The Elite Eight began in San Antonio, Texas when the No. 2 Villanova Wildcats (30-7) took on the No. 5 Houston Cougars (32-6). The Cougars were fresh off three dominating wins vs. No. 12 UAB, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 1 Arizona. The Wildcats weren’t too shabby either, with wins over No. 15 Delaware, No. 7 Ohio State, and No. 11 Michigan. Following the trend of games this tournament, Villanova won on defense. limiting the Cougars to 29.8% shooting and 5% from three-point range.That’s right, Houston shot 1/20 from three, including four very good looks in the last 30 seconds. Villanova won 50-44 to kickoff the Elite Eight and conquer the East. The Wildcats will play No. 1 Kansas in the final four on Saturday, April 2, in New Orleans for a shot at the championship game.
The next game was between the No. 2 Duke Devils (32-6) and the No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks (28-9). Following many disappointing games before the NCAA Tournament, including a 94-81 home loss to UNC and an 82-67 thrashing by Virginia Tech, Duke has bounced back. The Blue Devils defeated No. 15 CS Fullerton in the first round, No. 7 Michigan State in the second, and No. 3 Texas Tech in the Sweet 16. Arkansas wasn’t doing terribly themselves, with wins over No. 13 Vermont, No. 12 New Mexico State, and a surprise upset over No. 1 Gonzaga. The game was very tight throughout most of the first half, but an 8-0 run by Duke, including a buzzer-beating three from Trevor Keels, put the Blue Devils ahead 45-33 at the break. Arkansas once again made the game a close one, pulling within five with 13:20 left. However, a 10-0 run by Duke gave them a substantial lead, one that never ceded. The Blue Devils were crowned champions of the West region when they defeated Arkansas, 78-69.
The first game of the second day of the Elite Eight tipped off at 2:20 PM between the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (32-6) and the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes (26-11). Kansas was coming off wins over No. 16 Texas Southern, No. 9 Creighton, and No. 4 Providence. Miami won unlikely game after unlikely game, beginning with their first round win vs. No. 7 USC, then their second round win vs. No. 2 Auburn, and to top it off, a Sweet 16 thrashing of No. 11 Iowa State. This game, like many others in this tournament, was a back-and-forth battle, with Miami leading at halftime, 35-29. However, it didn’t stay that way for long, as Kansas would come out of the half scorching hot. The Hurricanes just couldn’t find their stride, and when Kansas guard Christian Braun hit the Jayhawks’ first three of the night to put them ahead 43-40, Miami would never lead again. Kansas ended up winning 76-50 and will play the No. 2 Villanova Wildcats in the Final Four.
The final game of the Elite Eight was also the most anticipated, as the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels took on the No. 15 Saint Peter’s Peacocks. Both teams had improbable runs to the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels dominated No. 9 Marquette in the first round, escaped No. 1 Baylor in the second, and won a close Sweet 16 game vs. No. 4 UCLA. Saint Peter’s had the most unlikely Elite Eight birth ever. In the first round, the Peacocks stunned No. 2 Kentucky in overtime; in the second, they mopped the floor with No. 7 Murray State; and in the Sweet 16, they defeated No. 3 Purdue to become the first 15 seed to make the Elite Eight. Just as I predicted, North Carolina controlled the pace of this game and brought something to the table that Saint Peter’s had yet to see in the tournament thus far. It must have been 11:59 for the Cinderella because Saint Peter's was on their way out of the ball! The Peacocks never led during the contest and trailed by as many as 27 points. The player of the game undoubtedly goes to Armando Bacot. The junior had 20 points to go along with 22 rebounds. It wasn’t just him who contributed, though, as four North Carolina players scored nine or more points. Leaky Black also played a large part in the 69-49 blow-out win over Saint Peter’s. He held Daryl Banks III and Doug Edert, two double-digit scorers in every tournament game thus far, to just nine points combined. With the win, UNC overtook Kentucky for the most all-time NCAA Tournament victories (130). The relationship Hubert Davis has with his players was on full display Sunday. The coach had this to say after the game, "I really wanted this for them, I just desperately wanted this for them." The coach-to-player relationship isn’t one-sided though. Caleb Love said this in the post-game press conference, "We feed off him and his energy. That’s why you see us playing so hard. It’s for him... we want to go all out for him." The Tar Heels will face off against No. 2 Duke in the Final Four on April 2, at 8:49 PM, in New Orleans. This will be the long-time rivals’ first meeting in the NCAA Tournament.
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