LOUISVILLE– There are some nights like this when you think anything is possible for this Villanova team– even a national championship.

Villanova gave us all something to dream about last night after the Cats blistered third-seeded Atlantic Coast Conference giant Miami, 92-69, here at the Yum Center to advance to the NCAA South Region finals. Villanova is one win away from going to the NCAA Final Four in Houston.

It may not matter who the second-seeded Cats (32-5) play from now on. It may just be a matter of how well the Cats play. They were close to perfect against the Hurricanes, playing their best game of the season. The Cats shot 32 for 51 (62.7 percent) made 10 of 25 threes (66.7 percent) and were 18 of 19 from the free throw line, putting on an overpowering offensive display that spoke to the skills and balance of this team.

Villanova was impossible to guard, putting four players in double figures. They got 21 points apiece from junior forward Kris Jenkins and senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono, 17 from now healthy 6-11 senior center Daniel Ochefu and 14 from junior guard Josh Hart.

“I think it just makes teams have to deal with a lot of guys and they can’t key on one person,” Arcidiacono said. “We’re honestly just reading the defense. We’re not trying to have one person go off. And we read the defense today and we made plays for each other. And I think we all were catching and shooting, making the right decision.”

The Wildcats are playing their best basketball at the right time of the year. “We’ve got some new starters,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “Jenkins is starting to the first time. Hart is starting for the first time. (freshman [point guard) Jalen Brunson is playing for the first time. (Redshirt freshman forward) Makal Bridges is playing for the first time. We’ve got a lot of young guys.

“Our program has a saying, ‘Shoot ’em up and sleep in the streets.’ It means if order to be a great shooter, you have to be willing to keep shooting, even on a night when, if you don’t make ’em, no one’s going to let you come into their house. They’re going to make you sleep in the streets. If you are going to ber a great shooter, you can’t fear sleeping in the streets.

“We want our guys to start with that confidence, then learn how to be an intelligent player and make good decisions.”

The 6-6, 230-pound Jenkins, who shot 8 for 10 and was 5 of 6 from beyond the arc, is a classic example of that. He has been right in the middle of Villanova’s post season surge.

Jenkins was the Player of the Year in the Washington D.C. area four years ago at Gonzaga College Prep. Like Josh Hart, Villanova got involved with him by accident. They were actually recruiting a guard from his travel team, Nate Britt, who went to North Carolina.

Jenkins and Britt have been close friends since childhood and the two lived in the same household from the time they were in seventh grade. “My parents just thought it was the best situation for me,” he said. “They agreed upon it and we never looked back since. They’re my legal guardians so whenever I go home I go to their house, Every holiday, things like that.”

When Villanova signed Jenkins, he weighed a hefty 260-pounds.

“He had always played as an overweight, out of shape player” Wright said. “Last year, he cut weight, but he still didn’t know how to play like a finely conditioned player so we always would have to take him out because he would be tired or just not playing with a lot of energy.

“About halfway through this year, he really found his stamina. He found his stride. /And he played defense consistently, rebounded consistently. So we could keep him on the floor. He’s a great scorer. If you keep a great scorer on the floor for 35 minutes, which he played tonight– he’s going to get numbers.”

Jenkins has the sweetest stoke on the team. “He has tremendous range,” Wright said. “I don’t like a couple of those shots that he took. But he’s the most confident player on the team. Scottie Reynolds (the hero of Villanova’s 2009 Final Four run) was like that. He just believes he’s making every shot and he can score from anywhere and well beyond the NBA three point line. He believes in it.”

Villanova is starting to make believers of us all.

The Cats defeated a Miami team that shot 53.2 percent and made 10 of 17 from the three, numbers that are good enough to win most tournament games.

“Normally, if I look at a stat sheet and we’ve shot 53 percent form the field, 58 from the three, I think we probably won the game,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. “But you look at their stats, they’re just an incredible offensive team. We had no way to stop them and the credit goes to Jay Wright and the game plan they had the the way they’ve played throughout the season.”