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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- It was a really bad three-point shooting team most of the year.
Not just bad. One of the worst in the country.
That’s why this is all so crazy.
Villanova has become one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country.
Right when it matters the most.
“I know we’re capable, but against this level of competition? Great defensive teams? I’m kind of surprised,” coach Jay Wright said.
“But we’re just going to roll with it. I just keep telling them, 'You’re great shooters, you look great to me. I’ve never seen anybody shoot so well. You’re going to keep doing it. Let’s ride it.'”
Villanova shot 40 percent or better from three in only five of its first 28 games this year.
Since then, it’s hit 40 percent in seven of nine, and it's been over 45 percent in all three NCAA Tournament games.
Through the second Xavier game, on Feb. 24, Villanova ranked 262nd out of 351 Division I schools in three-point shooting at 32.8 percent.
Even then, it was launching the seventh-most threes in the country at 25½ per game.
Since Feb. 25, Villanova is sixth best in Division 1 at 46.1 percent.
And in the NCAA Tournament, nobody is close to the Wildcats, who are shooting 53.2 percent in wins over UNC Asheville, Iowa and Miami.
They've shot over 50 percent in three of their last six games after shooting better than 50 percent in three of their first 31 games.
Villanova, 32-5, faces top-seeded Kansas at 8:49 p.m. Saturday (see breakdown) in the South Region title game at the KFC Yum! Center with a berth in the Final Four in Houston on the line.
Kansas is 33-4, has won 17 straight games and is making its 27th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
“They're probably playing as well as anybody that we've gone against in recent memory, at least that I can recall,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “They're on fire right now. It's one thing to shoot a high percentage, but to shoot that high a percentage with the volume of threes they've been shooting makes it even more impressive.
“And everybody's making them. It's not like you can just key on one guy. I mean, everybody's been shooting them well.”
Villanova is actually shooting better from three-point range than 64 of the other 67 NCAA Tournament schools are shooting overall.
And in the span of just nine games, the Wildcats have improved their overall Division 1 ranking from 262nd to 133rd.
“I think we're just taking better shots,” Ryan Arcidiacono said. “Throughout the season, we didn't really mix it up, catching and shoot and getting in the lane and kicking out to guys.
“I think we are doing that now. We're taking what the defense is giving us while being aggressive. We're trying to get the threes up. If they're not wide open, we'll try to get in the lane and make a play for someone else.”
Three of the top seven three-point shooters in the entire tournament (minimum of 2½ attempts per game) are Wildcats.
Kris Dunn made seven of 10 threes before Providence was eliminated, but Arcidiacono (10 for 16, 63 percent), Jalen Brunson (5 for 8, 63 percent) and Kris Jenkins (10 for 17, 59 percent) rank second, third and seventh from deep.
“We expect whoever's shooting, we expect it to go in just because of the work ethic, because of how hard we work, how hard we practice and the confidence we have in each other,” Brunson said.
What’s been the difference?
“We’re just taking better shots,” said Jenkins, who was 5 for 6 from the arc against Miami. “That's really all it is. We’re taking better shots and we’re making them.”
Something has certainly changed.
This is the first time Villanova has made 46 percent of its threes in three straight games since January 2005, when it shot 63 percent against Kansas, 46 percent against Notre Dame and 54 percent against Rutgers.
“We want to (be aggressive all year from three) and then over the course of the season refine our decision-making but stay aggressive,” Wright said.
“I think we have been able to play long enough that we're just making our best decisions right now.”