Josh Hart: NCAA Tourney Is 'Greatest Sporting Event In The World'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Villanova Wildcats are used to being under the spotlight, but they are about to experience the center stage like never before.
Villanova will be one of four teams heading to Houston this week to participate in the grand finale of the college basketball season. The Final Four awaits the Wildcats in Houston, along with a level of hype the players have yet to experience. Jay Wright took his team to the Final Four in 2009, and understands what his players will be in store for when they arrive in Houston.
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"There's nothing like this week," said Wright. "It just builds and builds. By the time you get to the game on Saturday, everybody's in town and everybody's there. The hype is just off the charts. Your challenge is to really keep focused."
Wright's first Final Four experience as the Cats head coach ended in the semifinals. The Wildcats lost to North Carolina, 83-69, and the Tar Heels would go on to win the national championship. While North Carolina was the clear favorite in 2009, Wright believes he could have done some things differently. He is hoping he learned from his first Final Four trip and understands there will be more distractions than ever before.
"I think it's one of the things that we learned from out first experience at the Final Four," Wright said. "There's nothing that can prepare you for this. After you go through it, you realize I should have done some things differently. I hope we learned and are doing things a little bit better."
The players continue to take the same businesslike approach they have used throughout the tournament. They are also allowing themselves to soak in the moment. Josh Hart is excited for the opportunity to play in his first Final Four and go against the best of the rest of the college basketball world.
"This is the greatest sporting event in the world," said Hart. "The NCAA Tournament speaks for itself. You can play against ACC teams and Big 10 teams and Big 12 teams and Pac-12 teams. You can play against anybody, and anybody can win."
Wright and his staff are doing their best to prepare their players for what awaits in Houston. Seniors such as Daniel Ochefu have played in a host of big games during their time at Villanova, but Ochefu knows he will go through a whole new experience at the Final Four.
"None of us know what it's going to be like because we've never been there," Ochefu said. "Coach Wright has been trying to explain to us that it's a whole different type of feel. None of us are going to understand it until we get there and we see the 30,000 people at the live practice."
When all of the pregame hype is done and the fans have settled into their seats, it will be time for the Wildcats to get down to business. All of the Final Four focus will shift to the basketball court, where Villanova has a game to play against Oklahoma. Wright is hoping the game will be the only event on the minds of his players by tip-off.
"It is a really unique experience," said Wright. "I've told the guys I made mistakes in certain areas the last time. I think we'll be better prepared. The biggest challenge is to fight the urge to think about anything except playing a simple 40-minute basketball game against Oklahoma."
