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Villanova tries to avoid 2nd-round tourney blues vs. Alabama

PITTSBURGH (AP) — It's not a curse. Because Villanova has won a national championship.

It's not always bad luck. Again, the banner in the rafters.

It's certainly not something to fear. See, 2016.

But the second round of the NCAA Tournament has certainly mystified the Wildcats for most of the last eight times they've reached that spot. The 2016 national championship trophy in the lobby of the school's sparkling practice facility should probably be flanked by more April hardware.

For all the Wildcats have achieved under coach Jay Wright — they've run roughshod over the Big East for the better part of a decade — it's easy to see how they could have squeezed at least a few more Sweet 16s and beyond out of the program.