With the sports world grinding to a halt and college basketball fans left lamenting the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, we’re doing what we can to make the best of the situation. With that in mind, we’re going to spend the next few weeks revisiting some important moments in Villanova history, and with the Wildcats’ recent success there will be plenty for us to enjoy.
March 31, 2018 Villanova 95 Kansas 79
By this point in the tournament, there was a special feel around Villanova. The Wildcats had dispatched Radford, Alabama, West Virginia, and Texas Tech with each victory coming by double-figures. They were now two games away from a second national title in three years, with Kansas standing in the way in the Final Four and the Jayhawks looking to avenge the Elite 8 loss from two seasons ago.
That didn’t happen.
Villanova blitzed the Jayhawks right out of the gate, going up 9-2 and 22-4. Collin Gillespie’s three at the 13:06 mark that gave ‘Nova that 22-4 lead was the Wildcats’ 442nd of the season, a new NCAA record. At that point of the game, Kansas had as many turnovers as points and had called as many timeouts as it had made field goals. The Jayhawks wouldn’t get closer than 11 the rest of the half, and the ‘Cats took a comfortable 15-point lead into the break.
The Wildcats had tied the record for three-pointers in a Final Four game before the game even reached halftime, and there was little Kansas could do to stop the onslaught.
The second half was largely academic. The hot shooting continued and Kansas never truly threatened. The ‘Cats led by as many as 22 before cruising to the 16-point win and a spot in the national title game.
Villanova set the record for three-pointers in a Final Four game with 18, connecting on 45% of its attempts from deep. Seven Wildcats scored, and seven Wildcats made at least one shot from three-point range.
On this night, it was Eric Paschall who led the way. He finished with 24 points, shooting a sparkling 10-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, adding three rebounds and three assists.
Jalen Brunson chipped in 18 points to go with six assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Omari Spellman was huge for the ‘Cats, posting a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. He also added three blocks.
Phil Booth and Mikal Bridges added 10 points each. Booth chipped in six assists and three rebounds while Bridges did his usual stat sheet stuffing with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
Donte DiVincenzo came off the bench to add 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Gillespie scored three points on his record-breaking three in the first half.
The Wildcats shot 55.4% overall and dished out 20 assists. They executed the offense with precision and never gave the offensively dangerous Jayhawks (ranked 5th offensively by KenPom) a chance to get back in the game.
It’s virtually impossible to match the show of force Villanova displayed in its 2016 Final Four matchup with Oklahoma, but this performance against Kansas is about as close and you could come.
