'Nova brings youth & unpredictability to the party

KANSAS CITY - There have been many years when Villanova's basketball team entered the NCAA Tournament with something to prove.

This is not one of them.

These Wildcats (20-13) won just by getting their name called on Selection Sunday. If you don't think so, try to remember that they lost to Columbia, at home, by 18 points the week before Thanksgiving. So how many times has anyone managed to earn an at-large bid to the Madness after losing like that to a team that would finish last in the Ivy League? Thought so.

But here they are, the ninth seed in the South Regional, playing No. 8 seed North Carolina (24-10) in a second-round game Friday night at the Sprint Center. Some might suggest they're playing with house money. Of course, they might not concur.

"I feel like we can't just be happy we're here," said junior swingman James Bell, one of the tri-captains. "It's an honor to be here, but . . . by the game, we have to focus on playing how we're capable of playing and to the level that we're capable. We just have to stick to what we do. I mean, it sounds simple, but it's very complicated. It's a big task for us."

So was Louisville. Or was that Syracuse? Maybe Georgetown. All were in the Top 5 when the Wildcats knocked them off. It's the only reason they got in. And now, they're looking at North Carolina as, well, one more team they're not supposed to beat. It hasn't seemed to stop them so far. So does it really matter that only two guys on Wright's roster have won an NCAA Tournament game, or that only three have even played in one? We'll find out soon enough.

"I think some of our young guys expected to be here," Wright said. "I think some of the sophomores realize how lucky they are that they're here, because we weren't last year. I think the juniors and seniors are like, 'OK, we're where we're supposed to be. We got it back.' I said to Ash [sophomore Achraf Yacoubou], 'Remember, we've got to go out and do this in practice.' And he said, 'Coach, I didn't do that [before].' And I'm like, 'You're right.' It made me start thinking about the number of guys who didn't. Even [assistant] Billy Lange. He was with us the first 3 years [2001-04]. We didn't go to the tournament [until 2005]. Even him.

"This experience is invaluable for next year. But once you're here, we to have to teach them how to be hungry and how to advance. I was a little concerned after Louisville [a 19-point rematch loss in the Big East quarterfinals] that they weren't as crushed as they should've been. That's one of the little challenges. They don't get too high. They don't get too low, either. Sometimes you want to see a little more fire. They're not nervous. They always think they're going to play big in big games. That's just who they are."

It's not as if Villanova hasn't had trouble in NCAA openers before, even when Wright had teams that would go to a Sweet 16 or an Elite Eight or even a Final Four. But this is different.

"I think it's much harder in the first round when you're a 1 or 2 seed," Wright said. "That's no-win. Even if you win by 12 or 13, people are going to question you. They want to know what's wrong. I've seen teams handle this well. I've seen teams that have not. Usually, when it's their first time, it's distracting. I'll talk to them about that. But we had a pretty good practice. I even cut it short."

On paper, this doesn't look like a good draw. Forget about the name on the front of the jersey. It's the way the Tar Heels go about their business, with emphasis on turning opponents over and doing their damage on offense from the perimeter. Villanova has been suspect when it comes to handling the ball, and has been burned from the arc way too many times, often by teams that aren't nearly as good at it as UNC. So . . .

"Some of the losses that you wouldn't think we would have is from not executing what we do well enough to get the job done," Bell said. "With our inconsistencies, that's what we try to focus on, not letting that happen. If we do that, we believe we'll be successful.

"They have great guard play. Me, Darrun [Hilliard, a sophomore], the rest of our guards, we have great responsibility. At the end of the day, it just falls on us. It's just a matter of not letting them play harder than us."

Effort has rarely been an issue for this group. That doesn't stop lead guard Ryan Arcidiacono from, well, sometimes looking like a true freshman. But he's the guy who'll mostly have the ball, and perhaps the game, in his hands.

"I grew up always watching Villanova basketball," said the Neshaminy High product, whose father Joe played football for 'Nova in the 1970s. "To be here now, it's just been unreal. To think it's only my first year. Hopefully, there's a couple more years to come."

It has to start somewhere.

"Every team has its own dynamics. I've never had a team like this," said Wright, who used the 2K Sports Classic games of Nov. 15 and 16 in New York as an illustration. "We had the great [comeback] game against Purdue in the Garden, then the next night against Alabama [a 22-point loss], the coaching staff was sitting there saying, 'Who is this team?' In the Purdue game, we were saying the same thing. They've just had some incredible accomplishments, and some great disappointments. That's just the personality of this group. But the confidence never wavers."