Villanova's Seeks Another National Title: What To Know Ahead Of Final Four

Villanova’s pursuit of another national title is over, as they fell to Kansas, 81-65, Saturday night.

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VILLANOVA, PA — "THE ROAD ENDS HERE" was scrawled in Louisana purple and gold courtside at Caesar's Superdome in New Orleans on Friday night. Villanova players crisscrossed over the paint, and the Wildcat logo of a team from some 1200 miles away flashed in the lights burning in the stadium rafters far above.

Villanova's road, however, has never ended with any single season's penultimate or final title game. It's why one of the most storied sports programs in Philadelphia history, professional or amateur, now finds itself on the verge of becoming legend.

Final Four Tipoff is at 6:09 p.m. for the Wildcats on Saturday night. They'll face off against Kansas, a number one seed and one of the nation's greatest all time basketball programs in its own right. The other two Final Four squads? None other than arguably the most famous rivalries in all of sports: Duke and North Carolina. (Check back here for updates and reactions after the game).

Villanova, now in its third Final Four in the past six tournaments (and seventh overall), finds itself suddenly on the precipice of that kind of mythology.

"Incredibly proud of the many hours of hard work this group has put in so far this year," Head Coach Jay Wright shared on Twitter Friday night.

He added: "Not finished yet."

In the wake of Nova's late success, analysts around the sport are finally asking the questions that Wildcat fans have been roaring for years, from the blue and white ribboned parade hallows of South Broad, to the raucous bars and campus fringes on Lancaster Avenue: is Jay Wright an all time great Philadelphia sports coach? Is Nova's recent tear more dominant and impressive than the city's other historic championship franchises, both amateur and professional?

It's a question worth asking. No major Philadelphia sports team has ever won three titles in six years. The Sixers, Phillies, and Flyers all had dominant teams in the early 1980s. The Phillies dominated baseball again from 2008 to 2011, reaching two consecutive World Series in 2008-2009 and winning one. From 1976 to 1983 the Sixers reached four NBA Finals, but they only won one. Only the Flyers in the Broad Street Bullies era ever won two straight championships, when they hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975.

But none of Philadephia's current franchises have won three national titles in six seasons.

To do it, the Wildcats will need team captain and leading scorer Collin Gillespie to be on top of his game. They'll need players like Chris Arcidiacono, the brother of 2016 Villanova national champion Ryan Arcidiacono, to step in. They'll be without their second leading scorer, Justin Moore, after he suffered a leg injury in the closing minutes of the Elite Eight victory over Houston.

Kansas is a 4.5 point favorite, according to the latest odds from Sports Illustrated.