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Oh No, Everyone Is Picking Villanova

By Kyle Scott

Published: Mar 22nd, 2016 · 10:15 AM EDT

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Ask for coverage and ye shall receive the mush.

The Daily News polled its writers, presumably reaching some of them through a courier, about where Villanova will finish. They were bullish:

And here’s John Smallwood, most bullish of all, even though his written word doesn’t match his prediction:

The ‘Cats beat Miami and then take out either No. 1 seed Kansas or No. 5 Maryland to win the South Region and move to the Final Four for the first time since 2009.

In Houston, the South is matched up against the West, which should set up a tough rematch against Oklahoma in the national semifinals. The 78-55 rout by the Sooners in December was an aberration that ‘Nova makes up for.

In the NCAA championship game, Villanova faces North Carolina, which unfortunately for ‘Nova Nation is the only team that has enough talent to beat the Wildcats if both play their best games.

The Wildcats CAN win it all but WILL finish as national runner-up.

? From can’t get out of the second round to the championship game. Gulp.

My take: I like Nova’s chances against Kansas better than against Miami. I think Jay is a better coach than Bill Self, and as Dick Jerardi noted in this piece, Kansas isn’t stocked with NBA talent like they usually are. Playing an ACC team coached by Jim Larranaga worries me more. Alas. Miami is first. I’ll stick with my original prediction of Elite 8, however, simply because an off-shooting night can doom Villanova against anyone. But they are good enough to win any game, without it being a fluke. So if they play anywhere near the level they played against Iowa, they can easily get to the Final Four.

CB official poll:

Kyle: Elite 8

Jim: Elite 8

Podcaster John: Elite 8

Sales guy Ed: Elite 8