Villanova holds down Perry Ellis, hits free throws down stretch to advance to Final Four
Villanova guard Josh Hart (3) pulls down a rebound over Kansas forward Carlton Bragg Jr., left, and guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10) in the first half during the finals of the NCAA Tournament's South region at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, March 26, 2016. Credit: TNS / Rich Sugg
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A night that delivered the unexpected, a defensive struggle of all things, also brought Villanova everything it had hoped for. Playing against the best team in the nation, Villanova was the best team on the floor. And now it is headed to the Final Four.
The Wildcats used all of their energy and resources to stifle Perry Ellis, the unguardable player, and beat top- seeded Kansas, 64-59, in the South Regional final at KFC Yum! Center on Saturday night. The next stop will be Houston and a game against Oklahoma.
“I can’t wait. It’s crazy,” said Josh Hart, who had 13 points on a night when points weren’t the greatest measure. “I knew if we played good defense, we’d win this game.”
Having thoroughly stifled Ellis all game, holding him to four points, Villanova made six clutch free throws in a pivotal 20-second span late, four by Ryan Arcidiacono and two by Kris Jenkins. Then, with 4.6 seconds left and the Wildcats leading by three, Arcidiacono poked the ball away from Frank Mason III.
Freshman Jalen Brunson made two more free throws and the Wildcats intercepted a long pass as time ran out on Kansas’ 17-game, two-month winning streak. Both teams left the game with 33-5 records, but of course Villanova finished way ahead.
“You know, when you’re a parent, you think your kids are the greatest, and then when you see them live that out and become great, it just makes your heart swell,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “Even if they had lost, you still think they’re great.”
Villanova is going to the promised land of college hoops, led by 13 points each by Arcidiacono, Jenkins and Hart. Their team outdid the top overall seed in the tournament, which got 17 points from Devonte Graham.
“We wanted to make it ugly,” Arcidiacano said. “We knew we weren’t shooting the ball well. But the backbone of our program is just defend and rebound and play hard and together. I think we did that. I would say the last 35 minutes or so is where we real ly turned it up and made it an ugly street fight.”
Kansas coach Bill Self said: “I think that the basket shrunk a little bit for us and, certainly, they got some confidence the way they were defending us. But it came down to them making free throws and it came down to a couple of loose balls.”
It was a game filled with ebbs, flows and surprises.
Villanova’s hot three-point shooting was cooled considerably. Unimaginable would have been the word to describe what happened to Ellis, who had been called “unguardable” by teammate Wayne Selden Jr. Villanova guarded and surrounded him when he had the ball and when he didn’t.
“I feel like they did a great job of just trying to swarm me at times,” Ellis said. “And just somebody was always there. I could have demanded the ball more at times, you know, but . . . ”
Self said Ellis might have been less aggressive after missing easy chances early, but he added that the Jayhawks had ridden their star forward for years. “In my mind, he’s a stud, one of the all-time greats, regardless of the outcome of this game,” Self said.
But it was Arcidiacono, Ellis’ counterpart senior, who rode off happily. He actually did jump on the back of center Daniel Ochefu on the way to his news conference.
Earlier, the Villanova fans serenaded Arcidiacono with a loud chorus of “Happy Birthday.’’ Said the 22-year-old, “It’s a birthday I will never forget.”
