Marquette’s dominance, In-state showdowns among Big East storylines for the week
By John Makuch
4. Villanova continues to confuse the nation
To be quite frank, Villanova makes absolutely no sense right now and has not made sense all season long. These were the champions of the Battle 4 Atlantis, which saw them beat Texas Tech, UNC, and Memphis. They followed that up with back-to-back upsets by Saint Josephs and Drexel, and now this week they played a great game against Kansas State and just took down UCLA.
If you want an example of a team that plays down and up to their competition, then look no further than these Villanova Wildcats under Kyle Neptune. Their nonconference slate is now over, so the full picture and resume that they will have come tournament time is clear.
They have four losses, and three of them are to teams that are very much a lower tier than the Wildcats. However, they have strong wins against teams like UNC, Memphis, and now UCLA. But losses to Penn and their two most recent upsets are going to hold them back a ton. Now, the Wildcats have no choice but to have a dominant run in conference play and avoid major upsets along the way.
However, with the strength of this conference, it is going to be tough for them to have a dominant enough run in order to make a run at an at-large bid for the tournament. For Villanova, winning the conference tournament may be their only option after this slate.