By Chris Speckman | March 16, 2006

Not Danny Granger. The rationale behind his prediction is well-reasoned, not to mention personal.

“I think Villanova will take it all,” Granger said. “We met them in the first round of the tournament last year and they wiped the floor with us. Villanova’s good. They have the same team this year that they had last year.”

In the 2005 NCAA Tournament, fifth-seeded Villanova knocked off 12th-seeded New Mexico 55-47 in the first round. While the eight-point margin of victory doesn’t really indicate a “floor wiping,” the Wildcats’ 34-11 halftime advantage illustrates how easily the game could have ended up that way.

“We got off to a real slow start and had 11 points,” Granger said. “But in the second half, we started beating them. We cut it to four with like two or three minutes left.”

The Lobos outscored Villanova 36-21 in the second frame. But it wasn’t quite enough to catch the ‘Cats.

In defeat, Granger posted 15 points and 12 rebounds. Even though his only date with March Madness ended in heartbreak, he can’t blind himself from the positives.

“The tournament has so much history,” Granger said. “It was the experience. Being there and being interviewed all the time and having media sessions and having all the fans travel cross-country to see you play.”

This year, Granger’s alma mater failed to make a return trip to the tourney. But Villanova built on last year’s Sweet 16 appearance. Led by their little guys, guards Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, Mike Nardi and Allan Ray, the Wildcats went 25-4 this season en route to securing a No. 1 seed for the tournament.

Although Granger believes ‘Nova should be the favorite, he knows these Wildcats aren’t unbeatable.

“We could have beat them,” Granger said.

Of course, Granger isn’t the only one that wished New Mexico had completed the comeback. Just think of all those novice Nostradamuses filling out brackets in 2005 who felt that Lobos were way cooler than Wildcats.

Tomorrow: Eddie Gill helped Weber State play giant-killer.