Houston We Have Arrived: Wildcats Ready For Day One At Final Four
HOUSTON, Texas -- After a raucous sendoff from campus by its adoring fans earlier in the day, the Villanova men's basketball team was given an equally warm welcome upon its arrival in Houston on Wednesday night. The team was greeted at the airport by military personnel and was met with loud cheers as its bus pulled up to the hotel around 8:30 p.m. local time.
A better start to the Wildcats fifth Final Four appearance all-time and first since 2009 could not have been drawn up. Following the pomp and circumstance of Wednesday's travel day, Villanova will be ready to get back on the court for a closed practice session on Thursday. The team is getting ready for its national semifinal game against Oklahoma, which tips off at 6:09 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday evening.
"I think we learned last time what you have to enjoy is the basketball part of it," Wildcats head coach Jay Wright said. "All of this is nice but we're basketball players and there's only four teams that are left playing. We happen to be one of them and that's really what we love."
Follow all the BIG EAST action in Houston and the Final Four as BIG EAST Digital Network Correspondents Kim Adams, John Fanta and Cayleigh Griffin will be posting daily updates from practice, the press conferences and around the NRG Arena via Facebook Live, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.
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Villanova Makes Third Final Four Trip As BIG EAST Member
The Villanova Wildcats are making their third appearance in the Final Four as a member of the BIG EAST. Villanova won the NCAA crown in 1985 with a victory over conference rival Georgetown 66-64 in Lexington, Ky. In 2009, the Wildcats lost in the semifinals to North Carolina 83-69 in Detroit, Mich. Before the BIG EAST was formed in 1979-80, Villanova played in the Final Four in Houston’s Astrodome where they lost in the title game to UCLA 68-62.
BIG EAST Holds 12-7 Mark In National Semifinals
Including two games when conference teams met each other in the National Semifinals, BIG EAST teams own a 12-7 (.632) record on the Saturday before the championship game. Villanova is 1-1, beating Memphis State 52-45 in 1985 and losing to North Carolina 83-69 in 2009. The two times that conference teams faced each other were in 1985 and 1987. In ’85, Georgetown beat St. John’s 77-59 and in ’87, Syracuse defeated Providence 77-63.
The Last Time In Houston…Now It’s Different
When the Final Four was last in Houston in 2011, Connecticut, a BIG EAST member at the time, defeated Butler, a future BIG EAST member, 53-41 in the championship game.
BIG EAST Teams Have Won Seven NCAA Titles
Teams from the BIG EAST have captured the NCAA National Championship seven times and own a 7-5 record in the title games, including when Villanova beat Georgetown 66-64 in 1985. The BIG EAST’s NCAA Champions are: Georgetown (’84), Villanova (’85), Connecticut (’99, ’04, ’11), Syracuse (’03) and Louisville (’13). This is the 37th season of BIG EAST basketball.
Villanova Advanced To Houston Through Louisville, Brooklyn
Villanova knocked off No. 1 seed Kansas 64-59 last Saturday in the South Region final in Louisville, Ky. Villanova had defeated Miami, Fla. 92-69 in the semifinal round. The Wildcats’ Kris Jenkins was named the regional’s Most Outstanding Player. He averaged 17.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two contests. Villanova won its first two NCAA games in Brooklyn, N.Y., defeating UNC-Asheville (86-56) and Iowa (87-68). The Wildcats have been the most successful team in the BIG EAST over the last three seasons. They have won the regular-season crown each year with a 16-2 league mark. Overall, they are 95-13 (.880).