It was somewhat fitting that after the overall No. 1 seed, Virginia, collapsed in a flaming heap of tears and bricks late Friday night, the first team to take the court on Saturday afternoon was Villanova.
Seen before the tournament as perhaps the Cavaliers’ top challenger for a national title — the No. 1-seeded Wildcats were the second most popular pick in brackets to win it all, according to ESPN — Villanova had the unenviable task of having to avoid repeating Virginia’s mistakes.
After all, this N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament has already shown that anything — anything — can happen.