The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-27)

SUNDAY, MARCH 27 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D3

IN GREENVILLE, S.C.

Miami 79, Auburn 61 REGION SEMIFINALS FRIDAY’S RESULTS IN CHICAGO Kansas 66, Providence 61 Miami 70, I owa State 56 REGION CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY Kansas (31-6) vs. Miami (26-10), 2:20 p.m. WEST REGION FIRST ROUND MARCH 17 IN PORTLAND, ORE. Memphis 64, Boise State 53 Gonzaga 93, Georgia State 72 IN BUFFALO New Mexico State 70, Connecticut 63 Arkansas 7 5, Vermont 71 MARCH 18 IN SAN DIEGO Texas Tech 97, Montana State 62 Notre Dame 78, Alabama 64 IN GREENVILLE, S.C. Duke 78, Cal State Fullerton 61 Michigan State 74, Davidson 7 3 SECOND ROUND MARCH 19 IN PORTLAND, ORE. Gonzaga 82, Memphis 78 IN BUFFALO Arkansas 53, New Mexico State 48 SUNDAY’S RESULTS IN SAN DIEGO Texas Tech 59, Notre Dame 53 IN GREENVILLE, S.C. Duke 85, Michigan State 76 REGION SEMIFINALS THURSDAY’S RESULTS IN SAN FRANCISCO Arkansas 74, Gonzaga 68 Duke 78, Texas Tech 73 REGION CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY Duke 78, Arkansas 69 FINAL FOUR IN NEW ORLEANS SATURDAY, APRIL 2 Duke (31-6) vs. East Region, TBA Villanova (30-7) vs. Midwest Region, TBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME MONDAY, APRIL 4 Semifinal winners, TBA

MARCH 18

IN SAN DIEGO

Arizona 87, Wright State 7 0 TCU 69, Seton Hall 42 IN PITTSBURGH Ohio State 54, Loyola Chicago 41 Villanova 80, Delaware 60 Illinois 54, Chattanooga 53 Houston 82, UAB 6 8 SECOND ROUND MARCH 19 IN INDIANAPOLIS Michigan 76, Tennessee 68 SUNDAY’S RESULTS IN SAN DIEGO Arizona 85, T CU 80 (OT) IN PITTSBURGH Houston 68, Illinois 53 Villanova 71, Ohio State 61 REGION SEMIFINALS THURSDAY’S RESULTS IN SAN ANTONIO Villanova 63, Michigan 55 Houston 72, Arizona 60 REGION CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY Villanova 50, Houston 44 MIDWEST REGION FIRST ROUND MARCH 17 IN FORT WORTH Creighton 72, San Diego State 69 (OT) Kansas 83, Texas Southern 56 IN BUFFALO Providence 66, South Dakota State 57 Richmond 67, Iowa 63 MARCH 18 IN MILWAUKEE Iowa State 59, LSU 54 Wisconsin 67, Colgate 60 IN GREENVILLE, S.C. Auburn 80, Jacksonville State 61 Miami 6 8, Southern California 66 SECOND ROUND MARCH 19 IN FORT WORTH Kansas 79, Creighton 72 IN BUFFALO Providence 79, Richmond 51 SUNDAY’S RESULTS IN MILWAUKEE Iowa State 54, Wisconsin 49

