When everyone did decide to come back, it was obvious they had a chance to redeem themselves. To do that, they have to eliminate the mistakes they made in San Antonio

“I didn’t know how big of a deal it was,” Green said of the 2008 Final Four. “We got caught up in a lot of the outside things going on, the distractions. This year we’re here to take care of business. We know what it’s about and I think that gives us an advantage over other teams. I think we were just satisfied and happy to be here.”

That first trip can be overwhelming. It is natural. There are the lavish NCAA dinners, network television interviews and the big arenas. Even the huge crowds at Friday’s public practices can be intimidating. None of it even closely resembles the regular season routine.

“When our guys come in here [Saturday] night, they will never have seen anything like that,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “Today’s practice is a good start. We talked about that, how to handle the distractions around us and try to keep our concentration. We talk about [the court being] 94-feet by 50-feet.”

The Villanova players are hoping to take a cue from their coach.

“Everybody knows Coach Wright is smooth, calm and collected,” forward Dante Cunningham said. “He seems never to be rattled, regardless of what’s going on. I think that’s where our team gets it from. When we’re down, when things go wrong, we’re cool and never in a panic.

“To be in a first Final Four, I know I’m nervous. I know I’m excited. But you definitely have to keep it in perspective.’’

And you can’t tiptoe through the tulips. Just ask the Tar Heels.

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Mark J. Terrill / AP

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