HOUSTON — The first time Mikal Bridges tried to guard Villanova wings Josh Hart and Darrun Hilliard in practice last season, it did not go well at all.

He was too frail, too wide-eyed and too unprepared.

"It was brutal," Bridges said. "They scored like every time I guarded them. They would just bully me."

In the 18 months since Hart and Hilliard treated him like a turnstile in his first few practices, Bridges has evolved from a defensive liability to a defensive stopper. The 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman has added 20 pounds of muscle, learned to use his length and mobility as weapons and embraced the challenge of guarding opposing teams' top perimeter scorer.

One way that Bridges has made an impact is with his disruptiveness in the passing lanes or at the top of Villanova's 1-2-2 press. More recently, he has also excelled at on-ball defense too, earning the crunch-time assignment of defending anyone from Providence point guard Kris Dunn, to Butler wing Roosevelt Jones to even Kansas power forward Perry Ellis.

Bridges' defensive prowess and versatility make him one of Villanova's most important players entering Saturday's Final Four clash with perimeter-oriented Oklahoma. While no single player will defend national player of the year Buddy Hield by himself in Villanova's switching man-to-man scheme, Bridges and Hart will likely spend the most time of any of the Wildcats shadowing the NCAA tournament's most lethal scorer.

Villanova's Mikal Bridges (25). (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) More

"When Mikal's out there, we want to get his length and mobility on the ball," Villanova forward Darryl Reynolds said. "We're not afraid to switch, but it bothers people when he guards them. It frustrates you when you feel like you have someone beaten and then his long arm reaches out and he gets a block or a steal. Guards aren't used to seeing someone at his size also be as mobile as he is."

How to defend Hield has been a riddle opponents haven't solved all season but especially in the NCAA tournament. The 6-foot-4 senior is averaging 29.3 points per game in four NCAA tournament victories, torching opponents for everything from catch-and-shoot looks in transition, to step-back pull-ups off the dribble, to driving layups at the rim.

Texas A&M tried to face guard Hield with top defender Alex Caruso in the Sweet 16; Hield still scored 17 points including several back-door layups and teammates Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodard flourished because of the extra space they had to attack off the dribble. Oregon played Hield more traditionally in the Elite Eight with its best defender Elgin Cook checking Hield most of the time; Hield dropped 37 points on him on only 20 shots.

Villanova's approach will probably be a little different. Instead of assigning one defender to check Hield from start to finish, the Wildcats will likely begin possessions with either Hart or Bridges on him but switch all ball screens and trust in their ability to defend by committee. They're more equipped to play that way than any team Oklahoma has seen so far because they have three or four capable perimeter defenders.

"I think it's to our advantage because that's how we defend," Villanova assistant Ashley Howard said. "Some teams aren't accustomed to defending that way. Some teams that have one stud defender will try their chances with that one guy on Buddy. With us, we defend by committee. We've been doing it all season. I think that gives us the best chance of being successful tomorrow. We won't have to switch up our game plan. We'll just keep doing what we do."

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