Villanova Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:30:58 PDT

It's safe to say that in the first week of February, most thought that if Villanova was going to reach the Sweet 16, it would be in the NIT.

A Feb. 4 loss to St. John's capped a five-game losing streak for the Wildcats, leaving the team at 3-6 in the Big East. It only got more painful, as a controversial call denied the team overtime on the road against Georgetown, with a foul called far from the basket in the final seconds leaving the team at 4-6 and worried about simply qualifying for the Big East tournament.

But the Wildcats caught fire, finishing the regular season at 9-9 in the Big East and punching their NCAA Tournament ticket with a victory over Syracuse in the opening round of the conference tournament.