Yesterday’s Action
Villanova entered The Zoo with thoughts of an upset and future NCAA tournament glory on their minds before faltering down the stretch and losing an overtime battle to Pittsburgh, 73-64. The size and strength of a rugged Pittsburgh squad was too much for the Wildcats, as the Panthers dominated the glass 41-28. The Panthers were led by the 6’9″ big man from Nigeria, Talib Zanna, who recorded 14 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, including 7 offensive boards as he ferociously went after every missed Pittsburgh shot. Freshman Ryan Arcidiacono did everything he could to pull this game out for the Wildcats, scoring a game-high 23 points on 5 of 8 shooting from behind the arc. Unfortunately, his teammates combined to shoot 1-12 from downtown, not a recipe for success when the game plan against a larger opponent is to win using the long ball.
When you look at it objectively, there’s absolutely no shame in losing a road game in overtime to one of the top teams in the country. However, for a Villanova team that found itself squarely on the bubble entering play, another win over a highly-touted team would have done wonders to solidify a spot in the tournament field. Sitting at 18 wins with a regular season finale against Georgetown and the Big East tournament yet to play, Villanova will likely need at least two more wins to get into the Big Dance. We’ve seen all season this Wildcats squad has the capability to beat any team in the country so I wouldn’t count them out to string a couple wins together and make the field.
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