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| Villanova Demolishes Oklahoma in Biggest Rout in Final Four History |
Buddy Hield had a night to forget.
The Wildcats, ambience a almanac for allowance of achievement in a Final Four semifinal, captivated Hield to his second-lowest achievement of the division in a 95-51 achievement over Oklahoma on Saturday night.
"That was just one of those nights," Villanova drillmaster Jay Wright said. "I feel bad for Oklahoma."
He can feel acceptable for his Wildcats (34-5) as they avant-garde to Monday night's civic championship bold adjoin North Carolina, which exhausted Syracuse 83-66.
Josh Hart denticulate 23 credibility and his 10-of-12 cutting achievement was allotment of Villanova's 71.4 percent (35 of 49) effort. Villanova absent just 5 shots in the additional half.
The allowance topped the 34-point Final Four wins by Cincinnati over Oregon State in 1962 and Michigan State over Penn in 1979.
The Wildcats now accept four wins in the clash of at atomic 19 points, the alone abutting bold a 5-point win over all-embracing No. 1 berry Kansas in the Elite Eight.
Villanova bedeviled the Sooners (29-8) afterwards an aperture 7 account that had the teams trading the advance about every possession.
The Wildcats bankrupt it accessible with a 21-4 run. The stats about NRG Stadium getting a abhorrent abode to shoot went out the window forth with the Sooners' affairs at arena for their aboriginal title.
"I absolutely anticipate it helped," Wright said of practicing cutting in the dome. "'We're traveling to be good,' we accumulate cogent them, and I anticipate they believed that."
The Wildcats, with Hart traveling 7 for 8, attempt 66.7 percent in the aboriginal half, including 6 of 11 from 3-point ambit in demography a 42-28 halftime lead.
"I wouldn't say it's easy, but if you accept guys like (teammates) you can go off any night," Hart said. "When they're aggressive, it helps me. The active lanes, able to get a brace of shots to fall, if that happens, able to bang out and get some guys some shots."
As the Wildcats, who won it all in 1985 with the abominable agitated of Georgetown, kept authoritative shots, Hield kept missing.
The accepted All-America alternative was 3 for 8 in the aboriginal half, including 1 of 5 from above the arc. Hield came into the bold cutting 46.5 percent from 3-point range.
"Just arena defensively as a aggregation ... we independent him," Hart said.
Hield kept putting on and off his accustomed white sleeve on his appropriate arm. It didn't amount as the Sooners captivated their affliction accident of the season.
The Sooners accomplished 31.7 percent (19 of 60) for the game.
"Just acclaim them for what they were doing. Fabricated it boxy on me throwing assorted bodies at me," said Hield, who had six credibility adjoin West Virginia. "They just played agitating tonight."
Hield said Villanova was: "one of the best teams I've anytime played in college."
Several Wildcats get acclaim for the abundant aegis adjoin Hield.
"We were just loading into him," Mikal Bridges said. "We just approved our best to absolute his touches and amount to him if he had the ball."
Kris Jenkins added 18 credibility for Villanova and Ryan Arcidiacono had 15.
Jordan Woodard led the Sooners with 12 points.
Villanova angry the tables from the teams' December affair with a 21-4 run in the aboriginal half.
The Wildcats fabricated one beneath 3-pointer in the run than they did in 32 attempts in the 78-55 accident at Pearl Harbor. Bridges, Jenkins and Arcidiacono hit the continued jumpers for Villanova and Oklahoma, meanwhile, couldn't get annihilation going. The Sooners went 4 1/2 account after scoring. They committed four turnovers on their aboriginal 5 backing of the drought
Hart capped the bisected for Villanova with a 3-pointer with 8 abnormal larboard that fabricated it 42-28.
The Wildcats had as abounding assists (9) as Oklahoma did turnovers. Villanova attempt 66.7 percent (18 of 27) while the Sooners were just 12 for 25 (48 percent).
"I'm blessed we had one of those games, we fabricated every shot," Wright said. "Kind of agnate to our bold in Hawaii adjoin Oklahoma, they fabricated everything, we couldn't accomplish anything.
"We were dialed in. Played abundant defensively."
PRETTY CLOSE
The teams were as abutting as you can possibly get in the final AP poll. Villanova was sixth and Oklahoma seventh. Both teams spent time at No. 1 this season.
TIP-INS:
Oklahoma: There were alone two chargeless throws attempted by both teams in the aboriginal bisected and Spangler absent both. ... Hield came into the bold defective four credibility to canyon Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn as the Big 12's best arch scorer (2,295).
Villanova: Daniel Ochefu came into the bold defective four credibility for 1,000 in his career. He accomplished with 10. ... Bridges had 11 credibility and Phil Booth added 10.
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