Villanova Revives Big East and College Basketball

To many people hate on the college basketball product. Many think it's just a placeholder for college football. Villanova showed otherwise as being the best team in the country beating another giant in their amazing stretch for an NCAA Tournament title. Villanova got hot at the right time, and it paid off as Jay Wright has his first NCAA Tournament title. Villanova got this one for basketball and showed the Big East can compete with anyone.

That shot though....   
Kris Jenkins will not have to do anything post-Villanova. He gets to live off that shot for the rest of his life. Jenkins can be a decent NBA player if he keeps his weight in check, but regardless, he will be collecting royalties for years to come. Many people will tell their kids about this game. Absolutely amazing shot by Jenkins to win it. Jay Wright made a great decision with Big Smooth as the trailer for the game-winning shot.

Phil Booth saved Villanova
We asked on Monday, "Who would be the Grayson Allen of this game?" The answer was Phil Booth, a rarely used guard off the bench for Villanova. Booth finished with 20 points from the clouds. He seemed to be the most reliable scoring option in the second half. Booth averaged four points a game for the season and only scored 27 for the first five games of the tournament.  It's amazing how this game seems to bring out the unsung hero more than most major sporting events.

North Carolina's admirable charge back into this one
People will forget Villanova had a 10 point lead late, and nearly Wisconsin'd themselves with missed free throws leaving the door open for North Carolina. They walked right in with a big-time push from Marcus Paige. He did everything possible to win this one for North Carolina. Tar Heels came up short, but as Paig said in his press conference, they were confident in an overtime session

Big East isn't dead, but the Power 5 moniker certainly is
Remember when people said the new Big East would never work? Remember when the new Big East has more titles than the Big Ten does in the last 15 years? The conference works and will only get stronger. Power 5 can die a sweet death. It's only applicable for college football therefore stop trying to make a thing in college basketball. UConn and Villanova won two of the last three tournaments, both from non-Power 5.

Players of the Game - Kris Jenkins (Villanova), Marcus Paige (North Carolina) -  Both players have been talked about in this recap, but it's worth mentioning to again what a fantastic basketball game this was on Monday night. There aren't going to be many NCAA Tournament finals that are this good. What a night and what a way to leave the season.

Next Up - Villanova will return three starters while Carolina has some work to do yet bringing in an obviously good class again. Duke and Kentucky both bring in an absurd amount talent while also keeping some of their young guys. 
Charlie.