On tough shooting day, ’Nova shows why it’s truly Elite
The Villanova Wildcats became college basketball’s new standard for winning Sunday.
They got there even though nothing went right offensively in the East Region final at TD Garden, except Donte DiVicenzo’s electric dunk show. “The Big Ragu” slammed two with gusto, one of which is sure to make YouTube.
First and foremost, the Wildcats’ 71-59 win over Texas Tech sends them to their second Final Four in three years, and their third in nine years with Jay Wright as head coach. This dance is in San Antonio, where they take on Kansas y’all.
No less significant is that Vil-
lanova has 134 victories and counting over four years. And you should count because one-andDuke set the previous mark of 133 wins.
Without running through every boxscore, it’s safe to say precious few of those outcomes came when the Wildcats missed 20 of 24 3-point attempts or had fewer field goals than the vanquished, as was the case here.
A couple of disclaimers. First, the ’Cats were beating the Red Raiders so soundly in the first half they had to be getting tired of it. They led by 13 at the intermission, where you can daydream about homework assignments and term papers.
Secondly, Tech easily has the worst half-court offense in the Elite Eight. Sources tell me the ’Nova scout team simulating it in practice for the starters was forced to learn it in a few hours. I wondered why it took so long, but that’s me, not the kids. The Raiders missed 15 of 20 3-pointers and 40 of 60 shots from the field. Yes, the Wildcats played solid defense, particularly in the second half. But it doesn’t take much to disrupt guys who get in each other’s way.
Throw in a tenacious Texas Tech defense synced perfectly to the personnel and you have the formula for ugly. The Raiders closed within five points with 4:13 left in the second half.
“We played a really tough basketball team that had us scouted extremely well, took away our threes, really tested our ability to play tough and ugly,” Wright said. “I think that was their game plan.”
Even with the late run, the game never really was in doubt. The Raiders at least had fun while it lasted. After sensational freshman Zhaire Smith gave them a 5-0 lead, the officials thought there was too much contact.
The underdog Raiders were slammed with five touch fouls in a few minutes, putting the Wildcats in the bonus with 11:07 to go in the first half. And the ’Cats took advantage, making 14 of 19 free throws. They missed 17 of 27 shots from the field but led by as many as 15 points.
Texas Tech was frustrated, much like Big 12 counterpart West Virginia, which was whistled for 28 fouls in its loss to the Wildcats. The ’Cats shot the bonus the last 13 minutes of their regional semifinal.
The Wildcats also turned Tech’s lack of offensive creativity into sheer frustration. Tech went without a basket for a stretch of four minutes before Jarrett Culver tallied to get his mates within 27-21.
That followed the first basket of the day for Jalen Brunson, the focal point of the Raiders’ defensive strategy, with 4:35 left. The Raiders frequently doubled Brunson to make him give up the ball. When Tech scored, a defender was in Brunson’s face before the Cats could inbound to him. He had seven of his teamhigh 15 points at the half. That the Wildcats prevailed when Brunson made just 4 of 14 shots from the field and going 0-for-4 beyond the arc tells you how good they are.
About the only thing the Wildcats were unable to do Sunday was break the single-season NCAA record for three-pointers. They have 436. They need seven to best Virginia Military Institute’s mark of 442 set in 2006. Tech wasn’t going to let that happen on their watch.
“Their length is tremendous,” ’Nova’s Phil Booth said. “They contest everything. No open threes. They’re a top-five defense in the country. Hands up, no open looks and that’s what you expect from a great defensive team.”
The Wildcats made up for it by sinking 29 free throws and creating 12 turnovers. And by capitalizing on DiVincenzo’s aggressiveness around the cylinder. He tagged Tech with a twisting, twohanded dunk with 10 minutes left to fire up teammates. On his first dunk, the ball went through the hole so quickly it hit him in the face.
“We faced the two big beasts of the Big 12 right there back to back, Texas Tech and West Virginia,” Booth said. “And it doesn’t get any tougher than that. Both had great seasons. We’re a battle-tested team. We’ve played games like that and lost. We know how to pull them out.”
The bottom line is that the nation could be looking at an Easter weekend with Sister Jean of Loyola and Father Rob of Villanova attending mass the day before the big game. It’s hard to imagine the Wildcats losing to Kansas. Peace be with you, basketball fans.
Or, as they say in Texas, peace be with y’all.