COLLIN GILLESPIE

The last three times the Jayhawks and Wildcats have met in the tournament, the winner has gone on to win it all. Playing without injured guard Justin Moore, Villanova (31-7) watched as Kansas scored the game’s first 10 points and eventually built a 19-point cushion. The Jayhawks’ lead soon stretched to 15 midway through the first half before Jay Wright finally called timeout. “This is legit revenge for 2018,” tweeted the Mavericks’ Jalen Brunson, who had a big role for Villanova that night. McCormack finally made them pay for going small with a rim-rattling dunk that gave Kansas control again with 10:25 to play.

Villanova needed Justin Moore on offense, to add another scoring threat and spread the floor.

David McCormack muscled his way to 25 points, Ochai Agbaji added 21 and hot-shooting Kansas withstood every Villanova run for a 81-65 victory Saturday night that sent the Jayhawks back to the national title game.

Exactly 10 years after a bunch of one-and-done phenoms for Kentucky cut down the nets in the Big Easy, there is a much more old-school feel to this year’s Final Four.

Odds are now out for both of Saturday’s matchups - Villanova vs. Kansas and UNC vs. Duke - so let’s dive into them. New players can click here to sign up with this FanDuel Sportsbook promo code and lock in this $150 instant bonus. Aside from the rivalry, the narrative of Coach K’s potential final game unthinkably being a loss to Duke’s archrivals will push some bettors toward the Blue Devils’ side. Caesars Sportsbook promo code MLIVEMAR2 unlocks a can’t-miss Bet $20, Win $200 Final Four bonus, where just one point from your team earns you $200. A promo code also exists for those who would prefer their sign-up bonus to be a $1,100 risk-free first bet.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's final chapter will have a distinctly blue tint.

Jermaine Samuels had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova advanced to its third Final Four in the last six NCAA Tournaments with a 50-44 victory over Houston in the South Region final.

Mike Krzyzewski would pass famed UCLA coach John Wooden for most Final Four appearances if No. 2 seed Duke can beat fourth-seeded Arkansas in the West Region final in San Francisco.

Jermaine Samuels scored 22 points and Villanova controlled Michigan in a 63-55 Sweet 16 victory in the NCAA Tournament.

Collin Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels, and Villanova are back in the city of the Alamo for the first time since winning the national championship there four years ago. Even the opponent is the same, though in a different arena for this...

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 26th and final appearance in the Sweet 16 is a classic matchup of offense vs.

In Thursday’s NCAA Tournament matchup, Michigan will face a Villanova team that is talented, experienced, and battle tested. The Wolverines picked off 6 seed Colorado State and 3 seed Tennessee to advance to their fifth straight Sweet 16. Up next is a trip to San Antonio to face 2 seed Villanova. Villanova won the league tournament and enters Thursday’s game having won five straight and 12 of its last 13. On Saturday they trailed by five at half against Tennessee, a team that was even hotter than Villanova is, but won 76-68.

Collin Gillespie scored 20 points, Eric Dixon hit a big 3-pointer late and second-seeded Villanova fended off seventh-seeded Ohio State 71-61 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The matchup between Hall of Fame coaches Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Tom Izzo of Michigan State highlights the final day of the NCAA Tournament's opening weekend.

Justin Moore scored 21 points and second-seeded Villanova had little trouble with 15th-seeded Delaware, winning 80-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Keegan Murray has given Iowa a first-team Associated press All-American for the third straight year.

Collin Gillespie nailed consecutive 3-pointers late in the game that put No. 8 Villanova ahead for good, and the Wildcats beat Creighton 54-48 to win the Big East Tournament championship at Madison Square Garden.

While Collin Gillespie waited to twirl the souvenir net from atop a ladder he could not have climbed a year ago, he was spotted by another former Villanova star who knows how to win a championship game in crunch time. Kris Jenkins joked maybe it was his and Gillespie's shared uniform No. 2 that made the Wildcats so fearless when the outcome was at stake. Or maybe it's just the Wildcat Way forged under coach Jay Wright of shaking off nerves, bad shots, a stifling defense, whatever distraction got in their way, to always hit that next big shot and win the next big game.

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Collin Gillespie had five 3-pointers and a career-high 33 points, including a key 3 with 23 seconds left, and 10th-ranked Villanova held on to beat eighth-ranked Providence 89-84.

Justin Lewis had 19 points and nine rebounds, and No. 24 Marquette never trailed in an 83-73 victory over No. 12 Villanova.

