Villanova enters Florida game with sharp memory of 2005

MINNEAPOLIS – A year later, the image is still fresh in Villanova’s mind.

Star forward Curtis Sumpter crumpled on the floor in pain, his knee ligament shredded, and the Wildcats wondering how they were going to hold on in their second-round game against Florida.

Out of alternatives, coach Jay Wright threw four guards on the floor after halftime, just hoping to survive for 20 minutes.

Now the Wildcats face Florida in the NCAA tournament again – on the cusp of their first Final Four since the underdog Cats shocked Georgetown in the 1985 title game. The decision to play that wacky small ball has evolved from a desperate measure to a defining moment.

It worked better than Wright, or anyone else, could have imagined. Villanova cruised past Florida and almost beat eventual champion North Carolina in the round of 16, attacking the bigger Tar Heels with four guards.

Sumpter, whom many of the Wildcats call the team’s best player, re-injured his knee before this season started and Villanova rode those four guards to a team-record 28 wins and the school’s first No. 1 seed.

While this year’s Wildcats look nearly identical to the team that ousted the favored Gators last year, Florida (30-6) couldn’t be much different.

A group of mature, but unseasoned, sophomores has turned the Gators into overachievers, for a change.

Sophomores Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Taurean Green and Al Horford all have emerged to bring Florida back to the brink of its first Final Four since playing in the national championship game in 2000.