Villanova Shows Its Core Is Still Championship-Ready in Win over Creighton

Villanova isn't deep, but it is ready for another deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Three days after a disappointing home loss to Butler, No. 2 Villanova got back on the right track with a 79-63 victory over No. 23 Creighton.

The Wildcats have a long way to go to match the run Kansas has been on in the Big 12 for more than a decade, but the win clinched a fourth consecutive outright Big East regular-season championship. Not too shabby for a program that went 31 years without an outright conference title before Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins arrived.

That pair of seniors is now at the heart of a short-handed rotation with eyes on a second straight national championship.

"We've got to play hard and be attentive to detail," Hart told LaChina Robinson on the Fox pregame show. "I think that's something we didn't have against Butler. We just need to focus on the little things. We need to realize they add up quickly."

As advertised, the little things were crucial against the Bluejays. The three-point arc is usually Villanova's best friend, but it betrayed the Wildcats in their home finale. They shot just 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) while Creighton drilled 11 of 27 (40.7 percent).

But much like their win over Kansas in last year's Elite Eight—when they won despite shooting 4-of-18 from downtown against the No. 1 overall seed—the Wildcats won the game by dominating the turnover and free-throw battles. They really only played six guys, with Dylan Painter occasionally coming in to steal some minutes, yet they were the aggressors, driving to contact, jumping passing lanes and laying out for loose balls.

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The unofficial captain of the national "little things" squad, sophomore wing-forward Mikal Bridges, was everywhere. He only attempted three shots, but he finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Few players in the nation are as efficient on both ends of the court as Bridges: He entered the day ranked fourth in the country in box plus/minus, according to Sports-Reference.com.

Donte DiVincenzo wasn't quite as prevalent in the box score, but the 6'5" guard had his fingerprints all over this game. Whether he's saving balls from going out of bounds or contesting shots at the rim, he makes life harder for opposing teams.

The combined versatility of Bridges and DiVincenzo is what keeps this team thriving in the face of adversity.

You'll never see Eric Paschall running the point or Jalen Brunson playing the 5, but just about any other combination is an option for the remaining healthy Wildcats. All six regulars are averaging at least 0.5 made three-pointers per game, allowing them to spread the floor to an extreme. And save for Jenkins, all six are also shooting at least 57 percent from inside the arc.

In other words, every opposing defender has to respect his man's ability to score from anywhere within 27 feet of the hoop.

It's not fair that this small-ball approach isn't hurting Villanova on defense or on the glass, either.

Creighton's potential one-and-done freshman center Justin Patton should have had a field day against Villanova's frontcourt, but he instead had the worst game of his college career, finishing with four points, five rebounds and six turnovers. And last week against Seton Hall, the Wildcats outrebounded the Pirates, even though Angel Delgado ranks second in the nation in double-doubles, per NCAA.com.

Aside from harnessing the apparent kryptonite Butler possesses or hoping the Wildcats shoot 6-of-34 from three-point range like they did in the loss to Marquette, is there any formula for beating Villanova?

What's weird to think about is that this Villanova team all but locked into a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament is nowhere near what it should have been. Stud freshman Omari Spellman was ruled ineligible in September. Phil Booth—the KenPom.com MVP of last year's national championship game—has been out with a knee injury since November. Big man Darryl Reynolds has missed the last five games with a rib injury.

At full strength and eligibility, Villanova could be undefeated right now and the clear favorite to win it all.

But even with two-thirds of what might have been a dominant nine-man rotation, the Wildcats have won four of their last five games—including blowouts of Creighton, Seton Hall and Xavier.

Maybe that should be seen as a red flag that the Big East isn't that good as a whole. After all, torn ACLs have left Xavier (Edmond Sumner) and Creighton (Maurice Watson Jr.) playing with less than a full deck, too. Watson has also been suspended from the team and was charged with felony first-degree sexual assault on Feb. 23.

However, we're opting for the "glass half full" perspective. It's the one that views Villanova as a great team that could get even better if and when Reynolds and/or Booth return.

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And before you start trying to make any arguments about fatigue, note that Jay Wright has done a marvelous job of keeping his guys fresh. Hart is the only one averaging more than 31.5 minutes per game, and even his 33.3 MPG is modest compared to, say, Duke's Luke Kennard (35.1) or Kansas' Frank Mason (35.9). Moreover, Villanova plays at a slow tempo and primarily employs a zone defense, so those minutes aren't the most strenuous, either.

The one potential concern if neither Reynolds nor Booth comes back would be foul trouble. Though the Wildcats lead the nation in defensive free-throw rate, per KenPom.com, Paschall is no stranger to whistles, drawing 4.8 per 40 minutes.

But if that's the biggest thing Villanova has to worry about, it might be time to start considering this team the singular favorite to win the 2017 national championship.

Stats are courtesy of KenPom.com and Sports-Reference.com.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.