4- GONE CONCLUSION
No shame for Loyola after storybook run ends with dazzling show in Final Four
SAN ANTONIO — To sum things up, Villanova was feelin’ it Saturday.
The Wildcats moved a victory away from their second NCAA title in three seasons by sinking a Final Four- record 18 three- pointers in a 95- 79 runaway against Kansas.
‘‘ Well, that was just one of those nights,’’ Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
Normally the third or fourth option on a team full of shooters, junior Eric Paschall led the barrage by going 4- for- 5 from three- point range and 10- for- 11 overall on his way to a career- high 24 points.
But the hoop was as wide as the Alamodome for pretty much anyone in a Wildcats jersey. Seven Villanova players made threepointers, and the Wildcats tied the previous Final Four record for three- pointers in a game — 13 — with 3: 45 left in the first half.
Next up is Michigan, which will try to do a better job of guarding the perimeter against Villanova ( 35- 5) on Monday.
Good luck with that. Nobody has had much success in that regard this season, especially the Jayhawks ( 31- 8). Former Stevenson star Jalen Brunson made three three- pointers and finished with 18 points, and Omari Spellman made three, too, in a 15- point, 13- rebound effort.
‘‘ As good a team as I’ve played against that I can remember,’’ Kansas coach Bill Self said of the Wildcats. ‘‘ We got spread out on defense. The game plan went to crap. You get caught in between on defense, and it’s the worst thing you can do.’’
About a minute into the second half, Paschall made Villanova’s 14th three- pointer to break the Final Four record first set by UNLV in 1987. Much earlier, at about the 13- minute mark of the first half, Collin Gillespie spotted up and made the Wildcats’ sixth threepointer. That gave them the NCAA record for three- pointers in a season with 442.
Against Kansas, Villanova’s typical possession involved working the ball down low on the wing, skipping a pass across the bottom of the paint, then making two or three passes around the arc until somebody got open. It usually worked. Most of the Wildcats’ 18 three- pointers barely skimmed the net.
‘‘ We knew they’d have to miss some pretty decent looks, but they got anything they wanted early and they knocked everything down,’’ Self said.
Gillespie’s record- setter gave the Wildcats a 22- 4 lead, and the Jayhawks had as many turnovers as points at that stage. Self did what he could, urging 7- foot center Udoka Azubuike out of the paint and into the faces of Villanova’s shooters, but he couldn’t get there in time.
Kansas, back in the dome where it cut down the nets 10 years ago after its last NCAA title, made mini- runs, but the deficit never got below double digits.
Devonte’ Graham led the Jayhawks with 23 points. Malik Newman, who pushed his game into overdrive during the postseason, added 21. They combined to make six threepointers, but they didn’t get much help.
About the only drama in the second half was whether the Wildcats would top Loyola Marymount’s NCAA Tournament record of 21 three- pointers in a game ( against Michigan in 1990). It didn’t happen, primarily because they didn’t need it to. But there’s still Monday.
‘‘ They’ll be hard for anyone to deal with if they shoot the ball like that,’’ Self said.