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Villanova Wildcats Inch By Kansas Jayhawks, Head To Final Four

By Nicholas Sciria
Published on: 17:14 PST, Mar 26, 2016

On Saturday night, the overall No. 1 seed fell to the Villanova Wildcats. In a back and forth affair between two elite basketball teams, the Wildcats knocked off the Kansas Jayhawks in typical March Madness fashion. Villanova needed several big shots at the end of the game to seal the victory, along with a risky steal attempt in the closing moments of the contest. Ultimately, the Wildcats demonstrated that their team is anything but the “fluke” that many thought there were, and Villanova can now tout their spot in this year’s Final Four.

The game was close throughout, and with under 11 minutes to play, and finding themselves down five points, the Wildcats needed to swing the momentum away from Kansas. In the next few possessions, Villanova not only shifted the momentum, but the Wildcats took control of the game as well with a quick 10-0 run. In three minutes, Villanova hit two crucial three-pointers, prompting Bill Self to call a much-needed timeout. Ryan Arcidiacono and Josh Hart each hit a shot from behind the arc during this stretch, and the Wildcats never trailed after Self’s timeout. Looking back, that three minute stretch may be the most important period of basketball over the course of this whole season for Villanova.

Still, Villanova needed Arcidiacono’s timely defensive play at the end to squeak out the win. With the game on the line and the Jayhawks looking to tie the game with only a few seconds on the clock, Arcidiacono knocked the ball away from Frank Mason III, and Mikal Bridges landed on the ball to secure a trip to Houston.

Offensively, the Wildcats’ scoring was dispersed throughout the team, which is per the usual for Villanova basketball. Despite going ice cold as a team from behind the three-point line, the Wildcats came up with scores when the the team absolutely needed them. Kris Jenkins finished with 13 points, and Hart and Arcidiacono chipped in with 13 points of their own. It was easily the coldest offensive performance so far in the tournament for Villanova, and the Wildcats had to lean on their defense because of it.

Against Kansas, the Wildcats relied on Daniel Ochefu once again in the middle. Ochefu played 29 minutes and led the back-end of Villanova’s defense. The Wildcats keyed in on Perry Ellis, who came into the game averaging 17.2 points per game on the season. The Wildcats took Ellis out of the game completely, and the senior finished with only four points on five shots. He was visibly frustrated throughout the game, constantly being hounded by one or two Villanova defenders on each possession.

As Ellis explained after the game, credit has to be given to Villanova’s defense, according to the New York Times.

“They did a great job of just trying to swarm me. Somebody was always there.”

After this win, it does not get any easier for Villanova. The Wildcats will now take on another team with future NBA talent, this time in Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners stomped on an elite Oregon Ducks team on Saturday in a decisive victory of their own. Villanova will need the same type of effort and focus as the team gave in guarding Ellis in the next round against Hield. Hield will most likely be the responsibility of Josh Hart, who has guarded the best opposing perimeter threat all year. If the Wildcats can contain Hield like they did with Ellis, Villanova could be looking at a championship appearance on Monday night.

[Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images]

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