When No. 1 seed Kansas and No. 2 seed Villanova meet in the Final Four on Saturday, it will mark the fourth time Bill Self's Jayhawks and Jay Wright's Wildcats have tangled in the NCAA Tournament. In the previous three games, to the victor went the spoils: each winner went on to capture that year's national championship.
Kansas defeated Villanova in 2008 on its way to the national title, while Villanova victories over the Jayhawks in 2016 and 2018 tournaments propelled the Wildcats to each of Wright's two championships. This year's winner won't have far to go, either; at stake is a spot in the national championship game against either No. 2 seed Duke or No. 8 seed North Carolina.
Here's a look at each of the previous three matchups.
Kansas 72, Villanova 57 (2008 Sweet 16)
Villanova hadn't become Villanova just yet, but the Wildcats were turning the corner, reaching their third Sweet 16 in four years. A year later, Villanova would break through to its first Final Four under Wright. But in this game, the Wildcats ran into a buzzsaw that stands as Self's best team.
The Jayhawks made 61.5% of their 3-pointers and 42.1% of their 3s, running out to a 19-point halftime lead. The closest Villanova came in the second half was on a Shane Clark tip-in with a little more than a minute left, cutting the Kansas lead to 12. But the Jayhawks quickly scored the next six points at the free throw line and coasted to a 72-57 victory with Brandon Rush (16 points), Russell Robinson (15 points, five assists) and Mario Chalmers (14 points, three steals) leading the way.
The Jayhawks went on to edge Stephen Curry's Davidson team in the Elite Eight, then ran away from North Carolina in the Final Four before winning the national championship in overtime over Memphis.
Villanova 64, Kansas 59 (2016 Elite Eight)
Villanova hadn't reached the Final Four since 2009 when the No. 2 seed Wildcats met the No. 1 seed Jayhawks in the 2016 Elite Eight. Both teams were loaded. Kansas won each of its first three tournament games by at least 12 points, while Villanova had won each by at least 19. There's an argument that Kansas and Villanova might have been two of the best three teams in the country when they squared off in the regional final.
And in a game that had two elite offenses — Villanova finished No. 3 in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom, Kansas at No. 10 — neither team could make shots against a pair of top-five defenses. Villanova's defense locked down Kansas All-American Perry Ellis, holding him to five shots and four points one round after he poured in 27 in a win over Maryland. While Kansas led by as many as five points in the second half, Villanova took a 56-54 lead into the game's final minute. But Devonte' Graham, Kansas' best player on the day, fouled out lunging for a loose ball. Kansas twice cut Villanova's lead to one point, but the Wildcats iced the game at the free throw line with eight straight makes in the final minute.
Villanova made the most of its Final Four trip, clocking Oklahoma by 44 points, then using Kris Jenkins' buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the national championship over North Carolina.
Villanova 95, Kansas 79 (2018 Final Four)
This one was over from the word 'go.' Kansas was the underdog in its Elite Eight matchup despite being the No. 1 seed and Duke holding the No. 2 seed, but the Jayhawks triumphed in overtime. A No. 1 seed itself, Villanova rolled through its region, winning every game by at least 12 points.
Entering the game, the NCAA Tournament record for 3-point makes in a Final Four game sat at 12. Villanova tied that record ... in the first half. Kansas went up 2-0 before Villanova ripped off a 22-2 run, and by the time Kansas — an excellent 3-point shooting team itself — made its first 3, it trailed by 14. Kansas trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half, and every time the Jayhawks showed any sign of momentum, Villanova knocked down another jumper.
Six Villanova players scored in double figures and all six made at least two 3-pointers, headlined by 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting (4-of-5 3s) from Eric Paschall. As a team, Villanova made 18-of-40 3-point shots (45%), breaking the Final Four record by an astounding six makes.
The Wildcats pulled off another 10 3-point makes in the national championship against Michigan — giving Villanova 76 made 3s for the tournament, or 12.7 per game — and cruised in that one by 17 points, wrapping up a tournament in which the Wildcats won every game by double digits and giving Wright his second title in three years.
