Nigel Hayes capped off a thrilling Wisconsin comeback as the No. 8 seed badgers ended no. 1 villanovas bid to repeat as national champions with this driving layup with 11.4 seconds left.
Wisconsin erased a 57-50 deficit in the final five minutes, thanks in large part to a pair of clutch threes from Bronson Koenig, who finished the afternoon with 17 points. Hayes led the way with 19 points for the Badgers. Its the fourth straight season that Wisconsin has reached the Sweet 16, the last two of which have come with Greg Gard as head coach. Last season, the Badgers were a No. 7 seed and reached the second weekend of the tournament thanks to a buzzer-beating three from Koenig to knock off No. 2 seed Xavier.
Wisconsin has the horses to keep running in this tournament, too. Hayes and Koenig are the names that every knows and recognizes, but their best player is Ethan Happ. With those three stars and a slew of veteran role players that understand what they are going to be asked to do on a nightly basis, the Badgers are dangerous.
They certainly proved that on Saturday.
Villanova missed three free throws in the final threes minutes of the game, but their issue in the final minute was that Josh Hart, Villanovas all-american guard, came up empty on a pair of drives to the rim, including after Hayes go-ahead layup.
News Conference: Iowa vs Villanova Postgame Photo Adam Woodbury of Iowa, left, and Phil Booth of Villanova battled around the rim Sunday afternoon. Credit Al Bello/Getty Images
Since Villanova arrived in Brooklyn last week, the Wildcats have been shadowed by questions about their recent inability to advance past the round of 32 at the N.C.A.A. mens basketball tournament.
The albatross became tiresome. Over the past four days, players opened news media sessions trying to give courteous answers, acknowledging their recent stumbles. But as the hours wore on and different variations of the same questions were repeated, their heads hung low, the smiles disappeared and they grumbled through replies on how they did not want to be defined as underachievers.
The second-seeded Wildcats most potent retort came Sunday afternoon with a dominating 87-68 win over seventh-seeded Iowa in a South Region game at Barclays Center. Josh Hart led the way with a game-high 19 points.
Its definitely a sigh of relief, the senior Ryan Arcidiacono said. I just think the biggest thing is Im honestly just done answering the questions about getting past the second weekend.
Villanova was more aggressive from the start, diving for loose b***s and clogging passing lanes, eventually holding a 12-0 advantage off turnovers in the first half. The Wildcats executed with so much aplomb that after the game Villanova Coach Jay Wright apologized to his friend Fran McCaffery, Iowas coach, who is a Philadelphia native.
Were thrilled that we came out and played a first half like that, Wright said. When I shook hands with Fran, I just said, Hey, Im sorry. We havent played a first half like that in a long time.
After the teams tied, 13-13, the Wildcats outscored Iowa, 41-16, before halftime for a 54-29 lead, which also set a Villanova program record for points in a half in an N.C.A.A. tournament game.
During the extended run, Villanova received contributions from almost every player on the floor. Jalen Brunson and Phil Booth hit multiple 3-pointers. On defense, Iowa stood motionless through numerous possessions, with players fumbling routine passes.
The 7-foot-1 center Adam Woodbury, who had put back the winning shot in Iowas 72-70 overtime win over Temple in the first round on Friday, was held to 1 point.
The only flicker of energy emerged from Nicholas Baer, a redshirt freshman walk-on, who scored 8 points in the first half.
Theyre a tough group to close out to because theyll rip a drive on you, McCaffery said. So we closed out a little bit short, and they were making threes. We had a couple uncharacteristic turnovers that led to easy transition layups, and that was a big part of it as well.
During the first 20 minutes, Villanova shot 7 for 12 on 3-pointers and over 60 percent over all from the field. The Wildcats also remained disciplined on defense they had six steals and Iowa did not make a first-half free throw, their only two attempts coming with 4.7 seconds left before the break.
Kris Jenkins led Villanova with 12 points at halftime. Hart and Brunson added 10 each.
I think we didnt come out with the intensity defensively that we needed against a team like that, Iowa guard Mike Gesell said.
Villanovas lead grew to 34 points early in the second half, when a layup by Hart gave the Wildcats a 65-31 lead. At that point, it became clear that the questions about another Villanova collapse would cease.
Jarrod Uthoff paced the Hawkeyes with 16 points, also making their first free throw with 8 minutes 45 seconds remaining. Baer added 15 for Iowa.
Villanova will play No. 3-seeded Miami in the round of 16 on Thursday in Louisville, Ky.
We wanted it badly for this senior class, Wright said. I really didnt want them to go down as the winningest class in Villanova history but they never got past the first weekend.
Before Sundays win, the Wildcats had not advanced to the second week of the tournament in their last five appearances. On three of those occasions they were a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
As the East Regions top seed last year, Villanova was stunned in its second game against No. 8-seeded North Carolina State, 71-68. That upset lingered throughout the summer for Wright and his team.
Its like if you have a cold and everybody keeps asking you: Hows your cold? Hows your cold? How are you doing? Wright said. After a while, youre like, Im fine, you know. You know youve got to answer the question.
Wright left in a majority of his starters late into the game.
When Arcidiacono finally exited the court with under a minute to go, he hugged Wright tightly.
A few moments later, when the final buzzer sounded, the public-address announcer congratulated Villanova on reaching the round of 16. Arcidiacono smiled, Villanova fans stood and players held their fists in the air, looking somewhat relieved that they had shook off an unwanted label, resoundingly.
Correction: March 21, 2016
An earlier version of this article misstated the number of points Iowas Adam Woodbury scored. He had 1 point; he was not held scoreless.
