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Villanova smashes 'no great teams' narrative with epic tournament showing

Ronald Martinez / Getty Images Sport / Getty

In a season filled with upsets throughout the top 25, the narrative heading into March Madness was that the NCAA tournament would be wide open without a truly great team in the field.

That certainly held true when one considers that a No. 16 beat a No. 1 for the first time ever, No. 3 Michigan made the final without having to face a top-five team in the tournament, and No. 11 Loyola Chicago was one of the last four sides standing.

However, the narrative was smashed to pieces once the image of Villanova cutting down the nets for the second time in three years flashed across the screen.

With a tournament run that will go down as one of the most dominant in history, Jay Wright's Wildcats made it perfectly clear that they were easily the greatest in the land this season.

Here are a few reasons why:

Beat everyone by double digits

In a tournament that saw plenty of favorites suffer surprise losses, Villanova entertained no such thoughts, hammering its opponents throughout the entire championship run. The Wildcats became the first team since North Carolina in 2009 to win every game by double digits en route to the title. And it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering Villanova did the exact same thing in this year's Big East tournament. A great example of the Wildcats' dominance throughout the NCAA tournament was the overall point differential of each finalist - Michigan finished the event at plus-41, while Villanova was an astonishing plus-83.

Balanced scoring

While standouts Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges typically receive the majority of attention for Villanova, the Wildcats were among the most balanced teams in the country this season. Six different players averaged at least 10 points, led by Brunson at 19.2. That balance showed throughout the NCAA tournament, as four different players led the team in scoring during the six games. Brunson and Bridges took care of business in the first four rounds, but it was Eric Paschall and Donte DiVincenzo who took over in the Final Four.

Paschall was almost perfect in Villanova's blowout win over Kansas in the semis, pouring in 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting. And even that performance paled in comparison to the show that DiVincenzo put on against Michigan.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder absolutely scorched the Wolverines for a whopping 31 points off the bench, becoming the first player since Glen Rice in 1989 to score 30-plus points and make five 3-pointers in the title game. The fact that Villanova has so many players who can go off at any time makes the team virtually unguardable.

Can win stylish, or win ugly

With his perfect suits on the sideline, Wright is the most stylish coach in the business, and for the most part, the Wildcats' on-court play matched their leader's look this season. Villanova entered the tournament as the most efficient offensive team in the country in Ken Pomeroy's rankings, and then showed why in almost every matchup.

Round Points FG % 3-point FG %
1 87 59.6 51.9
2 81 39.7 41.5
Sweet 16 90 50 54.2
Elite Eight 71 33.3 16.7
Final Four 95 55.4 45
Title game 79 47.4 37

However, a quick look at that chart has the Elite Eight contest against Texas Tech jumping off the page. The normally lethal Wildcats made just 16.7 percent of their 3-pointers and just 33.3 percent of their field goals overall. Despite those shooting woes, they still handled the Red Raiders with ease, walking away with a 12-point win. The fact that Wright's outfit won shootouts, and also managed to grind out victories when shots weren't falling, shows just how dominant and resilient Villanova was this season.

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