The Wildcats are headed to the March Madness final! Villanova and Kentucky faced off in the Final Four, and after an intense game, it was Villanova who took home the win!

This might have been the most anticipated game in the entire 2018 NCAA Men’s Division I basketball tournament. It was a clash between the last remaining No. 1 seeds. On one side of the court stood the Villanova Wildcats, the 2016 March Madness champions. On the other side were the Kansas Jayhawks a squad looking to return to the finale for the first time since 2012. In the end, Villenova come out on top, winning 95-79!

From the beginning it looked like trouble for the Jayhawks. Villanova went on a 9-0 run in the first half, which ended when Kansas called a time out. And frankly it’s been a while since a NCAA team has put away as many 3-point shots as the Wildcats on Saturday, March 31. They sunk 13 of 26 attempts in the first half alone. Ultimately they connected 18 triples, setting a new Final Four record. Although Kansas continued to pivot while attempting to keep up, Villanova simply dominated on the court — with a lead that went as high as 22.

And so ends the March Madness dreams for another Number 1 seed team. The 2018 tournament kicked off with one of the favorites to win, the University of Virginia, falling to the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. UMBC bounced the Cavaliers, breaking what had to be a billion brackets. Xavier made it through the first round, but fell to Florida State in the second. Kansas had no trouble eliminating Penn State in the opening round. Things were a bit closer when the Jayhawks faced Seton Hall in the second, but they got past, 83-79. The results were similar when Kansas sent Clemson packing, bouncing the Tigers back to South Carolina. The Jayhawks barely got by Duke, surviving a nail-biting quarterfinal match that went into overtime.

On the opposite end, Villanova pretty much cruised to this spot. They blew past Radford, Alabama, West Virginia and Texas Tech, winning all games by double digits. The closest challenge they had was a 90-78 victory over West Virginia, indicating how many suddenly though the title was Villanova’s to lose.

Going into this semi, many saw these two teams as being evenly matched. “They both have older players, no one-and-dones,” Penn state coach Steve Donahue said in a phone interview with the Philly Inquirer. “Whoever shoots the ball well from three will probably win the game because they both really can shoot it They are very similar teams, great coaching, good defensively but not great. They are really good offensive teams.” Villanova was leading the nation in scoring ahead of this game, averaging 86.6 points per game, while Kansas was 29th with 81.4 ppg. Now, basketball fans will have to wait until April 2, when March Madness comes to a close.</s>SAN ANTONIO, Texas – In the preceding game, Michigan and Loyola-Chicago combined for eight three-pointers. In 20 minutes of action, Villanova had knocked down 13, tying the Final Four record for most three-pointers…in a game.

They’d break that record in the second half, finishing the contest with 18 made treys, and a wire-to-wire win over Kansas 95-79. The entire Villanova starting five scored in double figures, led by forward Eric Paschall with 24 points.

Jalen Brunson, the AP National Player of the Year, chipped in 18 points and six assists. As a team, the Wildcats shot 55-percent from the field, while holding Kansas to 44-percent.

The Wildcats reach the NCAA Championship game for the second time in the last two seasons after beating North Carolina in 2016.

They will face Michigan on TBS, Monday, April 2nd at 9:20 p.m.</s>SAN ANTONIO — Michigan has shored up the deficiency that always held it back, becoming one of the nation’s best defensive teams, not one of its worst. Out-shooting teams, no longer necessary.

This new-found stinginess has the Wolverines within reach of their first national title since Glen Rice and Rumeal Robinson rumbled through the bracket in 1989.

But their biggest test yet comes on college basketball’s brightest stage: Villanova and its squadron of long-range shooters with a national title on the line.

Michigan is good on D, but if the Wildcats shot like they did against Kansas in Saturday night’s Final Four nightcap, it may not matter what the Wolverines do.

“I feel bad for Kansas,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “They’re a great team, we just made every shot.”

Michigan (33-7) reached the title game by taking away Cinderella’s slipper, sending Loyola-Chicago and Sister Jean home a game short of completing their divine run.

Villanova bombed its way past a blueblood to get there.

The Wildcats (35-4) turned a Final Four showdown with fellow No. 1 seed Kansas into a laugher, dropping in 3-pointers like they were playing pop-a-shot in the 95-79 rout. Villanova made a Final Four-record 18 3s in a record-matching 40 attempts, its second trip to the title game in three seasons never in doubt.

