BOSTON -- A historic NCAA Tournament dotted with unprecedented plot twists and quirky bracket breaks still has one team that refuses to bring any extra drama to the proceedings.
Top-seeded Villanova's going to the Final Four for the second time in three years after blazing its way down from the top-right corner of the bracket. The Wildcats won over No. 3 seed Texas Tech in Sunday's East Regional final, 71-59, and in doing so still looked like the most complete team in college basketball -- even while playing a sub-par game.
That 2016 Wildcats run to a title included the most dramatic ending in NCAA Tournament ending: Kris Jenkins' deep 3-pointer to win vs. North Carolina. This Villanova team hasn't required theatrics. It was inserted into the bracket as the No. 1 in the East and lived up to its seeding, winning its four games en route to San Antonio by an average of 18.25 points.
What other team could shoot 33.3 percent from the field, 16.7 percent on 3-point field goals, have 12 turnovers and still break free from one of the 10 best -- and most athletic -- teams in the country? Villanova.
Texas Tech (27-10) had reason for optimism early, starting the game with a 9-1 lead. Villanova (34-4) lashed back, though, with a 22-8 run and got to the half with a 36-23 advantage. That cushion was necessary, as Villanova was unusually anemic from 3-point range. The Wildcats shot a horrid 4 for 24 from beyond the arc. Chris Beard's Tech team was able to snake its way back into the game midway through the second half and beyond, cutting into Villanova's lead and getting it to a five-point deficit with 3:30 remaining.
But Nova kept getting a bucket here, a defensive rebound there, to prevent the big comeback from getting to a one-possession game. Donte DiVincenzo's timely put-back dunks were huge.
Jalen Brunson, the national player of the year in the eyes of many, finished with a game-high 15 points. His counterpart, Texas Tech senior guard Keenan Evans, didn't have it on Sunday. Be it because of a nagging toe sprain or Villanova's underrated defense, he was not the player on Sunday he'd been most of this season. Evans finished with 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting. That, in part, doomed Tech, which was also oddly inept inside. The Red Raiders lagged behind because they went the final 11 minutes of the first half without an offensive rebound. With no second chances, Villanova's lead was destined to grow.
They missed so many chances inside, on layups, it had to be soul-sucking for Red Raiders fans who'd watched this time knife its way to the first Elite Eight in program history.
Foul trouble spelled both teams as well. It wasn't a typical performance by either club. Mikal Bridges had two fouls in the first half. TTU's Zhaire Smith had two in the first 6:37 of the game, taking a great athletic, necessary defender out early. After falling behind early, Nova took 15-13 lead on a DiVincenzo 3-pointer from the right wing. Smith, who might've found himself on DiVincenzo on that play, was instead on bench because of foul issues.
Villanova never lost its lead after that.
College basketball's best programs are obviously defined by regular season titles and national titles, but teams hang Final Fours too, and with this run, Villanova has proven itself to be as good as any school in college basketball over the past half decade. Jay Wright's coached the Wildcats to a 163-21 record. There's been a national title. And now another charge to the national semifinals.