ncaa tournament

NCAA men’s tournament FIRST FOUR MARCH 15 IN DAYTON, OHIO Texas Southern 76, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 67 Indiana 66, Wyoming 5 8 MARCH 16 IN DAYTON, OHIO Wright State 93, Bryant 82 Notre Dame 89, Rutgers 87 (2OT) EAST REGION FIRST ROUND MARCH 17 IN FORT WORTH Baylor 85, Norfolk State 49 North Carolina 95, Marquette 63 IN PORTLAND, ORE. Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 82, Indiana 53 UCLA 57, Akron 53 IN INDIANAPOLIS Saint Peter’s 85, Kentucky 79 (OT) Murray State 92, San Francisco 87 (OT) MARCH 18 IN MILWAUKEE Purdue 78, Yale 56 Texas 81, Virginia Tech 73 SECOND ROUND MARCH 19 IN FORT WORTH North Carolina 93, Baylor 86 (OT) IN PORTLAND, ORE. UCLA 72, Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 56 IN INDIANAPOLIS Saint Peter’s 70, Murray State 60 SUNDAY’S RESULTS IN MILWAUKEE Purdue 81, Texas 71 REGION SEMIFINALS FRIDAY’S RESULTS IN PHILADELPHIA Saint Peter’s 67, P urdue 64 North Carolina 73, U CLA 66 REGION CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY Saint Peter’s (22-11) vs. North Carolina (27-9), 5:05 p.m. SOUTH REGION FIRST ROUND MARCH 17 IN INDIANAPOLIS Michigan 75, Colorado State 63 Tennessee 8 8, Longwood 56

SCHEDULE

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS

san antonio — Villanova Coach
Jay Wright has won national titles
with well-balanced and funda-
mentally sound teams, yet even he
knew staying in contention for
another one would take a rugged
and exhaustive effort.
Though the game was ugly at
times, the final result was beauti-
ful for the Wildcats, who are going
to their third Final Four in the past
six NCAA tournaments.
Jermaine Samuels recorded
16 points and 10 rebounds as Vil-
lanova grinded out a 50-44 victory
over a gritty and athletic Houston
team in the South Region final
Saturday.
“You just knew watching this
team defensively, like you weren’t
going to come out and just out-
score them,” Wright said. “We real-
ly weren’t talking as much at the
end about how we were going to
score. We were talking about how
we were going to stop them.”
Caleb Daniels had 12 points for
the Wildcats (30-7), and fifth-year
senior Collin Gillespie’s only f ield
goal was a clutch shot late, even
though Villanova led throughout
to clinch the first spot in this year’s
Final Four in New Orleans.

“It was like playing against our own selves. They were just as phys- ical as we were,” Daniels said. “It was a literal street fight, every possession trying to get a rebound.” Villanova shot 28.8 percent from the field (15 of 52). The Cou- gars were only slightly better at 29.8 percent (17 of 57), missing their last five shots and 10 of 11 overall after cutting an 11-point second-half deficit to two. They made only one of their 20 attempts from three-point range in their lowest-scoring tournament game ever. “We were getting stop, stop, stop — we just weren’t scoring on the other end,” Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson said. “I remem- ber telling them in the huddle... that somebody’s going to make a big shot. But we didn’t. Credit Villanova.” Taze Moore had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars (32-6), who were denied their first con- secutive Final Four appearances since 1982-84 during the Phi Sla- ma Jama era. The starting five was completely changed from last season, including Moore and two other senior newcomers. After Villanova missed three shots on the same possession, Moore got a long rebound on the break. He initially slowed things down, then scored on a drive against Gillespie, getting Houston

within 42-40 with 5:25 left. It was the closest the Cougars had been in the game at AT&T Center, only about 200 miles from their campus, and the crowd was in a frenzy when Wright called a timeout. Houston never got a chance to take the lead. Gillespie notched his lone bucket on the possession after the timeout. He waved off Samuels, stepped inside the three-point line and hit a jumper with 5:02 left for a four-point lead, and Villanova led by two possessions the rest of the way. “It was an in-the-moment decision. They were soft-blitzing me basically the whole game. That time, they just happened to switch,” Gillespie said. “So I wanted Jermaine to go down into the post. I had a mismatch.” The Wildcats, seeking their fourth championship overall and their third in 21 seasons under Wright, will play either Kansas, the only No. 1 seed remaining, or 10th-seeded Miami in a national semifinal next weekend. They may be without starting guard Justin Moore, who suffered a lower leg injury late and was on crutches during the postgame cel- ebration. Initial X-rays showed nothing was broken, but Wright said an MRI exam was planned and that it didn’t look good for Moore. — Associated Press

