Credit to Villanova...

This is a pretty impressive run they're on.

To get here, after easily taking care of business in the first weekend, they demolished an athletic, well-coached Miami team. Then they out-prepared, out-coached, out-executed, outmaneuvered, and out-played the best team in the country (and the team that should've been cutting down the nets Monday night). Tonight they completely neutered the top player in the land (or at least the most exciting) in Buddy Hield and set an all-time record for blowouts over a gifted, well-coached OU team (way over-rated on defense, but still gifted and well-coached).

That's a 3 seed, 1 seed (overall tourney 1 seed to boot), and now 2 seed they've beaten in succession. Now they get to play a 1 seed that was picked to win it all and was ranked #1 in pre-season. Also very balanced, athletic, big, and well-coached.

The one thing that is a constant in each of Villanova's wins is SOLID DEFENSE, focus, and composure.

I smell an "upset" Monday night. And if it happens, it will be the only thing that has brought me an element of joy (with respect to this tournament) since just prior to our tip last Saturday night.

Go Villanova. Beat the TarHole cheaters. Win this thing.

Hoping for a 'Nova win, and then the meteor in the form of the NCAA coming down on the tarred ones at last.

Vacated wins (to include NCs), loss of half their scholarships for four years and a post-season ban for 4 years.

Yeah, that seems about right for 18 years of cheating.

Punishing the current student-athletes, you say?

After this class (which won't be affected since in 2012 the NCAA confirmed that the fraudulent courses stopped in 2011), every student-athlete that chose to play for the tarred ones has known coming in about the possibilities of sanctions down the road. UNC is bemoaning that it has lost lots of recruits to the Sword of Damocles that is hanging over its head (the Sword that it forged, so they can complain away, the complaints fall on unsympathetic ears), so not one of the future players on the team over the next few years will be able to raise a legitimate case that they did not know and are being unfairly punished for past transgressions that had nothing to do with them.

But first things first -- positive energy to Villanova winning it's second NC.

You do realize that if Villanova wins and the NCAA does finally punish the tarred ones (as they must if they want to continue to survive as a credible entity) and vacates the tarred ones 2005 and 2009 titles due to academic fraud, Roy will be the best coach in NCAA history to never win an NC? Sure, those two teams will have got there, but getting there with ineligible players does not count.

I really do believe that part of the NCAA stringing this case out is to give Roy a chance to legitimately win one before he heads off into the sunset after the meteor comes down.

And to be fair to Roy, health permitting he probably won't leave until he can hand the program, past post-season bans and scholarship losses, off to his successor. He has said as much, in particular citing TTSmith telling him that he (TTS) missed coaching every day, that retiring when he did had been the wrong way to go.

Just win, 'Nova!