2017 NCAA Tournament: Villanova vs. Mount St Mary’s, preview, prediction, TV schedule

By Daniel Benjamin | Mar 16, 2017

Feb 18, 2017; Newark, NJ, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Josh Hart (3) shoots the ball as Seton Hall Pirates guard Madison Jones (30) defends during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

The Villanova Wildcats open their national title defense against the Mount St Mary Mountaineers in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

TV Schedule: March 16, 7:10 p.m. ET, CBS

Location: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York

Prediction: Villanova 83, Mount Saint Mary’s 59

These two teams are on complete opposite ends of the basketball spectrum. Villanova is the reigning national champion and lost a total of three games this season. In the meantime, Mount St Mary’s has the second most losses in the NCAA Tournament field. The Mountaineers “earned” the right to get pulverized by the Wildcats after being victorious in Tuesday’s play-in game.

Related: Rhode Island vs. Creighton preview, prediction, TV schedule

Villanova (31-3) has played well all season long. The Wildcats won their first 14 games of the season and went 13-3 against teams in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Two of the ‘Cats losses came to Butler and none came by more than 10 points. Villanova is on a five-game winning streak.

Villanova is a well-balanced squad despite not being very deep. The Wildcats’ get after it on both ends of the floor. The Cats’ are the fourth most efficient offensive team in the nation and they like to shoot threes, totaling 34.1 percent of their points off of shots from beyond the arc. They are nearly as good on the defensive end, ranking 25th in efficiency while placing in the top-80 in defensive shooting percentage and defensive effective shooting percentage.

Big East Player of the Year Josh Hart leads four starters in double-figures with 18.3 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. The 6-6 senior guard has reached double-figures in each of the Cats’ 31 games, which includes dumping 29 points on Creighton in the Big East Championship game. Hart, who was selected as the conference tournament MVP, had 63 points over three games as he made 21-of-41 shots.

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Sophomore point guard Jalen Brunson has grown leap and bounds from a year ago. Brunson is averaging 14.8 points along with 4.2 assists while shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 39.6 percent from the three-point line. Veteran Kris Jenkins, who made the game-winning shot in last year’s national championship game, is contributing 13.4 points a contest as he makes 2.5 three-pointers a game.

6-7 sophomore wing Mikal Bridges and 6-7 sophomore forward Eric Paschall are two other key pieces to the puzzle. Bridges brings versatility and athleticism while Paschall is a wide body who does the little things well. Redshirt freshman guard Doug DiVincenzo provides much-needed scoring off the bench and forward Darryl Reynolds anchors the interior defense.

Villanova is entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed for the third time. The Wildcats have lost their NCAA Tournament opening-round game five times. The Cats are 4-2 as a No. 1 seed, reaching the Final Four in 2008 and getting eliminated in the second round in 2015. Overall, Villanova is 57-35 overall in 36 tournament appearances, including 20-12 under head coach Jay Wright.

Mount St Mary’s (20-15) had a rough start to the season. The Mountaineers lost to several quality opponents and as a result, started the campaign with a 1-11 record. But the Mountaineers have turned things around in a major way. The NEC regular and postseason champions are 19-4 over their last 23 games, which includes a 67-66 play-in victory over New Orleans on Tuesday night.

5-5 diminutive junior guard Junior Robinson led the way for The Mount with 23 points in the win over New Orleans, which included the go-ahead jumper with 1:27 to play. Robinson made a season-high 9-of-14 field goal attempts and was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He has now scored 20 points in three of his last four games.

Sophomore guard Elijah Long, the NEC Player of the Year, leads the way for Mount St Mary’s with 15.1 points. Long is also averaging 5.3 boards and 4.4 assists a game while shooting nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Joining Long in double figures is Robinson (14.3 points) and freshman guard Miles Wilson (11.5 points), who tallied 17 points in a win over New Orleans.

Mount St Mary’s likes to play uptempo and create mayhem on the defensive end with their press. The Mounties’ defense ranks 38th in the nation in forcing turnovers (14.9) and 23rd in turnover percentage (21.7). They scored 19 points off of 14 New Orleans turnovers on Tuesday. The Mountaineers are not a good rebounding team.

Next: Ranking the entire field of 68

The Mount is making their third NCAA Tournament appearance this century, and fifth overall. The Mountaineers are 2-4 all-time in the Tournament, having also defeated Coppin State in the opening round in 2008.

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