Key Stats:
Creighton committed 17 turnovers, leading to 21 Villanova points. They shot just 6-24 from three-point range (25%). In a game where they lost by 14, those two stats made the biggest difference in the outcome — particularly their outside shooting, because if they had made their season average of 40%, that would have been 12 additional points.
After the semifinals, we noted that Marcus Foster and Justin Patton combined to score 42 of Creighton’s 75 points in that win over Xavier, with 21 apiece. To win close games in March, you need big-time players to make clutch shots, and time after time in that game Foster and Patton did so.