Seems like old times
MINNEAPOLIS — Former longtime coach Rollie Massimino was dancing, Ed Pinckney was smiling and the Villanova fans were rocking.
Just like that, it was 1985 all over again.
Randy Foye scored 29 points and Will Sheridan got open to force a goaltending call in the final 3 seconds of overtime to lift the Wildcats to a 60-59 victory over fourth-seeded Boston College on Friday night.
Trailing by 16 in the first half and nine midway through the second, Foye carried this latest edition of the cardiac Cats into overtime, and Sheridan sneaked in to steal the show.
Down 59-58 in the closing seconds of overtime, Sheridan set a screen for Ray and slipped behind the defense to get an inbounds pass under the hoop. Eagles forward Sean Williams was late getting over and called for goaltending when he batted the shot away with 3 seconds left, giving Villanova the lead.
Louis Hinnant's desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer missed everything, allowing the Wildcats to avoid joining Duke on the list of vanquished No. 1 seeds in this tournament. They advanced to play Florida in the Minneapolis Regional final Sunday, on the cusp of their first Final Four appearance since Massimino, when Pinckney and those famous underdogs shocked Georgetown in the national championship game in 1985.
"I was a little nervous, but that's all right," Massimino said while dancing to Villanova's fight song in the stands. "We've been down before."
But not like this.
Boston College (28-8) controlled the game for the first 35 minutes, slowing the tempo to a crawl and outmuscling the smaller Wildcats, forcing them to jettison their vaunted four-guard lineup.
Sean Marshall scored 10 points in the first half and helped BC take a 25-9 lead. But the Eagles went without a field goal during the final 5:27 of the period to keep Villanova (28-4) in the game.
But playing in their first regional semifinal since 1994, they looked every bit the newcomers Friday night. They committed 21 turnovers and had a hard time getting the ball to Smith and Jared Dudley on a consistent basis.
WASHINGTON — Looks as though nothing is going to be easy for Connecticut in the NCAA tournament.The top-seeded Huskies struggled in their third straight game Friday night, overcoming a six-point deficit in the closing 80 seconds of regulation before defeating Washington in overtime to advance to the finals of the Washington Regional."We're a tough team, but a lot of teams play us tough because of that," said forward Rudy Gay, who committed six of UConn's season-high 26 turnovers. "Everybody's playing like it's their last game, and technically, it is."The Huskies were on the verge of heading home before Rashad Anderson sank a long 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to tie it at 82."Rashad hit a big 3 to put us in overtime, and that was the end of that story," UConn guard Denham Brown said.Connecticut (30-3) can reach the Final Four for the second time in three years by defeating upstart George Mason (26-7) on Sunday. The 11th-seeded Patriots advanced to the round of eight by eliminating Wichita State 63-55 earlier Friday night.
MINNEAPOLIS — Florida likes to pick up the pace. The Gators, as well as Georgetown, found out they could win without playing fast.Corey Brewer made his only second-half field goal count, turning a twisting, falling-down shot into a three-point play with 27.5 seconds left for Florida. Brewer's acrobatics lifted the third-seeded Gators to a victory over the Hoyas late Friday night in the Minneapolis Regional semifinals.But most impressive for Florida was winning with a style it hasn't been known for. Unable to run their fast-breaking game against defensive-minded Georgetown, the Gators were patient — and willing to let their own defense get them to the next round."This wasn't our style of play," Al Horford said, "but we had to adjust and play whichever way we have to play. If that meant grinding it out like that, we got it done."
WASHINGTON — George Mason coach Jim Larranaga approached anyone and everyone standing outside his team's locker room, shaking hands and smiling.His players ran and hopped past, shouting at no one in particular.The 11th-seeded Patriots' giddy, bracket-breaking run through the NCAA tournament suddenly has them one victory away from the Final Four.Folarin Campbell scored 16 points, and George Mason shut down seventh-seeded Wichita State riday night to dominate their mid-major matchup in the Washington Regional semifinals.
