Villanova Wildcats Survive Cold Shooting, Houston Cougars Top to Reach NCAA Tournament Finals
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Go Enough Villanova press conferences and trainer Jay Wright preaching certain things day in and day out became apparent very quickly. It’s pretty much a formulaic, robotic answer from the Wildcats: Attitudes. Villanova Basketball.
Villanova rarely strays from its principles, and it has returned them to a venue familiar to the Wildcats – they advanced to their third Finals in the past six NCAA tournaments, with a chance to win the championship. third country for the same period of time.
In the knockout at the AT&T Center on Saturday night, 2-seeded Villanova took the lead five-seeded earlier. Houstonnever slipped and retreated in the last minutes to win 50-44.
Villanova shot from distance just 28.8% (15 for 52), becoming the first team to win an Elite Eight while shooting less than 30% from the field since UCLA in 1971 (29%), according to ESPN Stats & Information search. The Wildcats’ 50 points is also the lowest score ever in an Elite Eight win.
“If you had told me before the game that we would keep them on the field 28%, they would shoot 23% from the three-point line, and we would lose, I wouldn’t have believed you,” said coach Kelvin Sampson of Houston, whose Cougars also struggled to get off the field, scored 29.8% (17 for 57). “I knew it took a good team to beat us. And a good team did. I think those are two great cultures out there tonight.”
In the Quarterfinals, Villanova will face the winner of Sunday’s game between Kansas and Miami.
Jermaine Samuels lead for the Wildcats with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Caleb Daniels came on from the bench to score 12 points. Taze Moore was Houston’s top scorer, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Houston has had its first punch against every team it has competed in in the NCAA tournament so far. The Cougars went up 31-14 against UAB in 10 minutes, 16-9 against Illinois and 19-12 against Arizona.
Wright expected much of the same when asked Friday afternoon how he planned to prepare his team to deal with Houston’s intensity and physicality from the start.
“We’re going to do a little bit of breathing in our mouths,” says Wright. “We’re going to have to feel it and then adjust as soon as we can.”
No adjustment needed.
The Wildcats landed in the opening game, scoring the first five points and leading 16-8 in 10 minutes. They never followed up.
“Villanova was the aggressor in the first half,” Sampson said.
Houston forward Fabian White added: “We’re not going to be aggressive, like the Coach said. “Nothing really shocked us. We really had to buckle up in defense. They scored the first two points pretty easily.”
Houston has built a reputation under Sampson for taking teams out of their comfort zone when attacking, but that’s exactly what Villanova did to the Cougars in the first half. The Wildcats kept making tackles and forehand dribbling, not allowing Houston to go downhill with dribbling. The Cougars were forced to start defending further, and their jumps didn’t drop as they did in the first three games of the NCAA tournament.
They won up to 5 3-pointers in the first 7 minutes of the game before becoming more aggressive in dribbling. But early on, Villanova won’t let Houston win where they want to win: on offensive glass and in transition. The Cougars are one of the best counter-attacking teams in the country and also excel at forcing reversals and taking points on forwards.
The first 17 minutes, Houston only had a back strike and forced only two penalty shootouts, both of which were not the ball directly. Villanova forced Houston to work things uncomfortably and then made the Cougars defend for 30 seconds on the other end.
Villanova overtook Houston.
Or, if you prefer, Villanova is playing Villanova basketball.
Even though the shots didn’t drop, the Wildcats continued to stick to their fundamentals. They take care of the ball, they do their best to keep Houston unobstructed, they allow nothing in the transition, they move the ball efficiently and use their usual types of posts and pumps. them to create space and get to the free throw line .
Attitude. Villanova Basketball.
“We just stick together and say the attitude,” defends the Wildcats Collin Gillespie speak. “It’s something we’re proud of ourselves, just playing hard for 40 minutes.”
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” he added. “They’re well trained, they give their all in every ball possession. They go to the glass at both ends of the floor. That’s what we talk about every time we step on the court – let’s make sure we’re on the pitch. play hard and we’re competing for every ownership. We’re proud of that. Just make sure we play Villanova basketball every time we step on the floor.”
Houston really needed a run that didn’t materialize in the first 30 minutes of the game. The Cougars are among the best in the country when it comes to scoring goals to extend their lead or close a deficit. Unfortunately for them, Villanova made an even better save.
According to EvanMiya.com, a website that tracks cutting-edge college basketball stats, Villanova is the most powerful conference team in the country at stopping extended runs. Villanova has allowed a 10-0 run just six times all season, or 0.17 per game, according to the website.
The biggest game Houston managed of the whole game was a goal that lasted 6-0, cutting Villanova’s lead to two goals with the remaining score at 5:25. For a team with the third-most 10-0 record in the country, they were crippled for their offense.
Every time Houston looked like she was gaining momentum in front of a pro-Cougars crowd, Villanova hit back. Daniels hit a brace midway through the first half after Houston finally found an attacking rhythm. Gillespie, who had only six points and didn’t play well for most of the game thanks to Jamal SheadThe team’s elite defence, fouled well outside the three-point line and made two free throws late in the first half.
Daniels started the second half with another big shot, this time 3 with 19:07 remaining. And then after Houston had taken a five-game lead early in the second half, Samuels drove across the lane, hit two Cougars defenders and then finished off a shot plus a foul.
“There are people who have experience playing in that environment like a real road game, they run, a really, really good team that you know can keep running, and let them stay calm and get a few stops, hitting big shots like Collin did,” said Wright. “Having veteran players is key to that, people who’ve been in that moment before.”
Houston was much more aggressive in the second half, winning three offensive rebounds and scoring five second-chance points in the first four minutes. The Cougars succeeded around the basket and received defensive stops, but their outside shots would not fall. They only shot 1 to 20 from a distance of 3 points against Villanova after winning 9 to 20 against Arizona on Thursday night.
“We had a lot of chances. They didn’t come in,” Sampson said. “That happens.”
When Houston finally went on – an 11-2 shot to cut Villanova’s lead to two, the closest since the start of the game – it was the Wildcats’ best player who delivered a big shot. Gillespie burying a jumping athlete in contention J’Wan Roberts with 5:02 remaining, and Houston scored no points for the next four minutes.
A short Shead jump in the lane cut Villanova’s score to four with 1:25 remaining, but Villanova reacted immediately with a Samuels finish through contact. However, Houston is not finished yet. Kyler Edwards made a pair of free throws, and then Roberts was forced to jump back Justin Moore slipped, apparently injured his right leg. But Taze Moore’s failure of ownership then died down for Houston.
A pair of Gillespie’s free throws put Villanova ahead to six, and Houston won’t get any closer.
However, Villanova’s celebrations at the final whistle were muted, due to Moore’s possible serious injury. He walked into the locker room on crutches during the title ceremony, and Wright didn’t seem optimistic about his future readiness.
Moore, a 6-foot-4 keeper, is second on the team in points, third in rebounds and second in assists.
His potential absence will be a whole week story in New Orleans, but for now, the Wildcats are celebrating yet another chance to cut the net.
“It feels great. It never gets old,” Wright said of reaching the Finals. “It’s every player and coach’s dream in college basketball. It’s the best. We’re going to enjoy this tonight and tomorrow. [Then we’re going to] rest and go to work. We keep playing; That’s what we enjoy the most. “
