Wildcats advance to Final Four

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 cold-shooting East regional championship on Sunday to reach the Final Four for the second time in three years.

Villanova (34-4) will play the winner of the Midwest final between top-seeded Kansas and No. 2 seed Duke. Sunday’s winners will join 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago and their Sister Jean, telegenic nun, along with No. 3 Michigan in the national semifinals on Saturday in San Antonio.

Sister Jean, prepare to meet Father Rob, the priest on the Villanova bench who provides spiritual support for the Wildcats.

Jalen Brunson had 15 points, and Donte De-Vincenzo 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 chance in the Final Four.

“(It) wasn’t really a pretty offensive game, (but) we played pretty good defensively, too,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

Texas Tech (27-10) had never reached the Elite Eight in the 93-year history of the program. The Red Raiders easily handled Purdue in the Sweet 16.

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.