PITTSBURGH – There is only one men’s basketball team that has won two NCAA titles the past 10 years and it’s Villanova.
The Wildcats’ championship pedigree was clear to a sellout crowd of 18,738 at the PPG Paints Arena.
But it was Delaware that experienced it first-hand on the hardwood, where the Blue Hens’ promising start – a 7-point lead 8½ minutes into the game – was brushed aside like a minor inconvenience by Villanova.
The Wildcats’ 80-60 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament over Delaware on Friday afternoon was a clinic in the difference between major-conference and mid-major basketball, most clearly exemplified by Villanova’s ability to drain 3-pointers.
“They’ve been the model program,” said Delaware sixth-year coach Martin Ingelsby, who has tried to mold his after Villanova’s.
“It hasn’t been Duke, it hasn’t been Kentucky, it hasn’t been North Carolina, and it hasn’t been Kansas. It’s been Villanova.”
That doesn’t mean Villanova won’t lose its next encounter Sunday with Ohio State or another NCAA tourney collision in the coming weeks.
But it was going to take a miracle for Delaware to pull this off, which was certainly what the Blue Hens and a large gathering of their fans were thinking could possibly happen in those glorious opening minutes.
They will be fondly recalled, as they should.
“I enjoyed every minute of it,” fifth-year senior guard Ryan Allen said after his final Delaware game, despite Villanova’s late dominance and the outcome.
And they should also serve as brick in whatever foundation the Blue Hens build for their future, which looks quite promising.
Delaware’s best three players have three years of eligibility left (Jyare Davis and Andrew Carr) and two years left (Jameer Nelson Jr.).
“I’m extremely excited,” said Davis, the Sanford School graduate who transferred in after red-shirting last year as a freshman at Villanova’s Big East rival Providence. “When I came back here to Delaware, I said I wanted to help do something special for the state of Delaware, for the University of Delaware.
“I think we’re really just getting started here. I hope I can do more to help raise Delaware, put us all on the map and come back here next year and win some games.”
There certainly is potential around them from returning players, especially the mercurial Ebby Asamoah, who can be a heroic defender and clutch shooter – he led the CAA in 3-point percentage in league games – but had a glaring zero points Friday. He also has two years left.
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New transfer rules allowing immediate eligibility has made movement between schools frequent. Delaware, which presently has two available scholarships, has already heard from those looking for new homes.
The CAA champs will be an appealing destination. Nelson also arrived via transfer (George Washington).
“I think a lot of people are interested,” Ingelsby said. “Having our name out there, our logo out there, how we play.”
But winning a one-bid league like the CAA comes down to three days in March, as Delaware just demonstrated while winning the conference tournament as a No. 5 seed. And with 13 teams in the league next season because of expansion, more schools will have to play an extra tournament game, making finishing higher even more critical.
So while it can never become Villanova, Delaware is certainly on the right track in emulating its approach. And finding guys who can make 3-point shots, the way Villanova does, wouldn’t hurt.
Delaware was 3-for-20 beyond the arc Saturday. Villanova was 13-for-28, skilled at getting guys open for shots and then draining them.
The Wildcats entered the game averaging 9.3 3-pointers per contest, 25th best in the nation. Naturally, it was Delaware’s defensive focus in preparation.
“I thought we did a really good job guarding for 25 seconds, and then they made some very timely threes,” Ingelsby said. “[Connor] Gillespie makes a step-back one, [Caleb] Daniels had one that bounced in, hit the front of the rim and bounced in at the end of the first half.
“And then we had a couple breakdowns, and they make you pay. You want to do a really good job guarding the line and trying to take it away. It’s a lot easier said than done. And that was a big emphasis of ours. We didn’t do a good enough job to keep kind of us in the game.”
It was the 14th time Villanova has shot better than 40 percent beyond the arc this season. The Wildcats have won 12 of those games.
“That’s what they do,” Allen said.
If it’s something Delaware can start doing better, it would hasten the Hens return to the NCAA Tournament.
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com.
