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Top-seeded Villanova tips off in the NCAA Tournament Thursday night against 16-seed Mount St. Mary's, which beat New Orleans in a First Four game on Tuesday.
This is the 12th time in the last 13 years that Villanova has participated in the NCAA Tournament and the third time since 2006 the Wildcats have been a 1-seed. Villanova has been seeded 1 or 2 under Jay Wright six times, so entering the Big Dance with lofty expectations is nothing new for the Wildcats. But this year is unchartered territory for Wright in one very big aspect: Villanova is the defending national champion. There's a reason only two teams -- 1991-92 Duke and 2006-07 Florida -- have won back-to-back national titles in the last 40 years. It's incredibly difficult to do.
Villanova's road to a repeat is littered with potholes. The East Region presents a number of challenges, some more obvious than others. To get you set for the Wildcats' NCAA Tournament run, here's a list of 10 superlatives concerning their region.
Best coach
We start with an easy one. This designation goes to arguably the best coach in college basketball history, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K is the owner of five national championships, 12 Final Four appearances, and a record 90 NCAA Tournament victories. He has Duke on a roll entering this year's tournament thanks to four wins in four days last week at the ACC Tournament.
The Blue Devils were the preseason No. 1 team in the country before stumbling to eight regular-season losses. But Krzyzewski has his team back on track and living up to its preseason billing at just the right time. Duke is the 2-seed in the East Region and a popular pick to win a second national title in the last three years.
Best player
Another easy call. Villanova's Josh Hart is the Big East Player of the Year, on the short list of National Player of the Year candidates and just got done carrying the Wildcats to a Big East Tournament championship. Hart joined Georgetown's Patrick Ewing and Louisville's Peyton Siva as the only players to win two Big East Tournament MVP awards.
Hart's senior year ranks among the best seasons in Villanova history and he'll be remembered as one of the best handful of players to ever step foot on campus. Hart does it all for Villanova, leading the team in minutes per game (33.2), scoring (18.9), rebounding (6.5), and three-point shooting (40.7 percent). He's also the Wildcats' best defender. It's going to take a great team playing a great game to knock a Hart-led Villanova team out of this tournament.
Best player you may not know
This goes to South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell, the SEC Player of the Year. Like Hart, Thornwell serves as a Swiss Army Knife for his team. He leads the Gamecocks in minutes per game (34.1), scoring (21.2), rebounding (7.2), and steals (2.2). Thornwell has more than 1,800 points in four years at South Carolina and is just as effective scoring from three-point range as he is on explosive drives to the basket. He has a chance to be a first-round pick in the NBA draft in three months. For now, he'll focus on leading the Gamecocks against Marquette in the first round. Win that one and a chance to knock off Duke in the Round of 32 awaits.
Best NBA prospect
Duke's Jayson Tatum is a surefire Top 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. To me, he's the third best prospect in the draft behind Washington's Markelle Fultz and UCLA's Lonzo Ball. A foot injury sidelined Tatum for the first eight games of the season, but he wasted little time establishing himself as one of the best players in the country once he returned. He was particularly impressive late in the regular season and in the ACC Tournament, averaging 19.0 points and 7.9 rebounds in Duke's last 10 games. Tatum has developed into the Blue Devils' go-to guy late in games and is brimming with confidence as the NCAA Tournament begins.
Best point guard
Villanova's Jalen Brunson is the pick here. Superb point guard play is essential to winning a national championship in college basketball. Recent history offers all the proof you need: Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono in 2016, Duke's Tyus Jones in 2015, UConn's Shabazz Napier in 2014, and Louisville's Peyton Siva in 2013.
As good as Arcidiacono was last year, Brunson may be playing at a higher level right now. He's everything you want in a college point guard. Brunson is always in control and has a tremendous feel for the flow of the game. He knows when to get his teammates involved and understands when Villanova needs him to score. A unanimous First Team All-Big East selection, Brunson averages 14.8 points and 4.2 assists on the season. His efficiency is off the charts -- he's shooting 54 percent from the field, 39 percent from three and 87 percent from the line.
Best chance of being upset
Florida enters the NCAA Tournament on shaky footing following its upset loss to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators were also bitten hard by the injury bug a month ago, losing starting center John Egbunu for the season with a torn ACL.
Florida is the 4-seed in the East Region and faces 13-seed East Tennessee State in the first round. The Buccaneers have 27 wins this season and upset UNC Greensboro in the Southern Conference championship game to earn a NCAA bid. East Tennessee State is a very good team led by a very good player in T.J. Cromer, who averages 19.1 points and shoots better than 40 percent from three-point range. ETSU will be a handful for Florida and it would not be a surprise if the Gators are sent packing after Round 1.
Best chance of a surprise run
SMU surprisingly received a 6-seed after winning 30 games and storming to the AAC regular season and tournament titles. The Mustangs are coached by Tim Jankovich but were constructed by Larry Brown, who resigned as SMU head coach last summer in the midst of a contract dispute.
This is a team not lacking in talent, particularly when it comes to leading scorer Semi Ojeleye. After sitting out last season following his transfer from Duke, Ojeleye is averaging 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting nearly 43 percent from three-point territory. Assuming SMU gets out of the first round, the Mustangs likely will get 3-seed Baylor in the second round. I'd expect SMU to win that game and advance to a Sweet 16 matchup with Duke.
Best chance of coaching elsewhere next season
UNC Wilmington's Kevin Keatts is a rising star in the coaching business. The 44-year-old Keatts is a Rick Pitino disciple who is 72-27 in three seasons at UNC Wilmington. This year he led the Seahawks to a 29-5 record and a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. They nearly beat Duke in the first round last year and have a very good shot to knock off Virginia in a 5-12 matchup this year. Keatts seems destined for a high-profile job in a Power 5 conference with N.C. State being a strong possibility.
Best potential matchup
An Elite Eight showdown between 1-seed Villanova and 2-seed Duke at Madison Square Garden would be one of the most anticipated games in recent college basketball history. The last two national champions squaring off in the World's Most Famous Arena for the right to advance to the Final Four ... think that would be a hot ticket?
You could make a strong argument that Villanova and Duke are the two best teams in the country at the moment. This matchup would be better suited for the Final Four or even the National Championship Game. But instead, we could see it a little over a week from now. It's a fascinating matchup full of intriguing subplots. But if it comes to fruition I'd have to go with ...
Best team
Villanova. The Wildcats have quite a bit going for them entering this year's NCAA Tournament. They have a talented and battle-tested seven-man rotation in Brunson, Hart, Mikal Bridges, Kris Jenkins, Darryl Reynolds, Donte DiVincenzo and Eric Paschall. They have the winning tournament experience from last year's national championship. They have the best player on the floor in every game they play in Hart. They have tremendous guard play in Hart, Brunson and DiVincenzo.
But most importantly, they have the intangibles. Nobody plays harder, plays smarter or plays more together than Villanova. It's going to take a full 40 minutes of near-perfect basketball to beat the Wildcats. It could happen at some point in the next two weeks; certainly, Duke matches up well from a talent standpoint. But Villanova is too locked-in right now to pick against. They're my pick to come out of the East Region and advance to a second straight Final Four.