No. 5 Villanova vs. No. 13 North Texas preview, picks for second round of 2021 NCAA Tournament

[Tom McKrackin]

No. 5 Villanova: 17-6 (11-4 Big East):

First round result: 73-63 win over No. 12 Winthrop
KenPom rating: 12 Overall, 9 Offense, 63 Defense
NET ranking: 17 (5-3 VS Quad 1)
Leading scorer: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (15.7 ppg)
Key stat: Villanova turns it over less than any team in America per possession (13.3%).

VU finally wins a game without Collin Gillespie, but what might be the most impressive thing is only having six turnovers without your star senior point guard available. Chris Arcidiacono did start for the Wildcats in his place, but that experiment has likely ended after another poor performance in just 12 minutes.

Link:  https://dknation.draftkings.com/2021/3/20/22336356/north-texas-vs-villanova-picks-preview-prediction-2021-ncaa-tournament-bracket-stats-odds-news

[ADLER]

A couple of things to remember about Villanova:

Virginia is the defending National Champions, the year before that, it was Villanova.

Since 2013, Villanova basketball has won 10 out of 13 Big East championships (combined regular season and tournament) and 2 NCAA Tournament Championships.

Right now, Villanova is the ultimate Blue Blood program in the country. They recruit at an extremely high level, and according to one fan, North Texas doesn't have a single player they would have even looked at.

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Edited March 20, 2021 by ADLER

[GBarksdale]

I’ve seen a lot of Villanova basketball this year because we’re force fed Big East BB in this part of the country.  In fact, I’m a fan (except for this weekend).

 Villanova is damn good and tomorrow’s game will be tough.  But they’re not the same team they were the last time they went to the dance - even before Gillespie got hurt against Creighton.  And if it hadn’t been for Robinson-Earl last night they could have very well lost.  

Winthrop was tough and aggressive, and they gave Nova an incredible run for their money.  But we’re smarter and more disciplined and agile than Winthrop.  We have a real shot at winning tomorrow night.  

This Blue Blood team may not have given our guys looks before.  I guarantee you they’re looking at them today.
 

 

 

[ADLER]

Quote

The Villanova Wildcats, which had previously won the 2016 and 2018 national championships, clinched the 2021 Big East Conference regular-season title with a win over Creighton.

They are very good, and they are a legendary program. They were the ultimate giant killers back in 1985 when Ed Pinckney led the regional eight-seed Villanova Wildcats to the NCAA Championship over the heavily favored defending National Champion Georgetown Hoyas led by Patrick Ewing.