Justin Lewis buried a 3 from the top of the arc with 11.5 seconds left to send Marquette to a 57-54 win over No. 11 Villanova.

Collin Gillespie hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, and Justin Moore scored 15 points to lead No. 14 Villanova to an 82-42 win over Butler.

Ryan Hawkins scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures and Creighton closed with a flurry in a 79-59 victory over No. 9 Villanova in the Big East opener for both teams.

James Akinjo had 16 points with seven rebounds and second-ranked Baylor defensively dominated No. 6 Villanova 57-36.

Zach Edey scored 21 points and No. 6 Purdue overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to beat No. 5 Villanova 80-74 and win the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.

The opening week of the college basketball season, as it usually is, was filled with marquee games.

Johnny Juzang scored 25 points and No. 2 UCLA overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit before taking control in overtime to beat fourth-ranked Villanova 86-77.

Drew Timme of Gonzaga is the lone unanimous selection on The Associated Press preseason All-America team.

Davion Mitchell, a 46% shooter from 3 this season, went 0 for 3 from long range on a 14-point day. Jared Butler scored nine points on 1-for-9 shooting from 3, and MaCio Teague had five points without a 3. The guards did a great job of not settling and probing more.”Because of that, Baylor shot 53% in the second half, even though it made only one 3. Constantly harassing Villanova shooters who'd carved out space in the first half, Baylor held Villanova to 37.5% shooting in the second and 0 for 9 from 3. Forward Brandon Slater left the game about midway through the second half after landing awkwardly during a fight for a rebound.

Villanova spent all season operating with the security of having senior point guard Collin Gillespie leading the attack. Now the Wildcats and Wolverines have figured out how to win without them in the NCAA Tournament. And both teams are in the Sweet 16 after successfully adjusting so far to those major late-season hits. “There’s no feeling sorry for ourselves,” Villanova forward Jermaine Samuels said after the second-round win against North Texas. And whatever happens, happens.”Gillespie provided Villanova with scoring (14 points), playmaking (4.6 assists), and 3-point shooting (nearly 38%).

(AP Photo/Chase Stevens)INDIANAPOLIS – There has never been a better time to have senior leadership in the NCAA Tournament than this season. AdVirginia intends to play after withdrawing from the ACC Tournament because of COVID-19 protocols, which means fans will get to say Sam Hauser running the show. Dru Smith is their leading scorer and Jeremiah Tilmon finally reached his potential this season, and both aim to help Missouri snap a four-game NCAA Tournament skid. Herb Jones is an All-American candidate and Jaden Shackelford is Alabama's leading scorer, but John Petty Jr. makes the SEC Tournament champs go. Then there's Tennessee forward John Fulkerson, who sustained facial fractures in an SEC Tournament win over Florida and underwent surgery Sunday.

The Hoyas are back in the Big East Tournament semifinals for the first time in six years, with the former Georgetown and Knicks star leading the way. Georgetown last reached the Big East semifinals in 2015. “We played against the Cadillac, the Bentley, whatever you want to call them, of the Big East — the class of the Big East. The quarterfinal day at the Garden is often the best of the Big East Tournament. They had not won even a single Big East Tournament game since 2016 before beating Marquette in the first round Wednesday.

(AP Photo/Stew Milne)David Duke made a tiebreaking tip-in with 2.8 seconds left on Saturday and Providence held on after blowing a 20-point lead to beat No. Duke and Nate Watson scored 20 points apiece, and Noah Horchler had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Providence (13-12, 9-10 Big East). PC led 38-18 in the first before Villanova scored the first 11 points of the second. He joined Gillespie on the bench for the second half, wearing a boot. SECOND HALF WOESProvidence took an 11-point lead into halftime in its last game, against St. John’s on Wednesday.

McDermott’s use of a phrase evoking slavery overshadowed what was expected to be fantastic showdown between the top two teams in the Big East. 10 Villanova capture the Big East title with a 72-60 win over 14th-ranked Creighton. “The pain I saw in their eyes was immense,” McDermott said after the game. The Big East title was a formality on the Main Line — Villanova is 114-26 with two national titles since the conference was reconfigured in 2013. BIG PICTURECreighton: McDermott isn’t off the hot seat yet.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – Chuck Harris scored 20 points and Jair Bolden added 15 on Sunday to lead Butler to a 73-61 victory over No. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead Villanova (15-4, 10-3), which had won 13 of its previous 15 and was favored by 10 1/2 points. Clearly, Villanova wasn't itself during the first half — shooting 28% from the field, grabbing just one offensive rebound and giving up 34 points. But the Bulldogs produced two solid performances this week by beating Seton Hall and now Villanova. AdTWO MEN OUTThe Bulldogs seem to have been playing short-handed all season and Sunday was no exception.

