Reynolds did what he always does - darting, dashing, stopping, starting, slicing into the lane, seeing the entire floor, scoring, getting his teammates involved - and might have done it better than at any other time as a Wildcat.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard set the tone with 13 points in the first 10 minutes, and his teammates followed along, leading the Wildcats to an 84-72 victory over Siena at the St. Pete Times Forum and into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years.

Reynolds finished with 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 turnovers against Siena's press in 37 minutes to help carry the Cats, the 12th seed in the Midwest Regional, into the regional semifinals Friday at about 9:40 p.m. against top seed Kansas at Ford Field in Detroit.

"I think this might have been his best game" in a Villanova uniform, coach Jay Wright said. "He had 40 against UConn [last season], but our seniors did all the dirty work. Today, he did all the dirty work. He led our team and scored 25."

Reynolds shot 7 of 15, 4 of 7 from beyond the arc. He knew when to drive and when to pull the basketball outside. He consistently fed the post in the second half, and Dante Cunningham responded with all 14 of his points.

Reynolds also guarded Siena guard Ronald Moore, a former Plymouth Whitemarsh star who had dished out six assists in the Saints' first-round upset of Vanderbilt. Moore had three points, five assists and four turnovers.

To do all that, after playing 35 minutes and scoring 21 points against the frenetic Clemson press, was a testament to youth, conditioning, or something.

"Nobody can complain," Reynolds said. "You saw Georgia win two games in one day and go on to win the SEC championship, so there's no excuses anymore. You can't say you can't bring it, especially in the NCAA tournament. You dream to be here. There's so much at stake. You want to bring it every possession, and that's what we did."

Wright was very concerned about how his team would react yesterday. The Cats' first-round game ended at 12:23 a.m. Saturday and they had to be back on the court for a 12:10 tip-off yesterday. He said his team was "so beat up . . . guys had IVs in them."

When Wright arrived at the arena Saturday, he had decided the Wildcats would not practice, then had a change of heart, "being paranoid as I am," he said. He had the players on the court for 14 minutes of stretching and free-throw shooting, then went home.

"But I was worried," he said. "One of the first things on my mind was, I didn't want to come out and not make shots because we hadn't touched a ball [Saturday]. But worrying, that's what we do."

Reynolds made sure that his coach's stress level was under control.

He drilled a three-pointer for the first score of the game, and the Wildcats never trailed. He added two more treys, a reverse layup, and two free throws to give his team a 26-12 lead with 9 minutes, 45 seconds left until halftime.

"We knew we had to get off to a good start, and I kept saying, 'Bring that energy, bring that energy,' " said Reynolds, punching his right fist into an open left hand for emphasis. "We brought it, and we tried not to let up. We didn't want to get behind."

At halftime, the Wildcats led by 42-32, and Reynolds (17) and freshman Corey Stokes (14) had combined for 31 of their points. Siena (23-11), coached by former Penn star Fran McCaffery, broke out great against Vanderbilt but was held back yesterday by 27.6 percent shooting in the opening half.

The Saints got the deficit below 10 points once in the second half, with 6:28 to play on a scoop shot in the lane by Alex Franklin that made it 67-58. But Villanova put the game away by scoring baskets, two by Dwayne Anderson, on four consecutive possessions, taking a 75-60 lead with 4:23 remaining.

Now the Wildcats (22-12) are going to Detroit. Not bad for a team that, at the same time last week, wasn't even sure it would be in the NCAAs.

"Right now, it's just a great feeling that we stuck together," Reynolds said, "and we feel honored to be in this position."

Cats reach round of 16 as Reynolds takes charge

Kansas

Resume: 33-3, Big Twelve champions.

When: Friday, 9:40 p.m.

Where: Ford Field, Detroit.

TV/radio: CBS3; WPEN-AM (950).

How the Jayhawks got here: The No. 1 seeds in the Midwest Regional beat Portland State, 85-61, and UNLV, 75-56.

Coach: Bill Self (fifth season, 138-32).

Watch out for ... Forward Darrell Arthur (13.1 ppg.; 6.2 rpg.); guards Brandon Rush (13.0 ppg.) and Mario Chalmers (12.6 ppg., 4.5 assists).

A look ahead at the Jayhawks: F10.