SC guard Tiffany Mitchell speaks during a news conference ahead of a regional semifinal women’s college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 24, 2016, in Sioux Falls, S.D. SC wil…
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Villanova entered the Sweet 16 leading all tournament teams in field-goal percentage and ranking second in three-point percentage, and it did nothing to hurt those figures.
The Wildcats raced out to an 8-0 lead and played with defensive intensity, challenging every Miami shot and switching looks frequently.
Villanova, which hasn’t played beyond the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2009, is one victory away from the Final Four.
Second-seeded Villanova used their size, quickness and shooting accuracy to eliminate third-seeded Miami from the South Regional, 92-69 on Thursday night in Louisville.
Miami hung with the Wildcats for a half based on its own torrid shooting, hitting 7-of-11 3s and 14-of-21 from the floor to stay within 43-37 at intermission. “The worst-case scenario in the NCAA is, lose in the first round”, senior forward Daniel Ochefu said. “Hopefully, we don’t have to take too many more of those”.
Apparently, those three-point shooting drills Larrañaga shared with Villanova coach Jay Wright on the recruiting trail worked.
Villanova goes on to play the victor of Thursday night’s other South Regional semi-final between Kansas and Maryland.
Forget making it just to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. “It’s just a great feeling”. “And we just got more stops than them”.
3-pointers: Team (.369); Angel Rodriguez 53; Sheldon McClellan 51; Davon Reed 46; Ivan Cruz Uceda 39. Angel Rodriguez added 13.
Sure, No. 2 seed Villanova spent three weeks as the nation’s top-ranked team for the first time in school history earlier this season. He has the talent that could make him an National Basketball Association lottery pick in June, and Maryland might need more than just a solid game from its big man for the Terrapins to upset the top overall seed.
“You could see it in their eyes: no panic, no concern”, Wright said of the Hurricanes.
Points per game allowed Virginia, second in Division I during the regular season. The two similarly styled teams are evenly matched, but Miami has been given a tenth the attention in the crowded ACC, despite defeating Virginia, Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame and Syracuse.
“I just think football”, Wright said. They will respond with quick fire and nothing good can come of that – either lots of long rebounds for the Duke fast break or corresponding scores. Villanova quickly built a large lead, getting off to a hot start to put Miami quickly in a 29-14 hole. I bet you could name a dozen or more easily from the other top NCAA programs like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and many many others.
The Wildcats began their Tournament with an 86-56 thumping of NC Asheville, then followed it up by defeating s strong Iowa team 87-68. The Canes didn’t shoot badly.
Both teams shot the ball with incredible efficiency – the Wildcats shot 63% from the field, 67% from beyond the arc, and 95% from the line while the Hurricanes’ 53/58/73 shooting splits were higher than an average losing team.
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They made 67 percent of their 3-point attempts (10-15) and missed only one of 19 free throws. The Wildcats outrebounded Miami 27-17 and had an 18-9 scoring edge off turnovers. That’s the highest by any team after three games since Arkansas shot 60.0 percent in 1994. “I know I was running back on defense, and I looked at Darryl (Reynolds)”. The Wildcats (31-5) also have won five of their last seven, and they believe they are starting games off much better.
