KANSAS HOLDS OFF CLEMSON
BOSTON — Villanova’s 3-point party rolled past the pressure of West Virginia to bring the Wildcats to the doorstep of another Final Four two seasons after winning a national championship.
The top-seeded Wildcats continued their outside feast, downing the fifth-seeded Mountaineers 90-78 on Friday night to earn their second trip to the Elite Eight in three seasons.
Jalen Brunson led Villanova with 27 points and Omari Spellman had 18 with eight rebounds as Villanova overcame the West Virginia press by hitting 13 of 24 shots from 3-point range. Jevon Carter and Sagaba Konate each at 12 points to lead West Virginia.
Villanova (33-4) has now made 47 3-pointers for the tournament. The outside shots helped the Wildcats overcome 16 turnovers.
Villanova’s Sweet 16 plan for the team nicknamed “Press Virginia”: Attack the stifling defense head-on.
The Wildcats struggled at times, especially in the first half, but dug out of a six-point hole in the second half with an 11-0 run.
“What a game, man. I hope that looked as good as it did from the bench, man,” Villanova coach Jay wright said. “That was the most physically demanding, mentally draining 40 minutes we’ve played in a long time. They are so relentless.”
The Mountaineers (26-11) stayed close throughout the night, ramping up the pressure and making Villanova play faster than it wanted to early. But foul trouble throughout the second half was too much for West Virginia to overcome after it gave up the lead.
OMAHA, Neb. — No crazy comeback story here. Top-seeded Kansas brought at least a temporary halt to the insanity this March, withstanding a wild comeback from fifthseeded Clemson for a too-close-for-comfort, 80-76 victory.
Malik Newman led the Jayhawks (30-7) with 17 points in a one-time runaway that got much closer and, quite frankly, won’t mean much if KU can’t finish the job in the Midwest Region final Sunday.
For the third straight year as a No. 1 seed, KU made its way through the Sweet 16. Getting to the Final Four has been a different story — and the Jayhawks are on the doorstep once again.
As a top seed the last two seasons, Kansas made it through the regional semifinals, only to flop a game shy of the Final Four both times. In fact, this is the sixth time Bill Self’s team has been seeded first since winning it all in 2008; the Jayhawks haven’t made the Final Four one of those times. It could’ve ended Friday.
“We finished the game about as poorly as a team can,” Self said. “We know we’ve got to be a lot better Sunday, but we’re really proud and happy to be in the game.”
Gabe DeVoe had a career-high 31 for Clemson (25-10), which couldn’t replicate the magic it showed in beating Auburn by 31 to reach its first Sweet 16 in 21 years. — AP