Villanova's title defense ends abruptly in loss to Wisconsin
BUFFALO - Jalen Brunson took a pass and hurled the basketball down the court in desperation, but the buzzer already had sounded, and Villanova, the team that won last year's national championship, was out of the NCAA tournament after the first weekend.
BUFFALO - Jalen Brunson took a pass and hurled the basketball down the court in desperation, but the buzzer already had sounded, and Villanova, the team that won last year's national championship, was out of the NCAA tournament after the first weekend.
Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes hit the tie-breaking layup with 11.4 seconds remaining Saturday and Josh Hart lost the ball on a drive into the lane on the Wildcats' last possession, giving the eighth-seeded Badgers a 65-62 second-round victory before a crowd of 19,261 at the KeyBank Center.
It was a sudden, stunning ending for the Wildcats, who swept through all six games of the tournament last year without a loss and brought the national championship trophy back from Houston to the Main Line.
Meanwhile, the Badgers (27-9), who finished tied for second in the Big Ten, advanced to their fourth straight Sweet 16 and will play in the East Region semifinals Friday at Madison Square Garden.
Villanova wound up 32-4, and its senior class of Hart, Kris Jenkins, and Darryl Reynolds finished their careers with the most wins in program history, 129, against 17 losses. It was tough for the players to come to grips with what happened, given the Cats held a 57-50 lead with 5½ minutes to play along with some momentum.
"To be honest, I still haven't processed it," Reynolds said in a solemn Villanova locker room. "I still keep thinking we're going to learn from it, we're going to watch film, and come back and get better. It's crazy to think that it's actually over, and you have to admit that to yourself. We obviously didn't want it to end like this."
Villanova coach Jay Wright admitted he started to "choke up a little" during his postgame interview with CBS, and said it was an emotional time.
"This one is more stunning to these guys than crushing," he said. "I think it's going to hit us all - and me included. Until the last second of that game, I thought we had a chance to win, so I wasn't thinking about this or dealing with this. I don't think any of us are really prepared for this. I think a lot of us are still stunned."
Redshirt freshman Donte DiVincenzo scored five straight points, including a three-pointer from the top of the key, to give Villanova that 57-50 lead. However, the Wildcats managed just one field goal and three free throws (in six attempts) after that, and the Badgers sank six of their last nine shots.
The two biggest ones were Bronson Koenig's three-point basket with 1:58 remaining that gave Wisconsin a 62-59 lead, and Hayes' game-winner, a reverse layup off a tough drive to the hoop against Mikal Bridges. Hayes' basket followed a jumper by Brunson and a tying free throw by DiVincenzo.
Villanova called timeout after the Hayes make. Brunson was supposed to receive the inbounds pass, but he was closely guarded, so Hart took it.
The Cats' national player of the year candidate dribbled along the right side, cut into the lane, and went to the hoop looking for a basket or a foul, but got neither. Wisconsin's Vitto Brown stripped him and was fouled, and hit a free throw with 3.4 seconds left.
Brown missed the second free throw, but the Wildcats couldn't control the rebound until it was too late.
"They're a very experienced group and it definitely helped them out late in the game," said Hart, who scored 19 points and finished his career with 1,921, 10th on the program's all-time list. "Sometimes you've just got to give credit where credit is due. But I'm proud of our guys for battling until the last second."
The Wildcats weren't clicking at all positions offensively. Jenkins, the hero of last year's championship game, went two games without a three-pointer and finished 4 of 22 in the two games. Bridges played tough defense and grabbed seven rebounds but did not score Saturday.
In the end, it was the senior experience of the Badgers, who got 19 points from Hayes and 17 from Koenig, that prevailed over that of the Wildcats and their hopes for a repeat.
"I'm disappointed," Wright said. "We could have played better. I was proud of our effort, how they stuck together. We made some mistakes, but they had seniors who made great plays down the stretch. I want to concentrate more on that."
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