MEN’S SOUTH REGION FINAL

Wildcats grind out win over Cougars

VILLANOVA 50,

HOUSTON 44

who have become “brothers,” Ed- ert said. Holloway can scream at them on the court and coach with discipline; the Peacocks still duti- fully practice wearing masks. But Holloway also asks how they are doing in class and lets them hang out in his office and takes them for milkshakes after road victo- ries. Ndefo said Holloway treats him like a son. “He’s able to get on them because they see the other side,” Willard said. And so here is Holloway, be- coming the face of America’s most beloved sporting event, car- rying a university on his shoul- ders without breaking stride. “It’s his time,” Smith said. “He’s ready for this moment. Look, the McDonald’s all-American, he’s MVP. He was MVP in that moment, a 5-10 point guard. You know what I’m saying? He shines in these moments. He has those kids, they’ll listen to every word he’s saying.” The Peacocks have at least one more game. If they win, they will play in the Final Four. Holloway never reached the Elite Eight as a player or an assistant at a larger school. He has made it here in- stead with Saint Peter’s. “How about that?” Holloway said. “How about that? It’s the American Dream.”

provided the difference in close games. “When he’s needed to get a bucket,” Willard said, “he’s been phenomenal.” Holloway’s defensive tactics have been masterful. Against Pur- due, Boyle noticed the Peacocks’ big men muscle Purdue’s tower- ing centers at the foul line rather than battle them near the basket, a testament to Holloway’s strat- egy and ability to coach tech- nique. Amaker has seen Holloway confuse opponents by disguising defenses — Saint Peter’s seized control when Holloway switched to zone in the final minutes against both Kentucky and Pur- due. “When you watch his team, everybody says, ‘They’re tough, they’re scrappy, they’re gritty,’ ” Smith said. “Well, that’s Sha. That’s who he is. He grew up in Queens. He’s just a tough kid. But just his understanding of the game — this team is executing at a high, high level right now.” Said Amaker: “You can’t do what he’s doing with what his program has been and the re- sources, you can’t do what he’s doing without being an outstand- ing coach. And he needs to get credit for that.” Holloway built Saint Peter’s around the recruiting class now in its junior season, five players

The Peacocks have played with calm and confidence against some of the best, biggest teams in the nation, which Holloway ex- plained with an instant-classic, billboard-ready quote: “I got guys from New Jersey and New York City. You think we’re scared of anything?” When asked how he could tell the Peacocks were a Holloway-led team, Amaker re- sponded immediately: “Confi- dence,” he said. But the success of Saint Peter’s goes beyond atti- tude. “It’s not just chip-on-the-shoul- der,” said Saint Peter’s alum Bob Hurley, a retired coaching legend at St. Anthony in Jersey City. “Everything they’ve done so far, it’s been a coaching clinic.” Holloway has coached a step ahead of the game. Hurley said the way he vacillates between two- and three-guard lineups has allowed Saint Peter’s to dictate matchups. The Peacocks run crisp, sophisticated offensive sets, which Holloway matches to his personnel. With starters on the floor, Daryl Banks III initiates with pick and rolls. When marks- man Doug Edert comes off the bench, he runs through an intri- cate maze of screens for open shots. Willard believes Hollo- way’s well-designed, quick-hit- ting plays after timeouts have

exchanging film with opposing coaches and organizing fall con- ditioning sessions. When Willard interviewed him over four hours at an Italian restaurant, he sensed no ego and could tell Holloway would be willing to work, really work, because he loved coaching. “It’s important to learn from the bottom up,” Holloway said. “You appreciate it more. You learn every aspect of the job.” In Saint Peter’s, Holloway has found a kindred university. About 70 percent of its 2,134 undergrad- uates are minorities. It prioritizes the education of first-generation college students. When Tommy Amaker coached Holloway at Seton Hall, he sensed how badly Holloway wanted to graduate in four years, to become the first member of his family with a college degree. “Come hell or high water, he was going to accomplish that,” said Amaker, now the coach at Harvard. “He wanted to be, and he was, the first in his family to do that. What he’s been able to lead and orchestrate there for the school, what an incredible story and moment that is occurring for a very deserving institution. To have Shaheen be the leader, it’s so very powerful. I know he’s the kind of person, that would really matter to him.”

