By PAUL GOTHAM
The nation’s leading offense had its average trimmed by nearly 20 points. A reliable 3-point attack neutralized. The positive turnover margin? Gone.
And when it was all done, the Villanova Wildcats still advanced to the Final Four.
Like Delilah cutting seven locks of Samson’s hair, Texas Tech found out there’s more to Villanova than their obvious strength.
Raiders head coach Chris Beard wasn’t surprised when the Wildcats found a way to win.
“We knew they were a great three-point shooting team and talented players, but we also knew how tough they were,” Beard said Sunday after Villanova defeated Texas Tech, 71-59 in the East Regional final. “We knew the identity of their team was the toughness and physicality, and that proved to be true.”
Villanova turned the tables on Texas Tech, one of the nation’s best defensive unit with a rebound margin of +4.2.
“We really got whipped on the boards,” Beard added. “We haven’t got outrebounded like that all year.”
Eric Paschall paced a Villanova effort which saw the Wildcats grab 51 rebounds to just 33 for Texas Tech. Paschal grabbed a game-high 14 boards with no other player finishing with double digits in the category.
“The story is Villanova and their toughness,” Beard continued. “I think that’s their identity.
“You think it’s their three-point shooting, their small ball, their athleticism, but by far, their identity is their toughness. It’s one of the toughest teams we played this year. They outrebounded us by (nearly) 20. I thought they demanded fouls on their end, and we just didn’t get to the free-throw line as much as we need to.”
Coming into the contest scoring 87 points per game with a field-goal percentage of 50.3 including 40.5 from behind the 3-point arc, Villanova was limited to just 33 percent shooting (19 of 57) including 17 percent (4 of 24) from long range.
“We played a really tough basketball team that had us scouted extremely well, took away our threes, really tested our ability to play tough and ugly,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “I think that was their game plan. I think Chris did a great job with it, and our guys responded. I was really proud of them.”
Prior to Sunday, Texas Tech (27-10) had been outrebounded in just nine games previously by a total of 44 boards. Their largest deficit on the glass (12) came in a 79-75 win over TCU in the Big 12 Tournament. In the five games since that March 3rd contest, Texas Tech had a +29 in caroms.
Sunday, Villanova held Texas Tech to their average of 11 offensive rebounds while grabbing 20 of their own.
“We try to be the best we can be by the end of the year, and to outrebound that team and hold them to 33 percent, that was definitely our best defensive effort of the year,” Wright said. “That’s what your goal is as a team is to try to continue to get better, even when you’re in your league tournament, even when you’re in the first round of the NCAAs, keep using practice to improve. I think that was a sign tonight of us doing that.”
The 14 boards were a career-high for Paschall.
“It means a lot to us,” the junior forward said. “Just to know that we could tough a game out like that. They’re a very talented team. Their defense is great. They have some talented offensive players. Just to be able to do that with my brothers out there is, again, a blessing. We worked hard all year. We did a great job of it, and we just kept getting better.”
Villanova’s Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 15 points. Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo and Paschall added a dozen apiece.
Coming into the game averaging 17.7 points per game, Villanova held Texas Tech’s Keenan Evans to 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
Having beaten West Virginia, 90-78 in the regional semifinal, Villanova will look to make to make it three straight against Big 12 teams when they face Kansas, the top seed in the South, when the two face off in Saturday’s Final Four. The Wildcats will look to advance to the National Championship for the second time in three years having beaten North Carolina, 77-74 in the 2016 national title game.
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