That’s an NCAA record 442 from the arc this season — and they’re still counting.

“That’s as good a team as we’ve played that I can remember,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

The third-seeded Wolverines (33-7) had a bit more trouble against the bracket’s favourite underdogs, overcoming a frightful first half to send nun-turned-motivator Sister Jean Delores Schmidt headed to the exits early.

The Wolverines trailed the bracket-rambling Ramblers by seven at halftime, found the right gear in the second and have a title-game appearance no one outside of Ann Arbor saw coming when they were middling in the Big Ten just a month ago.

Now they’re done playing the favourite for a night, it’s back to the underdog role against Villanova.

“The whole villain thing, you guys love to write about it, talk about it, but at the end of the day it’s just basketball, you know?” Michigan big man Moe Wagner said. “And we just try to win. That’s all we do.

Their next task: Find some way to slow Villanova’s 3-ball roll.

The Wildcats were one of the most proficient 3-point shooting teams during the regular season and upped the 3 ante in the NCAA Tournament, knocking down a record 65 and counting. Villanova broke the Final Four record with 13 in the first half and literally shot the lights out by the second, when some scoreboards and upper-level lights briefly went out and darkened the upper decks.

“It was one of those nights where we were able to make shots and that’s what the lead looks like,” said Villanova’s Jalen Brunson, who had 18 points and six assists.

Michigan may have a better answer than the Jayhawks had.

Tired of watching victories fizzle away through defensive deficiencies, coach John Beilein made a philosophical change, putting an emphasis on that side of the ball.

Michigan had the nation’s No. 3 defence efficiency-wise and put Loyola on lockdown in the second half, forcing the Ramblers into a rash of turnovers to race away.

“We always talk about getting the domino going,” Loyola coach Porter Moser said. “They closed that gap of opportunity in a hurry.”

Villanova has a way of doing that, too.

The Wolverines may have an answer in Wagner.

The German big man carried Michigan through its struggles in the first half by using his size advantage against the smaller Ramblers, snagging five offensive rebounds to notch a double-double by halftime.

Wagner finished with 24 points and 15 rebound to join Hakeem Olajuwon and Larry Bird as the only players to have at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a national semifinal game.

“He’s unbelievable. He’s one of those dynamic scorers from the post, he’s a great passer, made some unbelievable passers today with both hands,” Villanova assistant coach Ashley Howard said. “He’s a guy they can play through. We’ll watch tape, try to figure out the best way to approach going into Monday night’s game. It’s going to be a challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”</s>SAN ANTONIO — No. 3 seed Michigan (33-7) vs. No. 1 seed Villanova (35-4)

BOTTOM LINE: After more than three decades between Villanova’s first two national championships, the Wildcats are going for their second title in three seasons. Coach Jay Wright’s team set NCAA single-season (454) and NCAA Tournament records (66) for 3-pointers while making a Final Four game-record 18 in the semifinal win over Kansas. Michigan is in its seventh national title game. The Wolverines have won only one, beating Seton Hall in overtime in 1989.

THE COACHES: This is John Beilein’s 40th season as a college head coach, and his 11 with the Wolverines mark his longest tenure of the seven schools he’s coached. Beilein, still without a national title, has 248 of his 799 career wins at Michigan. Wright, the sharp-dressed coach who Beilein described as having George Clooney looks, is in his 17th season at Villanova. Wright has a 421-165 record with the Wildcats after 122 wins in seven seasons at Hofstra.

STRUGGLING GUARDS: Michigan starting guards Zavier Simpson and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman were a combined 2-of-17 shooting for seven points in the national semifinal win over Loyola-Chicago. All of those points came from Abdur-Rahkman, though he was only 2-of-11 shooting — 0-of-5 on 3s.

BIG ASSISTS: One of the biggest assists in Villanova history was by 2016 Final Four MVP Ryan Arcidiacono, who was dribbling toward the basket when he passed to teammate Kris Jenkins for a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and a 77-74 win over North Carolina in the national title game. The Wildcats are still sharing the ball in big moments. In their semifinal game against Kansas, they had 20 assists on 36 made baskets — and assists on 12 of the 18 made 3-pointers. Jalen Brunson, the AP national Player of the Year, and Phil Booth each had six assists.

