Villanova, the defending national champion, was expected to return to the NCAA Tournament this season for the fifth straight year and for the 12th time under Jay Wright. It's where it ended up that was more than a little amazing.
The Wildcats earned the No. 1 overall seed Sunday from the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee, the panel that selects and seeds the 68-team field. Clearly, they defied all the preseason talk that they would be complacent or cut corners because of what they already achieved.
The numbers told the story: a 31-3 record, their fourth straight Big East regular-season title and the second conference tournament championship in the last three years, 12 wins over the RPI Top 50, the most wins by a reigning national champion, and the fewest losses by the previous year's champion since Duke had three in 2002.
The top seed in the East Regional, the Cats will begin tournament play Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y., against the winner of a play-in game Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, between Mount St. Mary's (19-15), champion of the Northeast Conference, and New Orleans (20-11), winner of the Southland Conference.
Wright gives credit for the team's success to seniors Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds, whom he has called "the three greatest seniors in college basketball." He might have a case considering that in their four years on the Main Line, the 'Nova NCAA seeds have read 2, 1, 2, and 1.
"A lot of character, that's the biggest part," Hart said. "We were national champs last year. There were a lot of opportunities to get complacent, a lot of opportunities to get big-headed. That's something we don't do. We're coachable. We hold each other accountable, and that's something that comes from our character and really derives from our parents. It just shows you the kind of coach that we have."
Jenkins said senior leadership at Villanova was "an example that was set before we got here, when we first got here, and it's going to be an example when we leave."
"The seniors are the rock of the program. They set the example and everyone else follows. How we got back to this spot is everybody having an open mind, being open to coaching, and being willing to grow and develop and listen."
The Wildcats defeated three NCAA teams _ Purdue, Notre Dame, and Virginia _ in their nonconference schedule, and five in their own league. They finished two games better than when they started their championship march last year.
In Wright's program, achievements are not celebrated with coaches and players under after the season ends, and that includes being an overall No. 1 seed. But he said this is important.
"Having that (championship) hangover all year, it's there, man, it's a challenge," he said. "I thought our guys handled it really well and I'm really proud of that. Right now it doesn't do us any good; we've got to prepare for the NCAA Tournament. But it's something that at the end of the season I think we're going to take great pride in."
The road to a repeat will be intense. The Wildcats' second-round opponent will be either No. 8 seed Wisconsin, the only school to reach the Sweet 16 in each of the last three seasons, or No. 9 Virginia Tech, coached by Buzz Williams, who matched wits against Villanova 12 times (4-8 record) during his six seasons at Marquette.
Two wins means Villanova returns to Madison Square Garden for a potential semifinal matchup against Baylor or Southern Methodist, and then a prospective gigantic regional championship game against second-seeded Duke.
There's no talk of a repeat, not yet.
"We don't talk about it at all," Hart said. "If we get there, then we'll be able to answer those questions. But we can't look forward to that because we've got a tough first game. Then it goes from there. It's a tough think so we really can't think about repeating right now."
