Wildcats are not fazed by the underdogs

Villanova returns for second time in three years to Final Four, will face Kansas.

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 champions are headed back to the Final Four, thanks to a fourth straight double-digit victory in a month of March when they’ve 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 beat Texas Tech 7159 in a cold-shooting East Regional championship on Sunday to send Villanova back to the Final Four for the second time in three years.

“The underdog mentally, 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,” Brunson said. “We’re a good team, and we believe we can keep getting better.”

The Wildcats (34-4) will play fellow No. 1 seed Kansas, which beat Duke 85-81 in overtime later Sunday. They will join 11th-seeded Loyola Chicago, along with No. 3 seed Michigan in the national semifinals Saturday in San Antonio.

Eric Paschall had 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Brunson scored 15, and Donte DiVincenzo scored eight points and had eight of the Wildcats’ season-high 51 rebounds. After starting four guards, Texas Tech (27-10) grabbed only 33 boards and shot only 18 free throws compared with 35 for Villanova to miss a chance to play for a championship in its home state.

“We knew they were a great three-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% shooting from the floor — Villanova’s lowest since 2015 — and the Wildcats made only four of 24 from beyond the arc. One of the most prolific threepoint-shooting teams in NCAA history, they need seven to set a Division I single-season record.

They’ll get that chance in the Final Four.

“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,” Wright said. “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.”