Dick Weiss on NCAA Tournament
SAN ANTONIO—There are times when Villanova’s three-point shooting can be frightening.
The Wildcats, who are making a case for themselves as one of the great perimeter shooting teams in modern history, lit up the Alamo Dome here last night, shooting 59.4 percent, making an NCAA semifinal record 18 threes– 13 of them in the first half– to blow away Kansas, 95-79, before a crowd of 68,257 in the national semifinals here last night and advance to Monday night’s championship game against Michigan.
This was the third time Villanova (35-4) has played on an elevated court in the Final Four game the last two years and the Cats have lit it up each time. When they won the national title in 2016 at Houston’s NFL Stadium., they shot 73 percent in a 95-51 semi-final victory over Oklahoma and 58 percent in a 77-74 victory over North Carolina that was highlighted by a game winning three-point jumper by Kris Jenkins as time expired.
Despite the fact Loyola Chicago shot 1 for 10 from the three, Michigan shot 7 for 28 and Kansas shot 7 for 21 in the same environment during this doubleheader, Jay Wright claimed there is no secret recipe for his team’s shooting success from long distance on college basketball’s biggest stage.
“The first time we went to the Final Four in 2009, we played in Ford Field in Detroit,’’ he said. “That was the first year they put the court in the middle of the field and we didn’t get a practice on Thursday.
“When we came to Houston, they gave us a closed practice on Thursday and then the open practice on Friday. So, we had Thursday, Friday, Saturday shooting in those conditions here I think it makes a difference. It makes a big difference.’’
So, does the fact this is Wright’s best offensive team ever. The Cats have six players capable of making threes in big game situations. And when they go off the way they did against Kansas, they are almost impossible to guard when they spread the floor and make the extra pass.
And anyone of them can be a star.
Villanova’s 6-9 red shirt junior forward Eric Paschall, who is normally the third or fourth option on a team full of shooters, made the most of his chance to appear on center stage against the Jayhawks, shooting 10 for 11, making 4 of 5 threes and scoring 24 points. “It feels good,’’ he said. “My teammates found me some good shots. They trust me. My coaches trust me and that gives me confidence.’’
Paschall was one of six Villanova players to score in double figures. He, 6-9 redshirt freshman Omari Spellman, red shirt junior forward Mikal Bridges, All American junior point guard Jalen Brunson, redshirt junior guard Phil Booth and red shirt sophomore guard Donte Divincenzo each had at least two threes apiece and freshman guard Collin Gillespie added one.
Villanova set the tone early, making six three pointers in the first 6:54 to take a commanding 22-4 lead with 13:06 to play in the half. It’s tough, especially when most of the points come from the three-point line,’’ Kansas guard Malik Newman said. “You feel like you don’t really give yourself a chance to win. You put yourself in a deep hole. And it’s hard to climb out of it.’’
“It was just one of those nights,’’ Wright said. “Man, we made every shot to start the game. And when you do that, you get up 22-4. If you’re a decent free-throw shooting team, it’s tough to come back from that. I’ve been on the other side of this. There was a Creighton team the first year we were in the Big East with Doug McDemott that lit us up twice, just like that. Only worse. I feel bad for Kansas. They’re a great team. But everything we put up went in.’’
Nobody expected Paschall to go off like he did against Big 12 champion Kansas (31-8) at the start of the season. He shot just 27 percent from the three as a red shirt sophomore after sitting out a season as a transfer from Fordham. He was just 1 for 25 from the three his first 13 games this season. Then, the light bulb came on and Paschall has made close to 46 percent ever since.
“Eric was a volume scorer at Fordham,’’ Wright said. “He made threes, but he took a lot too and didn’t shoot a great percentage. But he really worked hard the year he sat out.
“We work with all our guys on shooting technique. And he became a pretty good three point shooter. This summer, he was a great three-point shooter. And, in the fall, great.
“Then, when we started the season, he couldn’t make a shot. And I know people are saying, ‘Why do you let him shoot it? But we knew, we had seen two years of him shooting the ball extremely well. So we told him to just keep shooting. We know you’re a good shooter.
“It’s like a baseball hitter. If he’s a .300 hitter and starts off hitting .100, you hit he’s going to hit. 400, .500 at some point to even it out. He didn’t worry about it. He’s got great confidence.’’
