HIGHLIGHTS:
SAN ANTONIO – The battle of No. 1 seeds between Villanova and Kansas was built up all week leading up to Saturday’s National Semifinal. By the end of the night, the battle turned into a bloodbath and the game overall was a dud.
The Villanova Wildcats used their red-hot perimeter shooting to completely rout the Kansas Jayhawks 95–79, setting up a date with the Michigan Wolverines on Monday night for all the marbles.
The 68,257 fans who packed the Alamodome for the primetime game of the day were left in awe as Villanova took a page out of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors playbook. The Wildcats opened the game with a 22-4 lead in the first nine minutes of action, hitting five 3-pointers.
Villanova had six players in double figures, led by Eric Paschall’s 24 points. The Wildcats made a Final Four record 18 three-pointers, shattering the previous record of 13. The nation was not expecting such a dominant game and from the looks of it, neither was Kansas.
The Jayhawks looked dazed and confused as they went down 18 points early and never truly recovered. Devonte’ Graham led the way for Kansas with 23 points and three assists, while Malik Newman added 21 points and eight boards.
But this night would belong to Villanova, who advanced to their second National Title game in the last three years.
