Sunday, March 26, 2006

"Crikey!" #1 Villanova's Title Hopes End at Teeth of the Fearsome Florida Gators in Elite Eight

By Craig Dimitri
E-mail: cdimitri1@yahoo.com

Well, it’s all over, now, regrettably…

On Sunday afternoon at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, top-seeded Villanova’s dream of a second national championship came to an end, at the hands of the odious Florida Gators, the third seed. It must have been sweet revenge for the Gators, since ‘Nova had flattened Florida in last year’s second-round contest.

Even more disappointing, were the events in Washington, which had transpired just prior to tip-off. #11 George Mason completed the greatest Cinderella run to the Final Four in NCAA history, by stunning the top-seeded Hated Huskies in overtime. A huge cheer went up from both sides in the Metrodome when the news was flashed up on the screen –as the Villanova/Florida winner would take on Cinderella in the Final Four next Saturday.

Villanova completed a tremendous season, of which Jay Wright, his staff, and the Wildcats should be justifiably proud. They were regular-season Big East co-champions, a 4-0 winner in the City Series, a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and reached the Elite Eight for the first time in 18 years – and all without Curtis Sumpter, to boot.

I will return with a more comprehensive recap of today’s loss, soon…

Go Wildcats!

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