FIRST TOP 5: The Wolverines have made it through the NCAA Tournament without facing a top-5 seed — until now. After beating the Nos. 14, 6, 7 and 9 seeds in the West Region, they played their first game in the Alamodome against Loyola-Chicago, only the fourth No. 11 seed to make it to the Final Four. Villanova was the No. 1 seed in the East Region.</s>Villanova blows past Kansas 95-79 in Final Four with outburst of 3s to set up NCAA title game against Michigan

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Villanova blows past Kansas 95-79 in Final Four with outburst of 3s to set up NCAA title game against Michigan.</s>SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Villanova bombed its way past a blueblood to reach the national title game. Michigan got there by taking away Cinderella’s slipper.

This end to March Madness should be good.

A wild NCAA Tournament of upsets comes down to this: Villanova and its squadron of long-range shooters against Michigan and its ultra-stingy defense, Monday night at the Alamodome.

The Wildcats (35-4) turned a Final Four showdown with fellow No. 1 seed Kansas into a laugher, dropping in 3-pointers like they were playing pop-a-shot in the 95-79 rout. Villanova made a Final Four-record 18 3s in a record-matching 40 attempts, its second trip to the title game in three seasons never in doubt.

The third-seeded Wolverines (33-7) had a bit more trouble against the bracket’s favorite underdogs, overcoming a frightful first half to send Loyola-Chicago and Sister Jean packing.

The Wolverines had trouble scoring in their Final Four game to trail Loyola-Chicago by seven at halftime, before finding the right gear in the second to run past the underdog Ramblers 69-57 into the title game.

Their next task: Find some way to slow Villanova’s 3-ball roll.

The Wildcats were one of the most proficient 3-point shooting teams during the regular season and upped the 3 ante in the NCAA Tournament, knocking down a record 65 and counting. Villanova literally shot the lights out by the second half, when some scoreboards and upper-level lights went out for a few minutes and darkened the upper decks.

Michigan may have a better answer than Kansas had.

The Wolverines have fixed the one thing holding them back in past seasons, developing a lockdown defense so they no longer have to simply outscore opponents.

Michigan had the nation’s No. 3 defense efficiency-wise and put Loyola on lockdown in the second half, holding the Ramblers to 1-of-7 shooting from 3 to send Sister Jean Delores Schmidt to the exits early.

The Wolverines are seeking their first national title since Glen Rice and Rumeal Robinson rumbled through the bracket in 1989.</s>SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Michigan's game plan used to revolve around offense, hitting enough shots to outscore teams. Sometimes it worked. Many times, often on the biggest stages, it didn't.

The Wolverines have made a shift in recent years, transforming into one of the nation's best defensive teams. If shots aren't falling, they can always win with defense.

It's gotten them to the national title game for the first time since 1989.

Now Michigan faces its biggest challenge yet: trying to stop Villanova's horde of long-range shooters in Monday night's national title game.

"That's as good a team as we've played that I can remember," Kansas coach Bill Self said after the Wildcats crushed his Jayhawks with a barrage of 3-pointers in the national semifinals Saturday night.

Michigan (33-7) reached the title game by taking away Cinderella's slipper, sending Loyola-Chicago and Sister Jean home a game short of completing their divine run.

Villanova bombed its way past a blue blood to get there.

The Wildcats (35-4) turned a Final Four showdown with fellow No. 1 seed Kansas into a laugher, dropping in 3-pointers like they were playing pop-a-shot in the 95-79 rout. Villanova made a Final Four-record 18 3s in a record-matching 40 attempts, its second trip in three seasons to the title game never in doubt.

That's an NCAA record 442 from the arc this season — and they're still counting.

"I feel bad for Kansas," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "They're a great team, we just made every shot."

The third-seeded Wolverines (33-7) had a bit more trouble against the bracket's favorite underdogs, overcoming a frightful first half to send nun-turned-motivator Sister Jean Delores Schmidt headed to the exits early.

The Wolverines trailed the bracket-rambling Ramblers by seven at halftime, found the right gear in the second and have a title-game appearance no one outside of Ann Arbor saw coming when they were middling in the Big Ten just a month ago.

Now that they're done playing the favorite for a night, it's back to the underdog role against Villanova.

"The whole villain thing, you guys love to write about it, talk about it, but at the end of the day it's just basketball, you know?" Michigan big man Moe Wagner said. "And we just try to win. That's all we do.

Their next task: find some way to slow Villanova's 3-ball roll.

