NCAA East Region analysis: Another masterpiece season for Villanova
Villanova has a storied college basketball history with four Final Four appearances and one of the greatest upsets in the game’s history, defeating Georgetown to win the 1985 NCAA Championship.
But this year’s Villanova team, the top seed in the East Region, already owns a school-record 32 victories.
The Wildcats will look to add to the total against 16th-seeded Lafayette. If Villanova advances, it meets the winner of eighth-seeded North Carolina State and ninth-seeded LSU.
It’s the first top seed for the Wildcats since 2006, and they are the tournament’s second overall No. 1 seed after finishing first in the Big East then capturing the Big East Tournament for the first time in 20 years. The Wildcats ride a 15-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament.
Based on the NCAA Tournament seed list, the strongest second seed is in the East — Virginia. The Cavaliers finished first in the Atlantic Coast Conference but were knocked out of the ACC Tournament in the semifinals. Had Virginia reached the final, it could have been a No. 1 seed.
The Cavaliers will meet 15th-seeded Belmont, who have a former Virginia player in guard Taylor Barnette.
“You’re at the stage where there are so many good teams who you know you’re going to have to play, whether you’re a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.
Fifth-seeded Northern Iowa, 30-3, was projected by some as a top-four seed after winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Panthers take on 12th-seed Wyoming, in the field for the first time under coach Larry Shyatt.
No. 14 seed Albany had a great year, winning the America East, but the Great Danes’ Peter Hooley delivered one of the highlights of the conference tournaments with a game-winning three-pointer that beat Stony Brook.
To reach Blair Kerkhoff, call 816-234-4730 or send email to bkerkhoff@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BlairKerkhoff.
BEST MATCHUP
Seventh-seeded Michigan State has played well down the stretch, falling in the Big Ten title game to Wisconsin in overtime. The Spartans will get a serious challenge from 10th-seeded Georgia.
UPSET SPECIAL
At least one opening round winner has won a second round game since the field expanded to 68 in 2011. Dayton has a huge advantage playing Tuesday on its hope floor, and look for the Flyers to ride the momentum past Providence.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Louisville power forward Montrezl Harrell is one of the game’s best athletes.
FINAL FOUR PICK
Virginia over Villanova
This story was originally published March 15, 2015 at 7:29 PM with the headline "NCAA East Region analysis: Another masterpiece season for Villanova."