The Sweet Profile: Villanova

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Team: Villanova Region: East Last Weekend: Defeated No. 14 American 80-67, defeated No. 6 UCLA 89-69 Next Game: vs. No. 2 Duke, 9:57 Thursday How Villanova Got Here: Dante Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson and little American lighting a fire under Nova's ass. Nova looked destined for a first-round flameout when it was down 14 points to a very game American squad in the second half, looking totally lost on offense and defense. The Cats offense finally came to life, thanks in part to Anderson and Cunningham. Anderson led the team with 25 points, while Cunningham destroyed the smaller American squad from the inside to fuel the second-half rally. Nova followed that up by completely outclassing UCLA, a game that not competitive after five minutes. Playing at the Wachovia Center in Philly- where Nova played four home games during the season - probably didn't hurt either. What the Sweet 16 Means to Nova: That Nova belongs with the Big East big boys. The Wildcats flew under the radar all season on the national scene and even in their own conference, taking a backseat to the three No. 1 seeds: Pitt, Louisville and UConn. The Sweet 16 berth and any further advancement shows that Nova not only can with them, but may even be the best of the bunch. Chances to Reach The Flaming Tire Final Four: Even with Duke, slightly behind Pitt. Again, the Duke match-up has classic written all over it. It all depends on which Nova shows up - the one that settled for lackadaisical jumpers in a half-court offense in the first half against American, or the high tempo surgical dissection of UCLA. If Cunningham gets established early - look out. The Cats have to like their chances against Pitt in a regional final, given that they already have beaten the Panthers once this season. No fear factor there.