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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In what was perhaps Villanova’s best defensive effort of the season, it was redshirt freshman Mikal Bridges who led the way.
“I give him the MVP ball today,” senior Daniel Ochefu said.
Bridges was all over the floor in 26 minutes off the bench during the Wildcats’ 64-59 South Regional final win over Kansas on Saturday to advance to the Final Four (see game story). Bridges finished with a season-high five steals and spent much of the game’s waning moments diving for loose balls and keying the defensive effort.
“In the biggest game of our career, he’s in the game down the stretch getting those defensive stops,” Ochefu said.
Bridges had three of his five steals in the final three minutes of the game, including two in the final minute. All three of those plays came with Villanova holding a lead of four points or less. His defense was part of a Villanova defensive effort that held Kansas to a season-low 59 points and forced 16 turnovers.
Part of the reason Bridges was on the floor so much was that junior Kris Jenkins picked up his fourth foul with 13:37 remaining in the second half. But as Jenkins went to the bench, he knew that the team would be fine with Bridges on the floor.
“He really put a stamp on this game,” Jenkins said. “We believe in him and his abilities. Today he grew up a lot. He showed us that he’s a bad boy.”
It’s Bridges’ 6-foot-7 frame and quickness that make him so disruptive on defense. Villanova players know firsthand, as he’s a nightmare to go against in practice.
“He makes it difficult because he’s got long arms and he’s athletic,” Jenkins said. “He makes it hard because he’s diving all over the place and affecting shots.”
For Bridges, just being in the game, let alone impacting it, was something he missed out on last season. As a redshirt, he was forced to watch from afar all season long. But instead of sulking or slacking off, Bridges went to work.
“You come out of high school and dream about playing college basketball,” Bridges said. “From the beginning, I wanted to be with my brothers. But that year off, I got better and stronger and tougher.”
When a player is forced to redshirt for a season, the results can be varied. Villanova had its assistant coaches work with Bridges as often as possible, including scheduling individual workouts during game days. However, there’s only so much responsibility that falls on the coaching staff.
“It really comes down to the player,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “Are they going to take advantage of that time or take a break? Mikal took advantage of every opportunity, and that’s why you’re seeing what you’re seeing this year.”
While working out with the team in practice as a redshirt, Bridges knew the biggest difference he could make was being defensively tough on his teammates. He made sure that he worked the rest of his teammates as hard as possible, as it was the only way he could contribute to the team last year.
In the process, Bridges, who entered Saturday’s game averaging 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, took his lumps, but it shaped the player he is now.
“Last year, all the guys were on me,” Bridges said. “I had to play defense against them. That was one of the hardest things. Practice was harder than games. They would go at me all the time. They would bully me. It started with them.”
So when this season arrived and Bridges was eligible to play, he was ready. He needed to be ready too. With the graduation of the 2014-15 senior class and a preseason injury to Tim Delaney, Villanova had a short bench, and Bridges needed to be a key part of it that could play and defend multiple positions.
It wasn’t long before he became Villanova’s defensive secret weapon off the bench. Bridges would soon find himself guarding players like Providence’s Kris Dunn and Butler’s Roosevelt Jones in key moments of close games.
“I think it was about halfway through this season,” Wright said. “We knew we had to get this guy in there more. He’s really special defensively.”
Those responsibilities readied Bridges for a night like Saturday, when the team needed him to get on the floor and be the stopper at the top of Villanova’s defense using his length to disrupt the Jayhawks’ offensive flow.
“His defensive efforts tonight were amazing,” Ochefu said. “We knew he was that type of player all year.”
For Bridges, Saturday was an opportunity he lacked last year — a chance to help his team win in the postseason. Now with that chance this year, he’s doing everything he can to make sure the Villanova season keeps going.
“Not being out there with them was the toughest,” Bridges said. “I wanted to be out there with them all the time. Now we have two more games. We need to have confidence in each other, and we can do something special.”