No Cinderella moment for the University of Delaware basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams fell in their first-round games Friday.
The 15th seeded men found two seed Villanova too much to handle in Pittsburgh, losing 80-60.
Nova used a 15-2 run at end the first half to take a 10-point halftime lead and never looked back.
Three pointers also played a big role in the contest. Villanova made 13, while Delaware managed just 3.
“They are really, really good. They put so much pressure on you on the offensive end with their ability to shoot the basketball. They made 13 threes, but they had four guys that made two or more. And then they’re so connected defensively. They’re tough. They’re physical," said Blue Hen head coach Martin Igelsby. " I could go on and on about how they play and how they do things. Ithink they’re one of the 3 to 5 best teams in college basketball.
Forward Jyare Davis scored 17 for UD in the losing effort. He agrees that Villanova was as good as advertised.
“They play really hard. They’re very disciplined. They’re a very connected group," said Davis. "You make mistakes, they definitely capitalize. And some of our mistakes they capitalized on and that ended up biting us in the end.”
The UD men are now winless in 6 NCAA tourney appearances and 0-16 all-time against Villanova.
UD also fell in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament.
The Blue Hens – a 13 seed – were swamped 102-71 by 4th seeded Maryland at Maryland despite 31points and 10 rebounds from Jasmine Dickey.
