DETROIT – Last year, Villanova made it to the Sweet 16, came to Ford Field and lost big to Kansas, which went on to win the national title.

Tonight, in the same venue, the Wildcat’s first Final Four appearance in 24 years ended much the same way. They lost to the preseason No. 1 team in the country, North Carolina, 83-69.

The Wildcats (30-8), who tied the school record for regular-season victories and set the school record for overall wins, fell behind early and never really recovered. It’s one thing to trail American at the Wachovia Center by 14 with 19 minutes to go. It’s another to spot the Tar Heels (33-4) a 17-point advantage after 13 minutes.

Still, the deficit was only nine at halftime. And with 18 minutes to go, it was down to five. But Villanova would miss its next 11 shots, and Carolina went back up by a dozen by the 14/12-minute mark.

The Wildcats would never get it under a dozen the rest of the way.

They’d beaten UCLA (by 20), Duke (by 23) and Pittsburgh at the buzzer to get here. This time, they just ran into a better team.

The Tar Heels will now play Michigan State (31-7) in Monday night’s championship game. The Spartans got there by upsetting Connecticut (31-5) in the opening game, by nine. They’d beaten another Big East team, Louisville, in the regional final by double digits.

North Carolina and MSU met in early December in this building. The Heels won by 30. But two Spartan starters were out at the time.

Carolina, which had lost five of its last six national semifinals, is going for its second title in five years. When the Heels won in 2005, they beat Villanova in the Sweet 16, with the help of a controversial call.

The last time MSU was in the final, in 2000, it took home the nets.

Villanova will say goodbye to four seniors, three of which played major roles: Dante Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark. Jay Wright will welcome one of the top recruiting classes in the nation next year.

“We were like a boxer that didn’t have anything left,” said Jay Wright. “ (North Carolina) didn’t, either. But they had the lead.”

It meant everything. Tyler Hansbrough went to the UNC bench with his fourth foul with 8:09 showing. The Tar Heels led by 14. By the time he returned, at 3:47, it was still a 12-point game.

The Wildcats took 17 more shots, but had only one more field goal to show for it. They had 22 offensive rebounds, but couldn’t convert enough of those second chances into points.

Carolina missed 15 of its 37 free throws, including 10 in the second half. Didn’t matter. The Heels made 11 of 22 from the arc. The Cats went 5-for-27.

Four UNC players scored in double digits, led by Ty Lawson’s 22. He also had 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Hansbrough had 18, to go with 11 boards. Wayne Ellington, who did most of his damage early, finished with 20, plus 9 boards and 4 assists. It’s pretty much what they do. They haven’t won by less than double digits throughout this tournament.

The Wildcats also put four players in doubles. Scottie Reynolds, who will be back, had 17 points on 6-for-18 shooting. He added five assists and just one turnover in 34 minutes. Dante Cunningham had 12 and 12. Corey Fisher, who’s only a sophomore, had 13 points and 7 boards in 25 minutes off the bench. But he shot 5-for-19. Dwayne Anderson, playing his last game, had 11 boards but shot 2-for-12. He and Cunningham fouled out in the late going.

“It’s hard to put it into perspective right now, because it hurts,” said Anderson. “But we know we’ve accomplished a lot, as a team and as a group of seniors. And 20 years from now, when we get together, we’ll have some great memories to talk about. I think people will remember us.”
 

Marquette had lost its last four games, all to ranked opponents, since losing starting point guard Dominic James with a broken foot.

Still, the 21st-ranked Golden Eagles (24-8), the fifth seed in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York, advanced into Thursday's quarterfinals against Villanova with a 74-45 win over No. 13 St. John's (16-17), which had eliminated No. 12 Georgetown on Tuesday.

The 10th-ranked Wildcats (25-6) are the No. 4 seed.

The teams split during the season. Marquette won in Milwaukee on New Year's Day by seven. The Wildcats won by 18 at the Pavilion on Feb. 10.

Even without James, the Golden Eagles still have two other senior guards. One of them, Wesley Matthews, had 20 points against the Red Storm, which set a tourney record by scoring 10 points in the first half.

Both teams prefer to play through their backcourt, which usually makes this an entertaining matchup.

The Wildcats could pretty much lock up a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and also a spot in Philadelphia for the opening weekend, with another win.

Villanova forward Dante Cunningham was selected to the All-Big East second team in a vote of the league's coaches. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players. Guard Scottie Reynolds was named honorable mention.

The Big East changed its format this season, returning to five-member teams instead of the 10-member teams of the past three seasons.

The league will announce its player of the year, coach of the year, rookie of the year and scholar-athlete on Tuesday. Other awards will be announced Monday.

