March 20, 2005
-
SYRACUSE REGIONAL
Villanova 76, Florida 65
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:39 p.m. ET
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Basket by basket, rebound by rebound, Villanova’s Jason Fraser stirred memories of 20 years ago. The fifth-seeded Wildcats, back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999, got a huge performance from their 6-foot-10 backup center and humbled Florida 76-65 Sunday in the second round of the Syracuse Regional.
With leading scorer Allan Ray struggling and another of Villanova’s top players sitting out much of the game with an injury, Fraser and guard Randy Foye literally took the team on their backs and led the Wildcats into the round of 16 for the first time since 1988 — where they will face North Carolina.
Twenty years ago, Villanova made an improbable run to their only national title. And with the star of that team — Ed Pinckney — on the bench as an assistant coach, the Wildcats look capable of getting back to the Final Four.
Fraser scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Foye had 18 points to help pick up the slack for Ray and Curtis Sumpter, who left the game after scoring eight early points and twice tumbling to the court and clutching his sore knees.
Ray went 0-for-6 from the field, but made 7-of-8 free throws in the final 4:03 to help Villanova (24-7) pull away after wasting most of a 14-point first-half lead.
Fourth-seeded Florida closed the deficit to 44-43 early in the second half but saw its chances of getting past the second round for the first time in five years slip away during a seven-minute scoring drought that followed Matt Walsh’s first basket of the game.
The Gators (24-8) were held to 38.5 shooting and got little offensive support for David Lee, who did his best to keep them in the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and three steals before fouling out.
Walsh finished with 12 points, but was 4-for-13 after a horrible shooting performance in the first round. Anthony Roberson struggled for the second game in a row, too, going 1-for-8 and finishing with five points.
Both teams were confident they would be able to shrug off poor shooting that nearly cost them wins over heavy underdogs in the first round.
Florida squandered a 20-point second-half lead before Roberson rebounded Lee’s airball in heavy traffic and converted a three-point play to put the Gators ahead for good in Friday’s 67-62 win over Ohio.
Roberson and Walsh were a combined 6-for-28 in the opening game, but felt they simply missed good shots that they normally make and promised to redeem themselves.
It didn’t happen.
Villanova looked like the superior team from the start, easily handling the Gators’ half-court trapping defense and taking command with a 20-3 run that turned an early deficit into a 23-10 lead.
Roberson, meanwhile, wasn’t a factor after making his first shot — a long 3-pointer — and scoring five of Florida’s first seven points. Walsh was even worse, going 0-for-3 from the field and finishing the half scoreless.
Just as surprising was Villanova’s ability to control the game without getting any first-half points from Ray, who also gave the Wildcats little offensively in the team’s first-round victory over New Mexico.
The Wildcats made just three field goals in the second half of that game, yet held on for their first win in the NCAA tournament since 1997, the last time the Wildcats got beyond the first round.
They did a much better job of finishing Sunday, pulling away for good with a 14-3 surge after Walsh’s 3-pointer drew Florida to within 44-43.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top
