Villanova beats Texas Tech to reach Final Four
By Staff
The Villanova Wildcats are going to their third Final Four in the Jay Wright era, beating the Texas Tech Red Raiders in their East Regional Final.
After winning it all in 2016, Villanova is now two wins away from putting together a dynasty. The Wildcats were able to take care of business on Sunday afternoon against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, becoming the first No. 1 seed to punch its Final Four ticket in the men’s basketball tournament.
The 71-59 victory was led by junior guard Jalen Brunson, one of the best players in the nation. Brunson scored 15 points and notched six rebounds, while forward Eric Paschall had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Villanova has been dominant throughout the season, rolling throughout much of the regular season as the top team in the nation. After just missing out on winning the Big East regular-season championship for the fifth consecutive year, the Wildcats came into the tourney and dispatched Radford and the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first two rounds.
In the Sweet 16, Villanova was able to survive a scare from the fifth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers, before handling Texas Tech at TD Garden in Boston.
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Speaking of the Red Raiders, this is the best season in the program’s history. Texas Tech wasn’t expected to do much this year but ended up finishing the regular season with a 23-8 under head coach Chris Beard. As the No. 3 seed in the East, the Red Raiders were able to dispatch SF Austin and the Florida Gators before beating the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers on Friday night.
For Texas Tech, it was the first Elite Eight appearance in men’s basketball, giving the fanbase a reason to be energized going into the 2018-19 season.