Phil Booth Helped Villanova Defeat West Virginia
Villanova Tops WVU To Reach East Regional Final
After falling behind 60-54 midway through the second half, Villanova regained the lead with an 11-0 run and defeated West Virginia 90-78 in the East Regional Semifinal at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. The Wildcats, the No. 1 seed in the East, will play No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Sunday at 2:20 p.m. ET on CBS to go to the Final Four next week in San Antonio, Texas.
Guard Jalen Brunson was brilliant for the Wildcats (33-4) with a game-high 27 points. The next highest scoring total in the game was forward Omari Spellman, who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. He played a decisive role in the 11-0 spurt, including a blocked shot and a follow-up dunk on the ensuing Villanova possession.
“What a game, man,” said Wildcat head coach Jay Wright afterwards. “What a college basketball game. I hope that looked as good as it did from the bench.”
“Because of that, I’m so proud of our guys’ leadership. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Phil Booth, our three leaders. When we got down six, I saw they pulled everybody together and just kept us together to grind it out. Great win because West Virginia question because West Virginia is so good.”
Villanova outshot WVU from the floor 50 percent to 38.6 percent and made 23-of-27 free throws.
The Wildcats will be aiming for their third Final Four in the last 10 years. They won the national championship in 2016 and made the national semifinals in 2009.
If Villanova wins, it will be the 20th time a BIG EAST team has reached the Final Four in 39 seasons of play.