Wonderful would be Duke standing between Villanova and the chance to defend its national basketball championship in Phoenix.
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Truth be told, Villanova didn’t look right this entire weekend, sputtering to gain control against 16th-seeded Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday and hanging on early against Wisconsin only because Donte DiVincenzo willed them to stay alive. You’re playing the best teams in the country and you’re going to get games like this (against Wisconsin). UW started 8-for-12 and finished 13-for-24 but went just 1-for-4 from the line and committed eight turnovers that led to 12 Nova points.
Koenig almost turned from hero to goat on a later possession.
DiVincenzo deflected a pass at midcourt and was fouled by Nigel Hayes with 36.4 ticks left. Brown was soon fouled, and missed his second free throw attempt. “When you look at how close these games have been” lately, it’s a different story, he said.
Seeking to become the first repeat champions since Florida in 2006 and 2007, Villanova compiled a 31-3 record coming into the tournament and earned the No. 1 overall seed.
This contest ended the careers of the winningest class in Villanova Basketball history – seniors Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds.
FGCU made its NCAA Tournament name in 2013 when it won two games and reached the Sweet 16.
Middle Tennessee drew a ton of attention in last year’s tournament when the then-15th-seeded Blue Raiders beat second-seeded Michigan State in the opening round.
Trevon Bluiett scored 29 points and Kaiser Gates came off the bench to contribute 14 as the 11 seed Xavier pulled off its second upset of the NCAA Tournament with a 91-66 victory over third-seeded Florida State during Saturday’s second round.
Wisconsin also survived without much of a low-post presence after Happ sat for the final 11:49 with two fouls. Houston’s Elvin Hayes is second with 358 points in 13 games. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-8 forward shot 54 percent from 2-point range and 40 percent from 3. He’s made great progress, doing a little bit more every day. “I think it showed with Bronson, the way he responded to each time they went on a run”. Defensively, Wisconsin is yielding 61.1 points against the opposing teams. He had attacked the rim relentlessly all season and all afternoon, sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully.
Villanova guard Jalen Brunson leaves the court as Wisconsin players celebrate the upset win..
With Koenig and Hayes leading the charge, the eighth-seeded Badgers (26-9) made all the big plays in the closing minutes to set up a meeting with top-seeded Villanova on Saturday. Their defense was stout.
Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson hit 10 of 15 shots, scored 27 points and had eight rebounds. And, as just the second game in the Second Round, hopefully there’s more craziness to come. Villanova led 57-50 with just over five minutes remaining.
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What’s next Wisconsin advanced to the Sweet 16 and will play East Region semifinals at Madison Square Garden in NY on Friday against the victor of a game later Saturday between Florida and Virginia.