The Bluejays pulled away early in the second half of the meeting of the Big East's top two teams. Early in the second half, Zegarowski made a move to get Gillespie to go the other way, then swished a one-handed floater in the lane. The Wildcats had shot 70% in the second half of that game and a season-best 63% overall. The Wildcats weren't nearly as good at CHI Health Center, shooting 33% in the second half and 37.5% for the game. Creighton: This was the performance the Bluejays had been looking for from Zegarowski, who had been up and down following offseason knee surgery.

Alexander scored 16 points and St. John's smothered No. The latest victory gave St. John's its first four-game Big East winning streak since the 2014-15 NCAA Tournament team. '”AdVillanova was the first top-5 opponent to play in the Queens gym since St. John's lost 72-71 to No. If we can get a Big East game, we’ve got to play the Big East game. St. John's: Saturday at Providence, which has won nine of the past 11 meetings.

3 Villanova went up by 16 points in the second half, Jay Wright never felt comfortable against Seton Hall. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 23 points in a foul-plagued 21 minutes and Villanova rolled to ninth straight victory with an unexpectedly easy 80-72 decision over Seton Hall on Saturday. Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard was disappointed. That kills you against really good teams.”UP NEXTVillanova: at St. John's on Wednesday. Seton Hall: at Providence on Wednesday.

3 Villanova win its first game in 27 days, 76-74 over Seton Hall on Tuesday night. Mamukelashvili scored 23 points and Rhoden had 19. Myles Cale pulled Seton Hall to 72-70 with 2:33 left and Nova’s Justin Moore was whistled for an offensive foul. Mamukelashvili tied it and the Seton Hall bench started chanting “Defense! Gillespie missed a 3 and Shavar Reynolds grabbed the defensive board to set up a late look for Seton Hall.

7 Villanova, and coach Jay Wright won his 600th career game in an 85-66 victory over Butler on Wednesday night. Wright (600-268) was already Villanova's winningest coach and he became the 39th coach in Division I history to reach 600 wins. Wright is 478-183 since he was hired in 2001 and he has built the Wildcats into one of the elite programs in college basketball. Villanova: The Wildcats hit 10 3s and showed they have the talent to again win the Big East. ___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

(AP Photo/Michael Thomas)AUSTIN, Texas – After opening the season in a Connecticut “bubble,” Villanova went all the way down to Texas to get a big win. 17 Texas 68-64 Sunday, handing the Longhorns their first loss after a strong start. BIG PICTUREVillanova: The Wildcats won in their first trip to Texas since winning the 2018 national championship in San Antonio. STAT LINE:Kai Jones, who doesn’t start for Texas but is averaging 20 minutes per game, is shooting 19 of 22 this season. Texas hosts Texas State on Wednesday night in the Longhorns’ final non-conference game before starting Big 12 play.

After boosting his stock with an outstanding junior season that got cut short, Garza heads the list of star seniors gearing up for the 2020-21 campaign. The 6-10 forward averaged 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, up from 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds as a sophomore. KANSAS G MARCUS GARRETTGarrett averaged 9.2 points last season, but his biggest contributions come on the other end of the floor. VILLANOVA G COLLIN GILLESPIEThis 6-3 guard averaged 15.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals last season. GONZAGA F COREY KISPERTThe 6-foot-7 Kispert earned preseason AP All-America honors as he begins his final season with the top-ranked Bulldogs.

FILE - Gonzaga players celebrate after defeating Saint Mary's in an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the West Coast Conference men's tournament in Las Vegas, in this Tuesday, March 10, 2020, file photo. Gonzaga will begin the college basketball season No. 1 for the first time after coach Mark Few's bunch earned 28 first-place votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll released Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Iowa was picked fifth behind national player of the year front-runner Luka Garza, its highest preseason ranking in school history. The Bears, who also have their highest preseason ranking, spent five weeks at No. THE REST OF THE POLLCreighton lost Ty-Shon Alexander to the NBA and Davion Mintz to Kentucky but still landed the highest preseason ranking in school history at No. 17, its highest preseason ranking since the final Phi Slama Jama team of Hakeem Olajuwon began the 1983-84 season at No. 6 in the final poll last season but losing Mountain West player of the year Malachi Flynn and two other elite producers.