No. 12 seeded Villanova set for No. 1 seed Kansas

The Wildcats have history on their side, but they’re still a surprise to be in final 16.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Quick, try to find Davidson on a map. Name Western Kentucky’s conference.

This is the time in the NCAA tournament when basketball fans love to root for those double-digit-seeded underdogs and all those fuzzy stories that come along with those stunning — and bracket busting — upsets.

Then there’s 12th-seeded Villanova.

From the Big East. The 1985 national champions. And in the round of 16 for the third time in four years.

Doesn’t exactly have that “Hoosiers” feel, does it?

“Just because more people know who we are, doesn’t mean people aren’t surprised we’re here,” said Wildcats guard Corey Fisher.

Nope, not at all. Turns out, even the Wildcats (22-12) are a bit surprised to be playing top-seeded Kansas (33-3) in the Midwest Regional semifinals in Detroit Friday. The Wildcats suffered through a miserable five-game losing streak, lost a game to Georgetown with 0.1 seconds on the clock, have no seniors and fretted that a .500 conference record might keep them out of the 65-team field.

While upstart schools like tiny 10th-seed Davidson (in North Carolina) and No. 12 seed Western Kentucky (of the Sun Belt) received triumphant homecomings, some in the Philadelphia area like to thumb their nose at Villanova because it plays in the ritzy suburban area known as the Main Line.

All that mattered at Tuesday’s practice was that the Wildcats were still playing.

“Everybody thinks we’re not that good; we had no seniors, no leadership,” Fisher said. “Now look. We’re in the Sweet 16.”

Waiting for them are the Jayhawks, a program the Wildcats beat three years ago to launch their climb back to national prominence. Villanova beat then-No. 2 and undefeated Kansas by 21 points on Jan. 22, 2005, and went on that season to advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time under coach Jay Wright.

“We have a good chance of playing our best game of the year Friday night,” Wright said Tuesday. “We have a chance to get better this week. We’ve got to use this week to get better.”

The Wildcats are here because they overcame an 18-point deficit to beat No. 5 seed Clemson and followed with a win over 13th-seeded Siena. While Villanova’s win against Clemson was considered a shocker, Wright and his Wildcats have had a season full of comebacks when it seemed like they on the brink of being finished.

Villanova lost five straight, including a 77-55 thrashing against city rival Saint Joseph’s Feb. 4 that seemingly ended any hope for a possible fourth straight NCAA tournament bid. The Wildcats had made deep postseason runs the last three years with upperclassman and future-NBA players like Randy Foye and Allan Ray.