Duke, Villanova punch their tickets to Final Four with Elite Eight wins
The last chapter of Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching story will be written at the Final Four, fitting because he has been to the event more than any coach in history.
Krzyzewski and second-seeded Duke ran past fourth-seeded Arkansas 78-69 in the West Region final Saturday night to move to the Final Four. It’ll be Krzyzewski’s record-setting 13th trip. He had been tied with former UCLA coach John Wooden – who won his 10th national title in his final trip in 1975. Krzyzewski will be seeking his sixth title.
Duke’s opponent next Saturday in New Orleans will be decided Sunday, when eighth-seeded North Carolina meets 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s in the East Region final. The Tar Heels spoiled Krzyzewski’s coaching finale at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and a rematch with their archrivals in a national semifinal certainly would spice up the Final Four.
Villanova also won its way to the Final Four, slogging past Houston 50-44 in a rough-and-tumble South Region final. Defense was the order of the day, as neither team shot even 30 percent. Houston was 17-of-57 (29.8 percent) from the floor, including a 1-of-20 showing from 3-point range. Villanova was even worse, going 15-of-52 (28.8 percent), including a 10-of-31 showing from 2-point range. But the Wildcats, on pace to set the NCAA single-season record for free throw percentage, turned in a 15-of-15 performance at the line.
While Houston’s defense got most of the pre-game attention, Villanova did yeoman defensive work, particularly against Houston’s starting backcourt. Cougars guards Kyler Edwards and Jamal Shead combined for just 13 points on 5-of-25 shooting, including 0-of-13 from beyond the arc. Villanova plays a physical brand of defense, as well, and it also did a nice job of using its length on the perimeter. Its opponent in a national semifinal will be determined Sunday when top-seeded Kansas meets 10th-seeded Miami in the Midwest Region final.
Duke, meanwhile, ate up a highly touted defense for the second game in a row. In the region semifinal, the Blue Devils shot 52 percent from the field, including an incredible 71 percent in the second half, to oust Texas Tech, which owned the nation’s top defense. Arkansas has a top-15 defense, and that defense clamped down on Gonzaga on Thursday night. But the Blue Devils had no problems. With Arkansas focused on keeping the Blue Devils off the 3-point line, Duke instead lived with mid-range jumpers and in the paint. For large portions of the game, Duke seemed to get whatever shot it wanted. The Blue Devils shot 54.7 percent from the field against the Hogs and took just 10 3-pointers (they hit four). It was Duke’s fewest 3-point attempts this season and just the third time it attempted fewer than 15.
As he did against Texas Tech, Krzyzewski called for a zone defense against Arkansas. While it was used for a brief time against the Red Raiders, Duke used it more extensively against Arkansas; it flummoxed the Hogs, who used center Jaylin Williams at the foul line as the distributor. In addition, after it struggled with turnovers early (it finished with 15), Duke had swingman Wendell Moore take over ballhandling duties from nominal point man Jeremy Roach. Moore was able to use his size to get into the lane, and he was one of four Blue Devils to finish with double-digit points.
Duke led by 12 at halftime, and Arkansas used a spurt to cut the lead to 53-48 with 13:20 left. But after a Krzyzewski timeout, Duke went on a 10-0 run and the outcome never really was in doubt after that.