NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Illinois rises, Dayton keeps impressing

Villanova is starting to evolve into the team that many thought it could be in the preseason. Although still quite young, the Wildcats are playing at a very high level right now and have rattled off six consecutive wins to reach their current 16-3 (6-1 BE) record. While Villanova’s offense has been the main reason for its successes so far, its defense has taken center stage in recent weeks.

The Wildcats have held seven of their last nine opponents under 70 points.

During this past week, Villanova defended its home court in a strong victory over Butler. Even though the Dawgs were able to make a significant comeback in the second half of that game, the Wildcats deserve credit for putting the hammer down and walking away with a 15-point victory. They then followed up that game by going on the road and squeaking out a win over the pesky Providence Friars.

Instead of highlighting one particular player for their performances as of late, I want to mention that Villanova’s balance is particularly impressive. The Wildcats do not utilize a deep bench as they typically run just a seven-man rotation but any player can step up on any given night.

They are impossible to build a strong gameplan for because their roster is so dangerous from top-to-bottom and they can absolutely light it up from 3-point range.