Far from pretty, Wildcats advance
BOSTON — Villanova is going back to the Final Four, and those underdogs should get ready for the top-seeded Wildcats.
Eric Paschall had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and the 2016 national champions beat Texas Tech 71-59 in a coldshooting East regional championship Sunday to reach the Final Four for the second time in three years.
Villanova (34-4) will play Midwest Region top seed and champion Kansas, which outlasted No. 2 seed Duke in overtime later Sunday.
Jalen Brunson had 15 points, and Donte DiVincenzo scored 12 with eight of the Wildcats’ 51 rebounds. After starting four guards, Texas Tech (27-10) grabbed just 33 boards and shot just 18 free throws compared to 35 for Villanova and lost its chance to play for a championship in its home state.
The teams matched each other with 33 percent shooting from the floor and Villanova, one of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in NCAA history, made just 4 of 24 from beyond the arc. The Wildcats need seven to set a Division I single-season record.
They’ll get that 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 chance 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. It’s fun when they go in but we don’t worry about missing them.”
Texas Tech had never reached the Elite Eight in the 93-year history of the program.
Keenan Evans scored 12 points for the Red Raiders, Jarrett Culver had 11 and 6-foot-6 guard Justin Gray led the team with nine rebounds.
It will be 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.”