Villanova Wildcats advance to second Final Four in three seasons

The Villanova Wildcats earned a trip to San Antonio for the Final Four after a thrilling win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Elite 8.

For the most part, the Villanova Wildcats have been fortunate enough to win each of their first three games of the 2018 NCAA Tournament prior to Sunday by double-digits, although their Sweet 16 battle with the West Virginia Mountaineers gave them a bit of a scare. But on Sunday, the Wildcats faced one of their toughest challenges of the season against the Texas Tech Red Raiders with a trip to the Final Four on the line, and even though it wasn’t their best performance, Jay Wright‘s team held on for the win when it mattered the most.

Despite poor 3-point shooting along with Texas Tech making things interested in the second half, Villanova was able to earn a 71-59 victory for their second trip to the Final Four in three seasons, with the other appearance coming in 2016 when Wright and company happened to win it all. All year, the Wildcats have been a time that lives or dies by how well they shoot from beyond the arc, so to see them only convert 4-of-24 shots from 3-point range against the Red Raiders was extremely concerning.

Still, as frustrating as this was for Villanova to deal with, seeing them still manage to pull off the tough win shows how well built this team is to potentially cut down the nets in San Antonio if they can earn two more wins next weekend. Facing the Kansas Jayhawks or Duke Blue Devils certainly won’t be easy, but no matter which team the Wildcats end up playing, Wright will have his players ready to go.

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During a year in which the tournament has seen more upsets than usual, Villanova realizes how fortunate enough to even be in a position to hopefully earn their second championship in three seasons if all goes well in San Antonio. As long as guys like Jalen Brunson and Eric Paschall continue to play at a high level, there’s every reason to believe in the Wildcats coming through with two more wins in San Antonio to top off what has already been a great tournament run for Wright and company.