SAN ANTONIO — Saturday’s spherical of 8 matchup between No. 2-seeded Villanova and No. 5-seeded Houston was paying homage to the school basketball video games performed a long time in the past: Two dogged, rebound-devouring defensive behemoths scratching and clawing and barreling by means of defenders for tough-to-come by factors.
One workforce, the decrease seeded Cougars, had aspirations of a run towards its first nationwide championship in program historical past, and carried the most effective roster it has had in years. The opposite, Villanova, has been trying to reposition itself as one in all Division I’s most feared packages after a number of dismal match seasons.
Ultimately, Coach Jay Wright’s Villanova workforce was too aggressive, too poised and too centered for Houston, which appeared ill-prepared to face an opponent it had a lot in frequent with. And although the Cougars made an enormous run within the second half to slim what had appeared to be turning right into a romp, the Wildcats by no means relinquished the lead and gained, 50-44, to advance to the Closing 4 for the fourth time beneath Wright and the primary time since 2018.
“It was like taking part in in opposition to our personal selves,” mentioned Caleb Daniels, Villanova’s redshirt-senior guard, after the sport. “They have been simply as bodily as we have been. It was a bit of avenue battle each possession making an attempt to get a rebound.”
With simply over a minute left within the sport, Jermaine Samuels, Villanova’s main scorer, delivered a driving layup to offer the Wildcats a 6-point lead, which had blunted Houston’s makes an attempt to return again from 11 factors down halfway by means of the half. Houston’s protection, which had been suffocating throughout its second half run, pressured a turnover however couldn’t capitalize, and by the point Villanova’s star guard Collin Gillespie drained two late free throws, the Cougars’ possibilities have been gone.
“It was proper there,” Kelvin Sampson, Houston’s head coach, mentioned afterward. “We wanted an enormous shot. In loads of shut video games this 12 months, anyone stepped up.”
He added: “However we didn’t.”
Wright’s workforce, after an inconsistent common season that noticed it tumble out of the top-10 after being ranked as high as No. 4, appeared to be taking part in its finest basketball when it wanted to be. The Wildcats have now gained 9 straight video games, together with three wins within the Large East match for that convention title. They entered the N.C.A.A. match because the No. 2 seed within the South area and rolled previous Delaware, Ohio State and Michigan to succeed in the spherical of 8.
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Villanova gained nationwide championships in 2016 and 2018, with rosters brimming with future N.B.A. expertise and elite guard play, which has been a driving drive of Wright’s tenure.
Villanova’s 2016 workforce featured Mikal Bridges of the Phoenix Suns, Josh Hart of the Portland Trailblazers and Jalen Brunson of the Mavericks. In 2018, it was Donte DiVincenzo, who now performs for the Sacramento Kings, who lifted the Wildcats previous Michigan for his or her third nationwide title in program historical past.
Gillespie, a fifth-year senior who was the Large East participant of the 12 months, is the most recent in a protracted line of game-changing guards trying to lead his workforce to a different nationwide championship. He led the Wildcats in factors (15.9) and assists (3.3) this season whereas battling ankle accidents.
On Saturday, Houston principally took Gillespie out of the sport, permitting him to take only one shot within the first half.
“He didn’t should show that he may make the massive photographs,” Wright mentioned. “He may get photographs for his teammates, and that comes with humility. Should you’re boastful and you are feeling such as you’ve obtained to point out what you are able to do, then perhaps you don’t make good choices.”
Houston’s protection and skill to guzzle offensive rebounds had been an impenetrable mixture within the match till Saturday night.
The Cougars outmuscled and outmatched the College of Alabama at Birmingham, plus Illinois and Arizona, by no means having met an opponent totally ready for his or her assortment of energy, dimension and athleticism. Till operating into Villanova.
The Wildcats managed the matchup the way in which they usually do: utilizing lengthy possessions to arrange attractiveness and dictate the tempo.
Villanova’s skill to neutralize Houston’s strengths helped the workforce outlast the Cougars, whilst Houston pulled inside 2 factors because it tried to return again. Houston feeds off its opponents’ errors, however Villanova is a disciplined workforce that limits them.
The Cougars, recognized for his or her skill to field out and create further possessions on offense, may solely pull in two offensive rebounds within the first half, and couldn’t rely on their skill to create turnovers by attacking ball screens.
On offense, the Cougars have been inconsistent, trying the worst they’d all match.
“We had loads of alternatives. They didn’t go in,” Sampson mentioned. “That occurs. I’m upset we misplaced. I felt this was a sport we may win. Not ought to win, however may win. We needed to earn it.”
However Villanova underperformed on offense as properly. Among the best 3-point taking pictures groups within the nation, the Wildcats shot lower than 30 % from past the arc within the first 20 minutes, going into the half with out a single level from Gillespie.
Samuels, who powered Villanova over Michigan within the spherical of 16, completed with 16 factors and 10 rebounds.
Since taking down Michigan in 2018, Villanova had been knocked out of match by Purdue in 2019 and was defeated by Baylor, the 2021 champion, within the spherical of 16 final 12 months.
Houston’s program had been dormant for years earlier than Sampson’s arrival in 2014.
But in opposition to Villanova, that id that he had constructed of being powerful and hyperathletic, just like the way in which the Cougars had performed a long time in the past, wasn’t sufficient. Just a few missed photographs and a few misplaced rebounds saved Sampson’s workforce wanting the Closing 4 it had wished.
“Credit score Villanova,” he mentioned. “In a 12 months the place I don’t assume there’s any nice groups in school basketball, Villanova’s obtained nearly as good an opportunity as anyone.”
