Villanova continued plowing their way through the NCAA Tournament Saturday night with what was without a doubt their most impressive victory thus far. The Wildcats used an 18/40 night from beyond the arc as well as a .554 shooting percentage to dominate Kansas 95-79 in the Final Four and earn a berth in the National Championship Game Monday night.
The Highs
For Villanova,the Wildcats continued to use an offensive onslaught that no team during the Tournament or all-season really for that matter has been able to solve. Aside from them setting a record for three-pointers in a Final Four, Nova had consistent production from each of their starters including Eric Paschallโs 24 points which lead all scorers on the night.
Villanovaโs guard play has also been pretty much unmatched all season with Jalen Brunson adding 18 and Donte DiDivcenzo netting 15 off the bench.
The Lows
Itโs not that Kansas was bad tonight, they just simply couldnโt match up with Nova blow-by-blow on offense nor did they have a solution to stop it. In fact Kansas tried to take their 7-foot-center Udoka Azubuike out of the paint in an effort to try to sustain the Wildcatsโ hybrid forward-guards. It didnโt work and seemingly made what was perhaps Villanovaโs one weakness on offense โ somewhat lack of depth up front โ just a little more potent with the Jayhawksโ big man neutralized outside the paint.
The Difference
Thereโs that old clichรฉ that defense wins championshipsโฆ Tell that to Villanova because theyโre one win way from their juggernaut of an offense bringing them a NCAA Tournament title.
Whatโs Next
Itโll be No. 3 Michigan, who didnโt have to beat a team ranked higher than five so far in the NCAA Tournament, and No. 1 Villanova going head-to-head for it all Monday night in San Antonio.