The Wildcats were one of the most proficient 3-point shooting teams during the regular season and upped the 3 ante in the NCAA Tournament, knocking down a record 65 and counting. Villanova broke the Final Four record with 13 in the first half and literally shot the lights out by the second, when some scoreboards and upper-level lights briefly went out and darkened the upper decks.

"It was one of those nights where we were able to make shots and that's what the lead looks like," said Villanova's Jalen Brunson, who had 18 points and six assists.

Michigan may have a better answer than the Jayhawks had.

Tired of watching victories fizzle away through defensive deficiencies, coach John Beilein made a philosophical change, putting an emphasis on that side of the ball.

It's worked out well.

Michigan had the nation's No. 3 defense efficiency-wise and put Loyola on lockdown in the second half, forcing the Ramblers into a rash of turnovers to race away.

"We always talk about getting the domino going," Loyola coach Porter Moser said. "They closed that gap of opportunity in a hurry."

Villanova has a way of doing that, too.

The Wolverines may have an answer in Wagner.

The German big man carried Michigan through its struggles in the first half by using his size advantage against the smaller Ramblers, snagging five offensive rebounds to notch a double-double by halftime.

Wagner finished with 24 points and 15 rebound to join Hakeem Olajuwon and Larry Bird as the only players to have at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a national semifinal game.

"He's unbelievable. He's one of those dynamic scorers from the post, he's a great passer, made some unbelievable passers today with both hands," Villanova assistant coach Ashley Howard said. "He's a guy they can play through. We'll watch tape, try to figure out the best way to approach going into Monday night's game. It's going to be a challenge and we're looking forward to it."</s>3s please: Villanova sets F4 record in 95-79 win over Kansas

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — One by one, Villanova keeps winning games and getting closer to another national title.

Three by three, the Wildcats kept knocking down shots, making sure Kansas wouldn't get in their way.

Villanova made a Final Four-record 18 3-pointers Saturday night and also became the most prolific 3-point shooting team in college-hoops history, playing long ball to snuff out the Jayhawks early in a 95-79 victory.

Junior wingman Eric Paschall led the barrage, going 4 for 5 from 3, 10 for 11 overall, and finishing with a career-high 24 points.

But the hoop was as wide as the Alamodome for pretty much everyone in a Wildcats jersey. Seven 'Nova players made 3s. Villanova shot 50 percent from behind the arc in the first half to put things out of reach — and 45 percent for the game.

"That happens sometimes when you're a good-shooting team and when you start that way," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "It's hard for Kansas, it's hard to come back. That doesn't happen often. We're lucky it happened tonight."

Next up is Michigan, which will try to guard the perimeter Monday night when Villanova (35-5) goes for its second title in three seasons.

Nobody has had much success this season, and in what turned out to be an unexpectedly lopsided matchup between top seeds, Kansas (31-8) certainly didn't Saturday night. Player of the Year Jalen Brunson made three 3s and finished with 18 points. Omari Spellman made three, as well, in a 15-point, 13-rebound monster game.

About 1 minute into the second half, Paschall drained a 3 for Villanova's 14th of the game, breaking a Final Four record first set by UNLV in 1987.

Much earlier, at about the 13-minute mark of the first half, Collin Gillespie spotted up and swished for 'Nova's sixth 3 of the game, which gave it the NCAA record for 3s in a season, with 442.

VMI set that record in 2007. Very few remember that team, though, because even though the importance of the long shot has grown as the decades have passed, it's never been thought of as a guaranteed way to win consistently.

Wright's team is laying waste to that theory and, at times, making other teams look bad while doing it.

On Saturday, the typical Villanova possession involved working the ball down low on the wing, then a skip pass across the bottom of the paint, followed by one, two or three passes around the arc until somebody got open. It usually worked. Most of the 18 makes barely skimmed the net.

Villanova attempted 40 shots from 3, and only 25 from 2.

Gillespie's record-setter gave Villanova a 22-4 lead, and at that point, Kansas had as many turnovers as points and had taken as many timeouts as it had field goals.

Coach Bill Self did what he could, urging his 7-foot center, Udoka Azubuike, out of the paint and into the faces of this group of hybrid forward-guards, all of whom can shoot. The big fella couldn't get there.

The Jayhawks, back in San Antonio on the 10-year anniversary of winning their last title here, made mini runs, but the deficit never got below double digits.

Devonte Graham, the senior guard who has been the glue in this Final Four season, led Kansas with 23 points. Malik Newman, who pushed his game into overdrive during the postseason, had 21. They combined to make 6 of 13 3-pointers themselves, but didn't get much help.

