Sam Donnellon: If Villanova beats Duke, elite status might not be far away

THEY HAVE lived and thrived among the beasts in the Big East, beaten their share of them over the last 4 years. Villanova basketball is alive and well these days, having created its niche even among college basketball's elite.

"Paving our way in the cement," as Dante Cunningham put it yesterday before the Wildcats began to prepare for their Sweet 16 matchup against Duke Thursday night.

A big win over UCLA over the weekend. A big game against Duke 2 days from now. If Villanova somehow makes it to the Final Four, the names in its wake will look like an inventory list for your local sports-apparel store. They will probably have to go through at least part of the Big East again, beat Pitt, go through Syracuse maybe, and maybe Louisville or UConn at the end, too.

All big names, names that mean something when their respective coaches walk into the home of any high school stud in America. "Franchises," was the word Scottie Reynolds used before practice yesterday, and the funny thing is he was trying to downplay the whole thing at the time.

There are no bigger franchises in college sports than UCLA and Duke. UCLA: John Wooden, Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, 11 NCAA titles. Duke: Mike Krzyzewski, Christian Laettner, Johnny Dawkins, Grant Hill, three national titles, five consecutive Final Four appearances in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"It's definitely a name that stuck when you were younger," Cunningham was saying. "You always heard about these teams as you grew up."

Villanova? Not so much. There has been success, for sure - their miracle run to a national championship in 1985 and plenty of fine seasons over their history. But they have had their down stretches, too, stretches that have, over the years, restricted their reach.

Jay Wright has reached his fourth Sweet 16 in 5 years with a simple formula. Farm the northeast corridor. Farm it hard.

"We have our little niche," he said.

The niche?

"Jersey guards," he said. "New York guards."

The success of players like Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry has begotten players like Corey Fisher and even Philly recruit Maalik Wayns. Lately, the success of Reynolds and Cunningham has pushed open doors into the D.C. area as well.

"We can't pick 'em like Duke can," Wright said. "But we have our niche."