At Villanova, the long odds are smothering Little enthusiasm for the NCAAs.

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, March, 2007 | by Kathy Boccella

They've been down this road before. Told to believe. But promises were broken and their disappointment was as pungent as the stale beer at Kelly's taproom down the road.

Now the students at Villanova University have been asked to dream again, but all they can muster is a sense of collective apathy.

As the Wildcats get ready to battle the University of Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament tonight, their classmates seem to be studiously ignoring the potential champs.

Where are the banners? Where are the pep rallies? Where, for heaven's sake, is the love?

"The vibe is just totally different," Howard Williams, 19, a sophomore from Houston, said yesterday.

"Last year, we were number-one seed. This year, we're number...