Growing up just 25 minutes away from Villanova University, I always dreamed of them becoming National Champions. I remember when they came into the tournament as a 12 seed in 2008, ultimately losing in the Sweet 16 to Kansas. I stayed up way past my “bedtime” that night just to watch the scrappy team from Philadelphia fight against the top team in the country.
The following season, a great senior group led by Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham helped the Wildcats reach the Final Four on a last second play that went the length of the court, ending in a Reynolds layup and the rack. The Wildcats went on to lose in their next game against North Carolina.
Villanova hadn’t made their way out of the second round since that Final Four run in 2009, and it's been 31 years since the last time Villanova (or any Big 5 team) won a National Championship.
Many had 'Nova losing in the Elite Eight against Kansas, because while ‘Nova is a great team, Kansas seemed too tall of a task for them. They survived the Jayhawks and sent a message to North Carolina in the Final Four when they blew out Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners.
Leading up to the tip-off of the national championship game, everyone seemed a bit nervous; not just the students, but the majority of Philadelphia. Most of the city wanted this team to win and backed them, which was incredible to be a part of. While ‘Nova and my La Salle Explorers may be rivals during the season, it’s somewhat of an unwritten rule that you should root for whatever Big 5 team is still in play.
Tipoff was scheduled for 9:19 p.m., and by the time it rolled around, everyone was ready to go. The game itself got off to a slow start, but things began to pick up and North Carolina went into halftime with a five-point lead. The ‘Nova students I was watching the game with were pretty upset, but they had a reason to relax — "There’s no way that North Carolina can shoot that well from three in the second half, they aren’t a good three-point shooting team, you guys will be fine."
In that second half, Villanova made the comeback and went up by 10 points for a little stretch. The Tar Heels then fought back and tied the game up with just over four seconds left on the clock with an incredible, improbable three-pointer by Marcus Paige that felt like a sharp dagger at the time.
Kris Jenkins inbounded the ball to Senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who raced up the court and dropped the ball back off to Jenkins. He took two steps, rose up and drained a game-winning three-pointer with no time left on the clock to speak of.
The Wildcats were National Champions once again.
We made the 1.7-mile run from where we watched to Lancaster Avenue for the celebration. There were plenty of Villanova students there, but they had brothers and sisters alongside them from La Salle, St. Joseph’s, Temple, Penn, Drexel, Immaculata and West Chester as students and alumni gathered to celebrate the historic victory. Villanova’s victory was able to bring the city together as one to bask in their glory.
Igniting change. Unifying a city. Celebrating as the Champs. Go ‘Nova.
