Wildcats roll on in double-digit win over Red Raiders
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BOSTON — With all of the underdogs and upsets that have upended the NCAA Tournament, no one has managed to come close to Villanova.
The 2016 national champs are headed back to the Final Four, thanks to a fourth consecutive double-digit victory in a month of March where they have played every bit like the No. 1 seed they earned.
“This tournament’s a crazy tournament. Anybody can beat anybody,” guard Jalen Brunson said after the Wildcats downed Texas Tech 71-59 in a cold-shooting East Regional championship Sunday to send Villanova back to the Final Four for the second time in three years. “The
underdog mentality, they may have it. But, honestly, they believe they’re good. That’s why they’re in that position.
“That’s (also) why we’re in that position. We’re a good team, and we believe we can keep getting better.”
The Wildcats (34-4) will play Midwest Regional winner Kansas. Sunday’s winners will join 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago and its telegenic nun, along with No. 3 Michigan in the national semifinals Saturday at San Antonio.
Sister Jean, get ready for Father Rob.
“I very much look forward to meeting Sister Jean,” said the Rev. Rob Hagan, the priest on the Villanova bench. “I was 12 years of Catholic school and taught by the nuns. I have great respect for the nuns. Usually what Sister says is what goes.”
Villanova’s rock
But if these two Catholic schools — one Jesuit and one Augustinian — meet in the national championship game, the Wildcats won’t be without spiritual support of their own.
“He’s our rock,” said guard Donte DiVincenzo, who scored eight points. “He keeps us levelheaded to make sure we don’t get too high or too low. So to be able to share that moment with him was actually real fun.”
Eric Paschall had 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Brunson scored 15, and DiVincenzo also had eight of Villanova’s season-high 51 rebounds. After starting four guards, the Red Raiders (27-10) grabbed just 33 boards and shot 18 free throws compared to 35 for the Wildcats to miss a chance to play for a championship in its home state.
“We knew they were a great 3-point shooting team and talented players, but we also knew how tough they were,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. “We knew the identity of their team was the toughness and physicality, and that proved to be true.”
The teams matched each other with 33-percent shooting from the floor — Villanova’s lowest since 2015 — and the Wildcats were just 4-of-24 from beyond the arc. One of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in NCAA history, they need seven to set a Division I singleseason record.
“Wasn’t really a pretty offensive game, but we played pretty good defensively too,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose team spent eight weeks in two different stints as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 this season. “That’s why I give Texas Tech credit, they did a great job.
“But we don’t rely on our shooting. There’s a lot more to the game. Our guys take pride in that.
“We never worry about missing shots. It’s fun when they go in, but we don’t worry about missing them.”
Played with broken toe
Texas Tech star Keenan Evans scored 12 points and revealed after the game he has been playing with a broken toe since injuring his foot in mid-February against Baylor.
“We take a lot of pride just knowing that the amount of work we put in to get here,” Evans said. “We came short of what the ultimate goal was, but just for us digging down and us going through injuries … we took a lot of pride with it.”
The Red Raiders never had reached the Elite Eight in the 93year history of the program.
Third Final Four for Wright
It is Villanova’s third trip to the Final Four in Wright’s tenure. Four players remain from the team that won it all two years ago.
“You just see how together we are. Every Villanova team I’ve been on has been like that,” Brunson said. “Every time you get to do it is special, every time you’re on that court with those group of guys, it’s special.”
The Wildcats quickly fell behind 7-0 and trailed 9-1 — the largest deficit they had faced in the tourney. But they scored 14 of the next 18 points and closed the half on a 35-14 run for a 36-23 lead at the break. The 23 points marked the lowest-scoring half of the season for Tech.