Villanova’s season came to an end Saturday evening in the Sweet 16 with a 62-51 loss to Baylor. The Wildcats had their chances, but ultimately one incredibly poor stretch was too much to overcome against an incredibly talented Baylor team.

The first half played out pretty much how you would expect a battle between two good teams to go. The teams traded blows over the first six minutes of the game, spending most of the time tied or with one team holding a one-possession lead. It was Baylor who would land the first big blow.

The Bears would rip off a 10-0 run over about four minutes to turn a three-point deficit into a seven-point advantage. That run happened to coincide with another 5-minute Villanova drought. But the Wildcats would have a response.

Back-to-back 3s from Caleb Daniels and Justin Moore ended the drought and sparked the ‘Cats. That 6-0 push would get extended to a 13-0 run, with ‘Nova turning that seven-point deficit into a six-point lead. All told, ‘Nova would end the half on a 19-5 run to take a 30-23 lead into the break.

There were some really good signs and a couple concerning ones. On the positive side, Baylor shot just 2-12 (17%) from 3 and Villanova was +3 from beyond the arc. The ‘Cats also had a four-point advantage from the free throw line. Baylor was having some success on the offensive glass, taking an 8-5 advantage, but ‘Nova was holding its own on the boards with a 17-15 advantage overall. The ‘Cats also managed a two-point advantage in second-chance points. Villanova did commit seven first-half turnovers and only forced five, and the Bears led points off turnovers 9-4. So, Villanova did some things really well, but there were also some things to clean up.

The first eight minutes of the second half played out similarly to the first half. The teams traded blows, with Villanova maintaining a margin between two and six points. At the 11:56 mark, Baylor was finally able to pull back even with the ‘Cats when MaCio Teague capped a 6-0 Baylor push with a layup. Justin Moore would answer for the ‘Cats with a layup of his own to restore a Villanova lead, but it was at this point that the wheels fell off for the Wildcats.

From the 10:30 mark to the 8:35 mark, Villanova would turn the ball over on five straight possessions. Baylor would take advantage with an 8-0 run to take a six-point lead. The ‘Nova struggles would continue, with the Wildcats turning it over on seven of 10 possessions and scoring just one bucket in that stretch. A pair of Jermaine Samuels free throws would stop the bleeding, but Villanova was down five and the ‘Cats would never truly recover and that was as close as they would get the rest of the game as they struggled to put the ball in the basket. Baylor would ice it down the stretch with free throws, pulling away for the 11-point win.

“They really got into our guards and prevented us from initiating offense,” Jay Wright said. “They just contested every pass, every cut. And it did make us -- it actually took us out of running offense and we had to try to just kind of drive the ball and try to get some post-ups, but we didn't do a good job of that.”

In addition to the turnovers, one other thing stands out from the second half: Baylor outscored Villanova in the paint 28-18 after ‘Nova had a 14-12 advantage in that area in the first half.

“They played really four guards in the second half, which opened up the floor a little bit more,” Wright said. “When they had the two bigs in, there wasn't as much space, but going to four guards and then creating that space, it did allow them to get to the rim, I thought. And we didn't do as good a job in the second half, obviously, of containing them. But partly it was because they had us spread out with four guards.”

A look at the box score will add to the sting for Villanova fans. Baylor shot just 16% from 3, ‘Nova would have a seven-point advantage from the line before the late-game fouling to extend the game, and the ‘Cats had a 16-10 advantage in second-chance points. If you were told those numbers before the game, you would have figured there was a very strong chance Villanova had won the game.

Ultimately, the turnovers were too much to overcome. Villanova committed 16 while forcing just six and was outscored 22-4 in points off turnovers. That’s the difference in the game.

It was certainly a disappointing end, made more so by the fact that it feels like the game was winnable. But it’s hard to feel anything but proud of this team, which overcame a great deal of adversity and advanced much further in the tournament than many people thought they would.

“I want to say I'm really proud of our guys,” Wright said. “Love this team, loved coaching this team. We were good enough, we were good enough to beat them. They just played better down the stretch. I think down the stretch their defense just got into us and wore us down. And it made the difference in the game.”