Mount St. Mary’s-Villanova Preview

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Villanova got an early start in defending its national championship while its first-round opponent was still a step away from the Big Dance.

The Wildcats, seeded No. 1 overall in the NCAA Tournament, arrived in Buffalo on Monday ahead of the snowstorm snarling travel throughout the Northeast. The Big East Conference champions practiced in western New York on Tuesday before even knowing who they would open up against in the East Region.

“You’re a 1-seed playing a 16-seed, so there’s nothing to complain about,” Villanova coach Jay Wright told CSNPhilly.com before leaving Philadelphia.

Villanova (31-3) learned it will meet Mount St. Mary’s (20-15) on Thursday night at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center after the Northeast Conference champion narrowly defeated New Orleans 67-66 on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio.

The Wildcats are trying to become the first repeat national champions since Florida in 2006 and 2007. If they can beat the Mountaineers on Thursday and also get past No. 8 seed Wisconsin or No. 9 Virginia Tech in the second round, they advance to the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden, where they won the Big East Championship on Saturday night with a 74-60 victory over Creighton.

No defending champion has ever entered the NCAA Tournament with more wins than Villanova and no No. 16 seed has ever defeated a No. 1.

“This starts a new season,” Wright said. “Whatever our seed is, whatever we did in the regular season doesn’t matter. We’re one of 68 teams. That’s it. And we get beat in the first round, we’re done. Let’s enjoy the finality of this, the pressure, let’s enjoy this, let’s embrace it.”

Villanova won last year’s national championship game against North Carolina on Kris Jenkins’ last-second 3-pointer. National Player of the Year candidate Josh Hart said this year’s Wildcats team has a higher ceiling than last year’s.

“The difference between this year and last year is we are a little bit younger this year, so there’s still room to improve,” Hart said. “I don’t know if we’re better. I just know that we’re playing just as well at the end of the season.”

This is the third time Villanova earned a No. 1 seed. In 2006, the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Florida. In 2015, Villanova lost in the second round against North Carolina State.

Wright led two teams into NCAA Tournament games in Buffalo and doesn’t have fond recollections from either experience. Villanova played there in 2014, as a No. 2 seed, and lost to eventual national champion UConn.

“Great disappointment,” Wright said. “But not just in losing, but we didn’t really play Villanova basketball either.

“My first NCAA Tournament game ever (in 2000), where we were at Hofstra, was at Buffalo, same place. And it was St. Paddy’s Day and there was a blizzard. I was thinking, ‘My whole life, I waited to coach in the NCAA Tournament and it was miserable. … It was a horrible first experience as a coach, and it was in Buffalo.”

Mount St. Mary’s started the season 1-11 but went 19-4 sinece.

The Mountaineers are making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and second under fifth-year coach Jamion Christian. This is the first time since 2008 that Mount St. Mary’s plays in a regional. In 2014, Mount St. Mary’s lost to Coppin State in the First Four.

Mount St. Mary's beats New Orleans 67-66 to open First Four

By JOE KAY
Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Diminutive point guard Junior Robinson fearlessly dribbled into the heart of New Orleans' defense, pulled up and hit yet another of his oh-so-soft jumpers. This one decided a frenetic opening game for the NCAA Tournament.

The smallest player in Division I scored 23 points Tuesday night, including that go-ahead jumper with 1:27 to play, and Mount St. Mary's held on for a 67-66 victory over New Orleans in the First Four.

Robinson carried the Mountaineers (20-15) to only their second NCAA Tournament win, making jumpers with so much arc they appeared to tease the ceiling.

"The way he plays out there — his speed, his athleticism — it's just so special," coach Jamion Christian said. "When you're a smaller guy, you're naturally going to have a chip on your shoulder and you want to go out there and show the world the things you can do."

The Mountaineers will head to Buffalo to play defending national champion and top overall seed Villanova in the East Regional on Thursday. They had a charter flight waiting after the game.

"It's a dream come true," guard Elijah Long said. "But this is March Madness, and this is part of the madness."

Mount St. Mary's led most of the way, but New Orleans (20-12) pulled off a comeback befitting its resurgent season. The Privateers had a chance for a final shot, but Erik Thomas' inbound pass with 2.6 seconds left was off target and stolen by the Mountaineers' Chris Wray.

The Privateers' tournament appearance was part of a huge turnaround for the school, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They went 10-20 last season, but won the Southland's regular season and tournament titles for the first time in school history.

Their final comeback came up short.

After trailing by as many as 11 in the first half and nine in the second, they briefly took a 64-63 lead on Christavious Gill's free throws with 1:48 left. Robinson responded with his soft jumper, and the Mountaineers held on.

"We started the engine on the car, and now the car is moving," said Nate Frye, who led New Orleans with 18 points. "We've got to pick up speed and keep building off what we did this year. We established the building blocks of what was broken down from Katrina."

COOL IT

New Orleans forward Travin Thibodeaux and Gill had to be separated by a coach during a timeout with 6:36 left in the game.

Thibodeaux was called for a 3-second violation and complained to Gill as they headed to the bench. They exchanged words, and Gill pushed the forward away. Thibodeaux appeared to wrap his arm around the point guard's neck as they were separated.

Thibodeaux was benched the rest of the way. He finished with 11 points.

"Unfortunately, it will take away a little bit from the experience of the game and how great of an experience this was for us," coach Mark Slessinger said.

BIG PICTURE

Mount St. Mary's: The Mountaineers wear warmup shirts with "Mayhem" on the back, reminding them of their pressure defense. They forced 14 turnovers that set up 19 points.

New Orleans: The Privateers' offense was unbalanced. They scored 42 points in the paint, taking care of their advantage on the front line, but were only 1 of 9 from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT

Mount St. Mary's: The Mountaineers will be trying to pull off the first upset of a top seed by a No. 16 seed when they face Villanova.

New Orleans: The Privateers are 1-5 all-time in the tournament. They lose three senior starters: Tevin Broyles, Gill and Erik Thomas.