No. 2 seed Villanova has advanced through the NCAA Tournament with margins of victory of 30, 19, 23, five and 44. That 44-point margin came in the Final Four victory over Oklahoma and was the largest margin of victory in Final Four history.
That said, Villanova head coach Jay Wright knows it will be a tough matchup against UNC on Monday night.
“We know we’re going to play a really tough team that’s probably playing the best basketball in the country right now,” Wright said at his press conference on Sunday.
The game pits the slower, slug-it-out style of play of Villanova against the high-octane offense of North Carolina.
“The matchups are unique,” Wright said. “We are different teams. And it is going to be a battle of wills because they do some things really well that we don’t; we have perimeter play that’s a lot different than theirs; obviously, we’re going to have to deal with their size, their length, their rebounding, their inside game.
“This is going to be a hell of a game.”
Wright pointed to limiting North Carolina’s offensive rebounding as a key to a Wildcat victory.
“It’s not just length and athleticism, it’s scheme to have those guys around the basket, it’s desire,” Wright said. “We’ve got to scheme against it, and we’ve got to have the toughness and aggressiveness to want to go get it like they do.”
After being the preseason number one team in the country, the Tar Heels had some ups and downs throughout the season before winning the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament championships.
Villanova also had some dominating stretches throughout the season, and Wright says this game matches up the two teams playing the best basketball right now.
“I think what you’re seeing is a season where there weren’t dominant players, there weren’t dominant teams,” Wright said. “And then you’re seeing a season where two teams just continued to get better and better and better and better.”
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