About the only drama in the second half was whether the Wildcats would top Loyola Marymount's tournament record of 21 3-pointers in a game (against Michigan, in a loss in 1990). Didn't happen, mainly because they didn't need it.

But there's still Monday.</s>SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Oklahoma’s Trae Young captivated the college basketball world, dashing and dishing and filling up the hoop. Arizona’s Deandre Ayton was called a cyborg and a unicorn, whatever people could think of to describe his unique combination of power and athleticism. Marvin Bagley III seemed to be playing a different game than everyone else, dunking, slashing, shooting and dominating at Duke.

All three are headed to the NBA, Ayton and Bagley potentially as the draft’s top two picks.

None made it to college basketball’s final weekend. The trio — and the rest of the coveted one-and-dones — were already done before the bracket branched into San Antonio.

Winning championships, except in rare cases, takes more than one talented player. It requires a collective effort, experience, leadership — elements Villanova and Michigan have stockpiled while building toward the NCAA Tournament title game on Monday night.

“There’s a process of going through the season that you have to experience one, two, three times before you can really have this type of success under this pressure in March,” Michigan coach John Beilein said.

The Final Four this year has come down to just that.

All four teams had talented freshman, though none of the one-and-done variety. Loyola-Chicago’s Cameron Krutwig was the Final Four’s leading true freshman scorer at 10.3 points per game.

The last two teams have counted on freshman to help them reach the title game.

Wildcats big man Omari Spellman is a freshman, but had a redshirt year to learn coach Jay Wright’s system and transform his body. Collin Gillespie has appeared in 31 games, but averages only 4.3 minutes.

The Wolverines have two key players who are freshmen in Jordan Poole and Isaiah Livers. Poole hit the buzzer-beater against Houston to send Michigan into the Sweet 16 and was the vocal leader in the locker room when the Wolverines trailed Loyola-Chicago at halftime in the national semifinals. Livers has started 21 games this season, rotating with Duncan Robinson at forward.

One-and-done they are not.

These title contenders are here because they have veteran leaders, savvy players who know the game’s nuances and can handle the brightest spotlights without peeking around the corner to a professional career.

“We recruit guys that just want to be in college,” Wright said. “We want them to enjoy the college experience and then we hope that after one year of enjoying the college experience they have a really difficult decision to make that the NBA wants you but you really enjoy college. Rather than come to college saying I want to get out as soon as I can.”

Villanova is led by Associated Press national player of the year Jalen Brunson, a heady, always-in-control junior who fills up the box score. The rest of the leadership trust includes juniors Mikal Bridges, Eric Booth and Eric Paschall, and scrappy sophomore Donte DiVincenzo.

Michigan’s main man is junior Moe Wagner, a multi-dimensional German big man and matchup nightmare. Juniors Charles Matthews and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman are the other main scoring options, sophomore Zavier Simpson runs the point, graduate seniors Duncan Robinson and Jaaron Simmons provide depth at guard.

Wagner, Brunson and Bridges will likely have NBA careers. Some of the others, just maybe.

“We always say and I think it was Rudy Tomjanovich who said this, ‘We’re not amassing talent when you’re building a team; you’re building a team,'” Beilein said.

There have been seasons when freshmen were the catalysts to championship runs: Pervis Ellison and Louisville in 1986, Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony in 2003, Anthony Davis and his fellow future NBA friends at Kentucky in 2012.

The most recent freshman-fueled title came in 2015, when Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones led Duke to its fifth national title.

Even when a freshman carries, others have to help with the load. Someone has to provide the veteran leadership, fill the gritty roles crucial to winning titles.

“It’s always valuable in these games,” Wright said. “And I think the teams — the Duke teams, the Kentucky teams that have won with one-and-done players — they’ve had great experienced players on those teams, too. They might not have gotten the hype, but they were the players that kind of led those young guys through that experience.”

Villanova and Michigan both have that — without the one-and-done guys.</s>Villanova blows past Kansas 95-79 in Final Four with outburst of 3s to set up NCAA title game against Michigan

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Villanova blows past Kansas 95-79 in Final Four with outburst of 3s to set up NCAA title game against Michigan.
The Michigan Wolverines and the Villanova Wildcats advance to the National Championship Game after defeating the Loyola Ramblers and Kansas Jayhawks in the Final Four.