Darrun Hilliard's game-winner shows 'Nova is legit, but questions remain

INDIANAPOLIS – The sound in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse was something between a collective groan and a gasp when Villanova’s Darrun Hilliard wound up all alone with the ball behind the 3-point arc in the dying seconds Saturday night.

How in the name of Bobby Plump did he get wide open?

Hilliard already had scored a career-high 28 points, already had hit seven 3-pointers. And now he was rising up for an uncontested 3 against a Butler team that works doggedly to prevent giving anyone an uncontested anything – shot, pass, moment to think. Hilliard was free because fellow guard Ryan Arcidiacono dragged two defenders with him to the top of the key – even though he hadn’t scored a point all night.

Arcidiacono would take the bagel for the first time in his three-year Villanova career if he gave up the ball at that moment, but it didn’t matter.

“That’s the beauty of Arch,” Hilliard said.

Thus the senior from Bethlehem, Pa., wound up with the hero’s chance – just 25 seconds after his double dribble jeopardized the No. 6 Wildcats’ victory – and he made the No. 18 Bulldogs pay for the rare defensive lapse. Hilliard’s shot swished with 1.5 seconds left, giving Villanova a 68-65 victory in a game that was good for both teams and for the Big East Conference.

Hilliard scoring 31 and Arcidiacono scoring zero is the beauty of Villanova. Three nights earlier at Providence, Arch had 20. Jay Wright’s veteran unit truly is an Any Given Night team: six guys average between 9.1 and 13.4 points per game; five of them are juniors or seniors; zero are freshmen.

In modern college basketball, the best teams either have future pros on a fleeting campus tour or good upperclassmen who aren’t sure-fire NBA prospects. Villanova is the latter – built in a different way than Kentucky, Kansas and Duke.

But at 23-2, it’s working for Jay Wright. Just the way it has worked many years in the past.

Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham played four years and along the way led Villanova to the 2009 Final Four. Seniors Randy Foye and Allan Ray led ‘Nova to a 28-5 record and a regional final in 2006. There have been a few Villanova standouts go pro early during Wright’s 14 years, but not many – and even fewer successfully (Kyle Lowry comprises the list).

Hilliard and post player Jayvaughn Pinkston are the latest senior success stories for Wright. Pinkston is a fifth-year guy who redshirted his first year as part of university disciplinary action after a fight at a frat house. Hilliard averaged fewer than 5 points a game as a freshman and has steadily grown into the team’s leading scorer.

“It’s my favorite thing to do as a coach,” Wright said of helping players develop over time. “Every coach, it’s your favorite thing to do.”

In Hilliard, Wright saw a teenager with talent but a lot of work to do in the weight room and between the ears.

“He didn’t have physical toughness or mental toughness,” Wright said.

Now, Wright sees a player capable of taking over a game against a quality opponent in a hostile setting. In fact, the compatibility between Hilliard and Wright now is such that they almost seem wired to each other.

Example: with nine minutes left and Villanova up a point, Butler was at the foul line. Hilliard yelled to his head coach, and sort of signaled a play he wanted to run.

“We were running him off screens,” Wright said. “He was telling me, ‘Get me a ball screen at the top.’ “

Wright got Hilliard the ball at the top. He sized up Alex Barlow – a Butler senior who may win the national award for best current career by a walk-on – and drove the ball down the left side of the lane. As the defense collapsed, Hilliard kicked it to Dylan Ennis in the corner for a 3 that swished. There was another isolation at the top of the key that resulted in three free throws for Hilliard in the final 90 seconds.

“He put the ball in my hands,” Hilliard said, “and trusted me to make a play.”

With this team, there are six sets of hands that could have the ball at crunch time. That’s the way ‘Nova operates best.

But with the Wildcats steaming toward another high seed in the NCAA tournament, there will be a new level of pressure upon a starless team to prove it can excel in a tournament setting. Since that ’09 Final Four, Villanova’s postseason record is spotty at best: it is 2-5 in conference tournaments, having lost its first game each of the last two years; and 2-4 in the NCAA tourney.

Most recent was the round-of-32 flameout against Connecticut. At the time it looked like a disaster – and then the Huskies went on to win the national title. But still, as a No. 2 seed, much more was expected.

A No. 2 seed could be in the offing again. How will ‘Nova handle it?

“I want them to live in the present,” Wright said. “That’s definitely out there, it’s all around them. Everyone at Villanova, everyone in Philadelphia – if they don’t get to the Sweet 16 it’s going to be a failure. I don’t want them to deal with that. I don’t.”

There won’t be much escaping it in another month. We’ll see whether Villanova’s veteran cast can play through that pressure with the same aplomb it displayed here in Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday.