The Latest: Oklahoma hits the glass cuts lead to 9
HOUSTON (AP) The Latest on the Final Four with Villanova and Oklahoma playing in the first semifinal and North Carolina and Syracuse in Game 2. (all times local):
6:23 p.m.
Oklahoma started the second half pounding the offensive glass. The Sooners missed six shots on one possession as they crashed the glass but could not capitalize.
That hustle was rewarded eventually when Jordan Woodard converted what amounted to a four-point play, hitting two free throws and following his miss of a third with a putback to cut the lead to 46-37. Villanova coach Jay Wright called a timeout to talk about boxing out, most likely.
Woodard's points were his first of the game.
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6:13 p.m.
Second half is ready to start with Villanova leading by 14.
If it seemed like the first half of Villanova and Oklahoma flew by that's because the teams combined to shoot two free throws. Oklahoma's Ryan Spangler missed them both. There were seven total fouls called, only two on Oklahoma.
That makes Villanova's 42-point half even more impressive.
Ryan Arcidiancono's 10 points matches what he had in Villanova's loss to the Sooners four months ago. The Wildcats 18 field goals are only two fewer than they made the whole game the first time.
On the Oklahoma side, Buddy Hield has seven points at the break - half of his first-half total in the first matchup. Hield is 3 for 8 from the field and 1 for 5 from 3.
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5:57 p.m.
Villanova is up 42-28 at halftime and it's Oklahoma's largest halftime deficit this season.
In their previous largest deficit, the Sooners trailed by nine at the break against Texas on Feb. 8, but came back to win that game 63-60. When these two teams played back in December in Hawaii, Oklahoma led Villanova 32-26 at the break.
Buddy Hield has seven points for the Sooners and went a span of 15:07 without scoring.
Josh Hart has 15 points for the Wildcats on 7-of-8 shooting. Ryan Arcidiacono has 10 points and has made all four of his shots, including two 3s. The Wildcats shots 67 percent (18 for 27) in the first half and scored 15 points off nine Oklahoma turnovers.
The Sooners D has been provided little resistance to the Wildcats, who are getting in the paint with relative ease. They have scored 22 points in the paint.
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5:44 p.m.
Where's Buddy? Villanova has raced out to 37-21 lead on Oklahoma with 3:51 left in the first half at the Final Four and Sooners star Buddy Hield has been very quiet.
He made a 3 for the first basket of the game and followed up soon after with another two. Since then he has gone more than 12 minutes without scoring. Hield was averaging 29 per game in the tournament and scored 37 in the Elite Eight against Oregon.
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5:40 p.m.
This game is certainly already different from the Dec. 7 matchup between Oklahoma and Villanova that the Sooners won by 23 points.
Villanova is on a 12-0 run. The Wildcats' defense has sparked their offense throughout the tournament and that's been the case in the first half against Oklahoma.
Villanova has forced seven turnovers and leads 28-17 with 6:57 left.
5:30 p.m.
For the first time in three years coach John Calipari is at the Final Four as a spectator, and he still has a pretty good seat.
While not on the bench, the Kentucky coach was in the first row of spectator seats near midcourt. His seats were only a few feet behind the media, including TV and radio crews, courtside.
Kentucky won its NCAA Tournament opener against Stony Brook before losing to Indiana in the second round.
Calipari and the Wildcats played in the Final Four in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. They won the national title in 2012, were runner-ups in 2014.
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5:27 p.m.
Take that to the bank. Isaiah Cousins banked a 3-pointer for Oklahoma's third 3-pointer of the game less than 7 minutes in. The Sooners are 3-of-5 on 3-pointers, and Villanova is 2-for-4 from long range.
No shooting woes early in this game. Villanova is 8-of-13 overall and Oklahoma is 7-of-13, neither seemingly having a problem shooting in the cavernous football stadium.
It was Villanova 19-17 at the second TV timeout.
5:18 p.m.
Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger didn't stay on that stool very long.
Kruger was initially sitting on the short stool on the edge of the raised court, before getting up for what he considered a questionable foul call. He's been standing since. Villanova coach Jay Wright, meanwhile, doesn't even have a stool on the floor with him.
At the first TV timeout, Villanova was up 10-9.
5:11 p.m.
The Final Four started with Buddy Hield hitting a 3-pointer, his 20th of the tournament. Moments later Hield scored again to give Oklahoma a 7-6 lead.
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5:07 p.m.
Blowing the whistles and calling the fouls for the first game - the officials - are referee Mark Whitehead, along with Tom Eades and Tony Padilla. The standby official is Brian Dorsey.
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5: 02 p.m.
Star sightings: Vice president Joe Biden, who received a mixed reaction from the fans when he appeared on the video screen above the court. Former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen, who also played for the Houston Rockets, is here. Also, President George Bush.
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4:56 p.m.
Oklahoma star Buddy Hield made at least six consecutive 3-pointers during warmups.
For all the talk about the difficulty of shooting in the big stadium, the big-scoring Oklahoma guard certainly looks comfortable in pregame.
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4:48 p.m.
The starting lineups for the first national semifinal game:
Villanova: Junior forward Kris Jenkins, senior forward Daniel Ochefu, freshman guard Jalen Brunson, junior guard Josh Hart, senior guard Ryan Arcidiancono
Oklahoma: Senior forward Ryan Spangler, sophomore forward Khadeem Lattin, junior guard Jordan Woodard, senior guard Isaiah Cousins, senior guard Buddy Hield. It is the 105th straight game that Spangler, Woodard, Cousins and Hield have started together.
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Buddy Ball vs. Philly Ball and a matchup of Hall of Fame coaches.
The Final Four tips off Saturday night at NRG Stadium in Houston with Oklahoma facing Villanova, a couple of sharp-shooting No. 2 seeds. The Sooners are led by Buddy Hield, who is averaging 29 points per game in the NCAA Tournament while showing off almost unlimited range. The Wildcats from Philadelphia, led by Ryan Arcidiacono, are hitting 46 percent of their 3s so far in the tournament.
The Sooners are making their fifth Final Four appearance and Villanova is making its sixth.
In Game 2, top-seed North Carolina with coach Roy Williams faces Jim Boeheim and 10th-seeded Syracuse. Williams and Boeheim have combined for 125 NCAA Tournament wins, including some Boeheim wins vacated by the NCAA.
The Orange is the fourth double-digit seed to reach the Final Four, but none have made it to the title game.