Arcidiacono has come up big against Kansas before (+video)

Two seasons ago in the Bahamas, Kansas and Villanova hooked up in a semifinal of a November tournament.

“That was a grind-it-out, streetfight type of game,” recalled Villanova senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono. “I don’t think either team had any rhythm offensively.

“Guys were all over the floor.”

Sort of the game that’s expected to be played out Saturday night when KU and Villanova meet for the first time since the Jayhawks lost that Bahamas battle.

Only this one is for much, much more. The winner moves on to the Final Four and the college game’s brightest stage.

But that Bahama stop has meaning, especially for Arcidiacono.

With about 12 seconds remaining, Villanova had the ball and trailed 59-58. Wildcats coach Jay Wright called for a play that had Arcidiacono taking the shot.

“I was like, ‘Really, coach?’ ” Arcidiacono said.

A sophomore at the time, he hadn’t hit a shot the whole game. Zip for 5.

“No, Arch, it’s for you,” Wright responded.

Arcidiacono thought the same as he does today. “Every time I shoot, I think it’s going in,” he said.

With 10.1 seconds remaining and KU’s Perry Ellis racing toward him, Arcidiacono hit a three-pointer to give Villanova its only basket in the final seven minutes and the lead. A couple of free throws later and the Wildcats finished off a 63-59 victory.

“It was a confidence booster at the time,” Arcidiacono said. “I had been struggling with my shot.”

You get the feeling he never has struggled for confidence for long doing anything.

One of six children growing up in the Philadelphia metro area and not far from Villanova, where his father played football, family-room skirmishes were the norm. Often they revolved around the little Fisher Price basketball goal and stand.

Once a swatted ball crashed into his parents’ wedding picture, smashing it as the picture fell off the TV.

“We hid it for two weeks before Mom found it,” Arcidiacono said. “She was furious.”

When surgery to repair a herniated disc forced Arcidiacono to miss all of his senior season in high school, he was still able to be Villanova’s starting point guard as a freshman.

He’s played in all 141 games since he’s been at Villanova, surpassing the likes of All-American Scottie Reynolds to set a school record.

That’s particularly significant considering the way Arcidiacono’s body takes a beating in games. His favorite play is taking a charge.

“I’m not going to sit out unless something is broken and the doctor says I can’t play,” the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder said.

Lately, he’s been on fire with his shot. Through three NCAA Tournament games, he’s hit 17 of 26 from the field and a scalding 10 of 16 on three-pointers.

His 17-point average in the tournament is almost five over his season average.

Arcidiacono is the only player in Villanova history to record more than 1,500 points and 500 assists.

But numbers really don’t tell the whole story about what he brings to the game. If you’re looking for Villanova’s heartbeat, look at Arcidiacono.

“His competitiveness on every possession and in everything he does – from getting over a screen to making the right play, diving for a loose ball, taking every defensive challenge personally to taking responsibility for his teammates,” Wright said. “I didn’t make him that way. He came that way.”

Wright trusts Arcidiacono so much that he lets his senior step in and out of the point-guard role whenever Arcidiacono sees fit.

Officially, freshman Jalen Brunson is the point and Arcidiacono is the shooting guard. Almost always, though, it’s Arcidiacono running the show in the final 10 minutes.

“I think (Wright) thinks of me as the coach on the floor,” he said, “and I’m the extension. I’m kind of the bridge between coach and players. If coach is getting on some of the guys, I know how it is and tell them in a different tone.”

Senior forward Daniel Ochefu said, “Arch is such a Villanova player and all that means. Tough, lots of heart.”

KU coach Bill Self is well aware of what Arcidiacono means.

“He does such a good job of playing at different speeds, getting guys off balance,” he said. “He gets inside of people because he’s so good with the ball, shot fakes.

“He’s a winner. Every team wants a guy a like that.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Arcidiacono has come up big against Kansas before (+video)."