Willard when he took over at Seton Hall. “We started every staff meeting with him reminding everybody that he got the MVP over Kobe Bryant,” Willard said. “He is a humble man. He is one of the best people I know. But he does have that other side to him, where he knows he outplayed Kobe Bryant. There’s an edge to him that way and a confidence about him.” Since the dawn of his basket- ball career, Holloway has chosen the harder path and flourished. New York City powerhouses, some of the top high school teams in the country, courted him when he was in eighth grade. St. Patrick was maybe one of the 20 best programs in New Jersey. Hollo- way chose St. Patrick, and by the time he graduated he had made three all-state teams. Coach Mike Krzyzewski re- cruited Holloway hard to Duke — when Holloway attended a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, eight Duke students painted his name on their chests letter by letter. Holloway stayed home and played for Seton Hall. When his playing days ended, Holloway took a job at Bloomfield Tech High in New Jersey as an assistant coach. He joined his alma mater as an administrative assistant, fulfilling tasks such as

face North Carolina — a program
with 126 more NCAA tournament
wins than the Peacocks — for a
trip the Final Four.
“Unthinkable,” senior forward
KC Ndefo said. “Unreal.”
With his snarl on the sideline
and smile on camera, Holloway
has become the face of March. He
has provided quotes fit for bill-
boards and T-shirts. He has de-
vised perfect game plans and
made crucial adjustments. Short-
ly after he asked a CBS interview-
er, “What they going to say now?”
following the Peacocks’ toppling
of mighty Purdue on Friday night,
his players mobbed him on live
television.
“He gives us extreme confi-
dence,” junior point guard Mat-
thew Lee said. “You see the fire
and the energy that he brings.”
Holloway has molded Saint Pe-
ter’s in his image, relying on
underrecruited and overlooked
players from New York City and
New Jersey, the places where he
came of age. Holloway grew up in
the South Jamaica neighborhood
of Queens and moved to New
Jersey to play high school basket-
ball at St. Patrick i n Elizabeth. “It
was a tough neighborhood,” said
Kevin Boyle, his coach at St. Pat-
rick. “It was probably better for
him to get away and come out to
St. Patrick’s.”
Winston Smith met Holloway
when they were in ninth grade.
Holloway had joined St. Patrick,
and Smith was an emerging star
at Summit High in New Jersey.
“Come on, man, come over to St.
Pat’s,” Holloway would tell him.
“We could do great things.” Hollo-
way, Smith would realize later,
was recruiting.
“Right then, you knew he was
going to be a coach,” Smith said,
laughing.
Smith came to St. Patrick, and
the pair developed a lasting bond,
Holloway taking Smith under his
wing. Their one-on-one practice
battles sharpened them both.
Smith made Holloway the best
man at his wedding. Smith also
went into coaching and is now an
assistant at Wagner. Before he
makes a career move, he bounces
it off Holloway.
“When I’m making a decision
on anything, I call him,” Smith
said. “He’s a brother to me. I
would do anything for him.”
Holloway was a prototypical
New York City point guard. He
mixed dazzling ballhandling with
muscular defense and water bug
quickness. At just 5-foot-10, he
became one of the best players in
the country. When he played in
the 1996 McDonald’s all-Ameri-
can game, his teammates on the
East team included future NBA
stars Jermaine O’Neal, Stephen
Jackson, Tim Thomas, Richard
Hamilton and Kobe Bryant. Amid
all that talent, Holloway scored
seven points, made six steals and
was named MVP.
“He’ll tell you about it,” Kevin
Willard said, laughing. Willard,
recently hired as Maryland’s
coach, gave Holloway his first
position as a full-time college
assistant coach, hiring him at
Iona in 2007. Holloway followed

SAINT PETER'S FROM D1

Egoless, confident Holloway leads Peacocks into Elite Eight

PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES

“He gives us extreme confidence,” Saint Peter’s junior point guard Matthew Lee said of head coach Shaheen Holloway. “You see the fire and the energy that he brings.”