City of Basketball Love

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Forget making it just to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Villanova is out to prove it win the whole thing.

The Wildcats continued an impressive stretch in March Madness on Thursday night in their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2009, running away from Miami for a 92-69 victory.

The win over the Hurricanes marks yet another double digit victory in the tournament, after taking down Iowa and UNC Asheville easily in previous rounds.

"Not taking anything away from us, we definitely thought these games were going to be one-possession games at the end," Villanova guard Josh Hart said. "That just speaks volumes to our character, going in not expecting things will be too easy, handling business, playing Villanova basketball from the start, getting out on those leads. It’s surprising that it is happening but with the guys in the locker room, we know we can play with the best."

Under the leadership of senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono (21 points, four assists), the ‘Nova backcourt tore up the Miami defense to the tune of 32-of-51 (62.7 percent) from the floor, including a 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) performance from the 3-point arc and a near-perfect 18-of-19 from the foul line.

Junior wing forward Kris Jenkins equalled Arcidiacono with 21 points and led Villanova with nine rebounds while hitting five of his six long-range attempts; senior forward Daniel Ochefu (17 points) and Hart (14) also finished in double figures as the Wildcats advanced to the Elite 8 for the third time in Wright’s 15-year tenure.

"I'm really pleased with their intensity," Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. "It all comes from them. You can just see they're hungry. They're hungry to advance. They're hungry to prepare."

Leading by six at half, Villanova continually expanded the lead over the closing 20 minutes. Five minutes into the second half, the lead was 11, where it hovered for a stretch before eventually expanding to 16 with just over six minutes to play and finally hit 20 on an Arcidiacono triple with 4:59 remaining.

Miami was led by senior guard Sheldon McClellan, who had 26 points in his final collegiate game. The Hurricane’s other senior in the backcourt, Angel Rodriguez, chipped in 13 points as the two combined to shooting 13-of-23 from the floor but couldn’t get consistent production from anyone else.

Ochefu was able to have his way with Miami’s frontcourt, whose starters largely struggled with foul issues. Seven-footer Tonye Jekiri and 6-8 Kamari Murphy combined for just eight points and six rebounds before both fouling out in the final minutes.

The Wildcats and Hurricanes were both locked in during a tightly contested first half. Villanova quickly built a large lead, getting off to a hot start to put Miami quickly in a 29-14 hole.

Villanova’s stifling defense forced eight Miami turnovers in the first half and 12 for the game, rattling the Hurricanes. 

"It was definitely important because they’re a tough, physical, athletic ACC team and we knew they were going to jump out and hit us in the mouth," Hart said. "Being able to get out to a good start like we did, it was a great feeling, gave us more confidence than we already had, and just built off that."

However, the energy from the blazing start didn't last for long. The enjoyment soon dwindled away for Villanova.

Like it did in the previous round against Wichita State, though, Miami overcame the large deficit, quickly heating up and rallying around four straight 3-pointers that eliminated Villanova’s large lead. The Hurricanes only got within a point, though, never managing to take the lead before the Wildcats put things away down the stretch. 

"I'm very proud of the second half defense," Wright said. "When you play great teams like Miami, that's going to happen. And we just got more stops than them."

Miami was unable the replicate the same success it had in the first half, shooting just 11-of-26 (42.3 percent) overall after an impressive 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) in the first.

Wright's squad, seeded second in the South Regional will face either top-seeded Kansas or five-seed Maryland in Saturday night’s Elite 8 game. The winner advances to the Final Four in Houston next weekend.