Editorial: The Wright stuff keyed Nova’s triumph

Villanova coach Jay Wright, left, speaks as he and the team celebrate with fans on the schools campus Tuesday, April 5, 2016, in Villanova, Pa. Villanova defeated North Carolina 77-74 to win the NCAA mens college basketball toiurnament Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

AP

Villanova coach Jay Wright, left, speaks as he and the team celebrate with fans on the school’s campus Tuesday, April 5, 2016, in Villanova, Pa. Villanova defeated North Carolina 77-74 to win the NCAA men’s college basketball toiurnament Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Dante Watson, Staff Writer

With four and a half seconds left, the North Carolina Tar Heels thought they were going to go into overtime with hopes of winning a national championship after coming from behind a ten point deficit late in the 2nd half. However, after a pass from senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono, Kris Jenkins cemented his name into college basketball folklore by hitting a buzzer beater game-winning three pointer to capture a national championship for his Villanova Wildcats. The shot heard around the world was the icing on the cake to a phenomenal game, and a quintessential cherry on top to a remarkable NCAA basketball season.

 
Besides Kris Jenkins nailing the most important shot of the evening, he wasn’t the lone star of the night at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Villanova kept North Carolina’s dominant front-court relatively in check the whole game. Despite being outrebounded 36-23 by NC, the Wildcats had a game plan to limit the opposition from controlling the tempo of the game with their big men. Villanova’s constant pressure in the paint caused a lot of contested shots and many misses, which contributed to North Carolina’s low 42% field goal percentage. Senior Daniel Ochefu was a force down low and the main contributor to minimizing the Tar Heels from scoring racks of points in the paint. His defensive effort was an integral part to Villanova winning the championship.

 
The unselfish team play that Villanova displayed was another reason why they proved they were the better team. Senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono orchestrated the offense to where they took high percentage shots every possession they had. His ability to be a floor general on the court, almost like a second coach, helped the team limit their mistakes in the game. He helped set his guys up for quality shots that he knew they could make. Villanova’s knack for taking the best shot every possession lead to them ending the game with a field goal percentage of almost 59% percent. The way they played the game, is the standard for how the game should be played.

 
Yes, Daniel Ochefu played his best defensive game, yes Ryan Arcidiacono lead the team with his uncanny leadership and floor general skills, and yes Kris Jenkins hit the buzzer beating game winning shot, but none of that could have been possible without the fundamental coaching of Jay Wright. The Wildcats were down at halftime by five points, after getting bullied in the paint by North Carolina’s big men Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson. During halftime, Coach Wright made the necessary adjustments to counteract and slow down the nucleus of the Tar Heels. The adjustments included moving Ochefu in the paint, forcing North Carolina to shoot perimeter shots that they were not too comfortable with.

 
At the beginning of the season few probably had Villanova picked to win it all. The Wildcats blocked out the outside noise, stayed focus to their goal, which was to get into the tournament, and from there took it one game at a time. Once they got in the tournament, they corrected every mistake they made during the regular season, and had a dominant four games, which saw them in the championship game. All the hard work and dedication came down to a flick of the wrist from Kris Jenkins, and when he made the shot heard around the world, Villanova’s basketball season was complete, the confetti rained down on them, they held up the championship trophy, and proved to the NCAA that a team that plays together, will win together.