March 22, 2008
Recap |
Box Score |
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Photo Gallery 2
Tournament Notes
Since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, there have never been more than two teams seeded No. 12 or lower advance while playing at the same venue in the first round. This years games at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. had all four teams seeded 12 or lower advance.
No. 12 Western Kentucky over No. 5 Drake, 101-99 (OT)
No. 13 San Diego over No. 4 Connecticut, 70-69 (OT)
No. 13 Siena over No. 4 Vanderbilt, 83-62
No. 12 Villanova over No. 5 Clemson, 75-69
Since 1985, there have only been five previous No. 12 vs. No. 13 matchups in the second round. Both second round games in Tampa will feature 12 vs. 13 matchups, raising the number of these games to seven.
No. 12 Western Kentucky vs. No. 13 San Diego
No. 12 Villanova vs. No. 13. Siena
The last 12 vs. 13 matchup was in 2001 (No. 12 Gonzaga vs. No. 13 Indiana State)
Since 1985, when four first round games were played at one site on one day, the lower seeds have won three-out-of-four times and never four-out of-four until now.
The four sites were: Syracuse in 1991: No. 9 Villanova over No. 8 Princeton, No. 12 Eastern Michigan over No. 5 Mississippi State, No. 13 Penn State over No. 4 UCLA; Tucson in 1993: No. 9 UCLA over No. 8 Iowa State, No. 12 George Washington over No. 5 New Mexico, No. 13 Southern University over No. 4 Georgia Tech; Memphis in 2001: No. 9 Fresno State over No. 8 California, No. 12 Gonzaga over No. 5 Virginia, No. 13 Indiana State over No. 4 Okalahoma; Boise in 2001:No. 11 Georgia State over No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 10 Georgetown over No. 7 Arkansas, No. 15 Hampton over No. 2 Iowa State.
Villanova
Villanova moves to 21-12 on the season after the 75-69 win over No. 5 seed Clemson.
The Wildcats have the most NCAA Tournament wins as an underdog seed than any other program (13).
With the win, Villanova advances to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years (2005 & 2006).
The game against Clemson marked the second time Villanova has been a 12 seed. The Wildcats were defeated by No. 5 seed LSU in 1990.
Scottie Reynolds led all scorers with 21 including 4-5 shooting from 3-point range.
Villanova is now 4-0 all-time against Clemson with the previous meeting coming on Dec. 27, 1989.
The Wildcats hold an all-time 43-28 record in the NCAA tournament.
The Wildcats played an NCAA tournament game in the state of Florida for the first time in school history.
Villanova's record against the ACC this year is now 1-1 (lost to NC State).
The Wildcats opened up the second half with a 7-0 run.
Villanova's first lead of the game came with 11:56 left in second half after a 3-pointer by Scottie Reynolds made the score 50-49.
Villanova overcame its largest halftime deficit of the season (12). The Wildcats' previous high was on Dec. 6 when they came back from an 11 point halftime deficit against LSU.
Villanova outscored Clemson 28-18 in the points in the paint category.
As a team, Villanova shot 24-29 (82.8%) from the free throw line.
Clemson
Clemson is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years. They last appeared in 1998 and lost to Western Michigan, 78-74 in the first round. Clemson last won a game in the NCAA Tournament in 1997 when they reached the Sweet 16 with wins over Miami (OH) and Tulsa.
Clemson falls to 24-10 on the year.
Freshman guard Demontez Stitt was 4-4 from three point range in the first half, a career record. His previous record was two which he accomplished twice this season.
Clemson started the game on a 12-2 run that spanned 4:08 and had an 18 point lead at one point in the game.
Clemson's best NCAA Tournament finish was when they reached the Elite Eight in 1980. That also happened to be their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. They lost to eventual runner up UCLA, 85-74.
Clemson is 4-3 in the NCAA Tournament against seeds 10 or higher.
Clemson was one of five schools to finish the season both ranked in basketball and football (Kansas, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Texas).
Clemson is 0-2 all-time at the St. Pete Time Forum. They lost to Florida State, 67-66, on Feb. 7, 2007 at the ACC Tournament.
The Tigers did not attempt a free throw in the first half.
