Villanova, Oklahoma advance with ease
Wildcats on to Elite Eight in manhandling of Miami; Sooners take out Aggies
LOUISVILLE, KY.— The Villanova Wildcats keep looking for a better shot, not content with simply a good look at the basket.
As a result, they’re putting on quite the clinic in the NCAA tournament with their latest performance putting them into the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009.
Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Jenkins each scored 21 points and No. 2 seed Villanova never trailed in routing third-seeded Miami 92-69 Thursday night in the South Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats turned in their best shooting performance yet in this tournament, shooting 62.7 per cent.
“If any team is shooting the way we’re shooting right now, they’ll easily be the most dangerous team in the country,” Villanova senior forward Daniel Ochefu said. “But hopefully, we’ll keep shooting like that, so we can keep playing the way we are.”
The Wildcats (32-5) earned their third trip to the regional final with coach Jay Wright and seventh overall, coming through with former coach Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova to the 1985 national championship, sitting nearby.
Villanova will play either top-seeded Kansas or No. 5 seed Maryland on Saturday in the regional final. It’s redemption after losses on the opening weekend each of the past two NCAA tournaments.
“These last couple years and a couple early exits wasn’t the best thing for our program, but I think we just remain humble and try to get back,” Arcidiacono said. “It’s just a great feeling.”
Ochefu added 17 points, and Josh Hart had 14 for Villanova, which shot 62.7 per cent (32 of 51).
Miami (27-8) now is 0-3 in this round and 0-2 with coach Jim Larranaga.
“They’re just an incredible offensive team,” Larranaga said of Villanova. “We had no way to stop them.” Sheldon McClellan scored 26 points for Miami, tying a career-high making five threes.
Miami got here by beating a pair of double-digit seeds, Buffalo and Wichita State. Villanova showed the team from the Atlantic Coast Con- ference why the Wildcats were ranked No.1 in the nation for the first time in program history earlier this season. It was the first game between the teams in the NCAA tournament, and the first overall since March 2004, when both teams were in the Big East.
They turned in a dizzying first half with both teams shooting 64 per cent — or better — from the floor and were even sharper beyond the arc where they combined to hit 13 of 19.
“Look at the numbers — it’s crazy to think that was good defence,” Wright said. “But I’m very proud of the second-half defence. When you play great teams like Miami, that’s going to happen.”
Villanova led 43-37 at halftime with Jenkins coming through with the highlight shot of the game, knocking down a three with his left foot on the edge of the logo covering midcourt that instantly drew comparisons online to shots by reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry.
Villanova took control from the start by scoring the first eight points. The Wildcats also forced Miami into a bunch of turnovers early and scored some easy points off those mistakes. Villanova took its biggest lead at 29-14 on a three-pointer by Jenkins with 8:35 left.
“It was a bit of a surprise they came out on fire like that,” McClellan said. OKLAHOMA 77, TEXAS A&M 63: Jordan Woodard scored 22 points and Buddy Hield had17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the secondseeded Oklahoma Sooners in a romp over third-seeded and cold-shooting Texas A&M in Anaheim, Calif.
The Sooners (28-7) advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009. They’ll play Saturday against the Duke-Oregon winner.
Oklahoma is trying to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2002, when it lost to Indiana in the national semifinals.