SAN ANTONIO — Saturday’s round of 8 matchup between No. 2-seeded Villanova and No. 5-seeded Houston was reminiscent of the college basketball games played decades ago: Two dogged, rebound-devouring defensive behemoths scratching and clawing and barreling through defenders for tough-to-come by points.
One team, the lower seeded Cougars, had aspirations of a run toward its first national championship in program history, and carried the best roster it has had in years. The other, Villanova, has been looking to reposition itself as one of Division I’s most feared programs after a few dismal tournament seasons.
In the end, Coach Jay Wright’s Villanova team was too aggressive, too poised and too focused for Houston, which seemed ill-prepared to face an opponent it had so much in common with.