touch from 7.8 points the previous season to 10.1 in 2014-15, giving Villanova six players who averaged at least 9.2 points per outing for the season.

The Wildcats’ also showcased stickier defense in 2014-15, cutting their defensive average nearly five points from the previous season. Along the way, they committed less turnovers (382 this season versus 406 in 2013-14), forced more giveaways (508 in 2014-15 compared to 468 last season) and improved their scoring margin from 11.5 points per game in 2013-14 to 15.6 this year.

Taking everything into account, it’s hard not to grade the Wildcats’ most recent campaign in the most glowing terms. Even with their disheartening exit from the NCAA Tournament, Villanova enjoyed a historic campaign that yielded a school record for victories while also setting the stage for more success in the future. Villanova returns Arcidiacono, Hart, Ennis and Ochefu for 2015-16, making Wright’s team a likely favorite to win year another Big East crown next season.

Add it all up and their loss in the Big Dance was indeed a lone moment of disappointment in an otherwise stellar campaign.

Final Grade: A

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