Wildcat fans have longed to hear it - after a seven-year absence Villanova finds themselves back in the Final Four after taking down No. 1 overall seeded Kansas in one of the best games of the tournament. With an all out effort on offense and especially defense, Villanova was able to edge out Kansas 6459 as they continue their magical tournament run.
Villanova led a balanced attack with Ryan Arcidiacono, Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins, and Daniel Ochefu, all in doublefigures, who were able to make timely shots when needed.
Villanova kept the pressure on Kansas, making it to the free throw line 19 times and only missing one foul shot the entire game. Villanova was also able to force 16 Kansas turnovers that led to 13 easy points for the Wildcats.
The Wildcat’s defense was playing on another level against Kansas as they held Perry Ellis, Kansas’ leading scorer, to four points. The Jayhawks only made six threepointers on 22 attempts.
An unsung hero of Villanova’s tournament has definitely been freshman Mikal Bridges who has provided a huge spark off the bench and his hustle left a mark in the Kansas game. Bridges dove to the floor with six seconds left to get a loose ball and was able to get a timeout called to put the final nail in Kansas’ coffin.
Villanova will have a rematch against Oklahoma, who beat the Wildcats handedly in the regular season by a score of 7855. But this is a more seasoned Villanova team than they were at the beginning of the season. The game is scheduled for this Saturday, April 2nd and is slated to start at 6:09 pm on TBS.