College Basketball Power 10: Kentucky Isn’t The Best
By Jeremy Karll
2. Villanova (6-0)
Losing Ryan Arcidiacono isn’t easy, but it helps when you can replace him with a former McDonald’s All-American and starter from last year’s championship team in Jalen Brunson. As a result, Villanova hasn’t lost a beat and looks arguably better than last season at this point.
Josh Hart is averaging 18.2 points per game on 57.4 percent shooting from the field and 44.4 percent shooting from three. The Wildcats needed him to become their star and go-to player on offense, and he’s done just that.
Villanova’s biggest win of the season came in their second game against Purdue. They forced Isaac Haas into foul trouble and controlled Caleb Swanigan in the second half.
A backcourt consisting of Brunson, Hart and Kris Jenkins is second to none, but winning against a team with an elite frontcourt answers a lot of questions for the Wildcats.
If they can win inside and out, they could be poised for another championship run. Right now, Villanova looks as good as any team in the country and as unbeatable as they come.
Their maturity, talent, poise under pressure and head coach Jay Wright will make it very hard to beat them, as they have very few flaws teams can expose.
Even though they don’t have a 20-point win since their season opener against Lafayette, the Wildcats are taking teams out of the game early, which is important for great teams against mid-majors.
The Wildcats will play Penn and Saint Joseph’s this week.