Six players were named to the All-Big East first team, with the player of the year coming from that list.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr., 7-3, 263, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Terrence Williams, Louisville, F, Sr., 6-6, 210, Seattle, Wash.
Jerel McNeal, Marquette, G, Sr., 6-3, 200 Chicago, Ill.
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Jr., 6-8, 251, Schererville, Ind.
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, C, So., 6-7, 265, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Sam Young, Pittsburgh, F, Sr., 6-6, 215, Clinton, Md.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
A.J. Price, Connecticut, G, Sr., 6-2, 181, Amityville, N.Y.
Wesley Matthews, Marquette, G, Sr., 6-5, 215, Madison, Wis.
Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, G, So., 6-0, 185, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Dante Cunningham, Villanova, F, Sr., 6-8, 230, Silver Spring, Md.
Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Jr., 6-7, 225, Newark, N.J.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, G, Jr., 6-1, 195, Indianapolis, Ind.
Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, F, Sr., 6-7, 243, Brookline, Mass.
Earl Clark, Louisville, G/F, Jr., 6-8, 220, Rahway, N.J.
Levance Fields, Pittsburgh, G, Sr., 5-10, 190, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, So., 6-5, 185, Bronx, N.Y.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Weyinmi Efejuku, Providence, G, Sr., 6-5, 210, Fresh Meadows, N.Y.
Dominique Jones, USF, G, So., 6-4, 205, Lake Wales, Fla.
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-2, 195, Herndon, Va.
Alex Ruoff, West Virginia, G, Sr., 6-6, 220, Spring Hill, Fla.

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Yancy Gates, Cincinnati, F, Fr., 6-9, 255, Cincinnati, Ohio
Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, Fr., 6-0, 175, Bronx, N.Y.
Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, Fr., 6-10, 240, Gretna, La.
Samardo Samuels, Louisville, F, Fr., 6-8, 240, Trelawny, Jamaica
Mike Rosario, Rutgers, G, Fr., 6-3, 180, Jersey City, N.J.
Devin Ebanks, West Virginia, F, Fr., 6-9, 205, Long Island City, N.Y.

Our weekly look at the Big East Conference:

VILLANOVA SCHEDULE
Tomorrow: at Seton Hall, 8 (WPHL)
Saturday: vs. Louisville, Wachovia Center, Noon (ESPN).

GAME OF THE WEEK: In this neighborhood, you usually have your choice of a dozen or so. We’ll go with Georgetown at Notre Dame, tonight (ESPN, 7). Hoyas have won at Connecticut and lost at home to Pittsburgh, where they’d won 26 straight. Now this. Irish have won 43 in a row in South Bend.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Speaking of brutal stretches, Rutgers just lost to the top three-ranked teams in the country back-to-back-to-back. But freshman guard Mike Rosario, a McDonald’s All-American in high school, scored 26 against North Carolina and followed with 22 against Pitt. He’s averaging 17.3 points a game, seventh in the conference (and tops for a first-year guy). He also leads the Big East in free-throw shooting, at 88.5 percent (46-for-52).

BY THE NUMBERS: For the third time in six seasons under Jamie Dixon, Pitt is 14-0. The other three times, the Panthers started 10-0, 10-0 and 11-0. In 2003-04, they won their first 18. In that span, the defending Big East champions are 6-5 in the NCAA Tournament, having made two Sweet 16 appearances.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW: On the theory that it’s never too early too look ahead, Marquette’s last five games are at Georgetown, vs. UConn, at Louisville, at Pitt and vs. Syracuse. Ouch.

ETC.: Four players are averaging double-doubles: Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody (23.5 ppg/12.5 rpg), Pitt’s DeJuan Blair (14.2/12.5), DePaul’s Mac Koshwal (14.2/ 11.2) and UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet (14.0/10.5). They’re also the only four averaging 10 or more rebounds. Marquette’s Lazar Hayward (17.1/9.2) and UConn’s Jeff Adrien (14.4/9.0) are close.

Just got this from the LaSalle athletic department, regarding tickets for the Villanova-LaSalle game on Sunday night at the Tom Gola Arena:

The La Salle University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced that a small number of tickets will be made available to purchase individually for this Sunday’s Big 5 match-up against Villanova.

The tickets, which were initially only available as part of a three-game package, can now be bought individually while supplies last.

A complete sell-out is anticipated for the 7:00 PM tip-off at Tom Gola Arena.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 215 951-1999 or emailing: tickets@lasalle.edu. The ticket office at Hayman Center will also be open from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM today and tomorrow, 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Saturday and 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM on gameday.

Some winning teams, you can judge by their statistics. Other winning teams, you can understand by watching on television. To judge at least one winning team in this town, you need to be in the gym.

Villanova will never dazzle you with stats or the beauty of its play. But if you take the time to watch the play away from the ball, see how nobody is ever left on a defensive island and concentrate on a player like Dante Cunningham who makes every little basketball play purists and coaches love, then you get the essence of the 2008-09 Wildcats.

On paper, Villanova (6-0) was to gets first real test of the season in the championship game of Saturday's Philly Hoop Group Classic Saturday night at the Palestra. Rhode Island (5-2) had lost only at Duke and that by three points.

Well, the 'Cats did get a test and they passed it nicely, beating the game Rams 78-65. `Nova shot just 25-for-62 (40.3 percent). The Cats missed 13 of 15 three-point attempts. But they got URI's front line in foul trouble, converted their free throws and defended their basket so well that the Rams were held 20 points below their average.

``We were really looking forward to this just to see where we are,'' Villanova coach Jay Wright said.