The Villanova Wildcats found themselves in a tight battle with Mount Saint Mary’s in the first half of the 2017 NCAA Tournament First Round on Thursday.
The 2017 NCAA Tournament First Round wasn’t heavy on the upsets to begin Thursday. The top seeds took care of business and the lower seeds ultimately fell short. However, there was one battle involving a top seed that was interesting Thursday evening.
The No. 1 Villanova Wildcats found themselves in a battle with Mount Saint Mary’s early. After winning in the First Four against New Orleans, the Mountaineers brought their best early against the defending National Champions.
Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and company could not shake the Mountaineers early. The two sides traded the lead back and forth after the Mountaineers jumped out to an early lead. Villanova took a while to get going but they managed to head into the half with a 30-29 lead.
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We’ve seen this plenty of times where the top seed struggles to get going but fires on all cylinder in the second half. The Wildcats don’t want to be the team that falls to a No. 16 seed after claiming a top seed. Let alone being the first to ever do it and after winning the National Championship.
This is what March is all about however. The small schools giving the championship programs a run for their money. Mount Saint Mary’s has played valiantly thus far and is giving the Wildcats all they can handle.