Villanova routs Oklahoma, advances to NCAA final

Villanova routs Oklahoma 95-51 Saturday to advance to the NCAA championship game.

HOUSTON — Josh Hart scored 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting and Villanova advanced to the national championship game with a resounding 95-51 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday night.

The Wildcats (34-5) will face the winner of the North Carolina-Syracuse game for the title on Monday night.

This was the biggest Final Four semifinal win ever, eclipsing the 34-point wins by Cincinnati over Oregon State in 1962 and Michigan State over Penn in 1979.

Villanova dominated the Sooners (29-8) after an opening 7 minutes that had the teams trading the lead on almost every possession.

The Wildcats broke it open with a 21-4 run. The stats about NRG Stadium being a horrible place to shoot went out the window along with the Sooners’ chances at playing for their first national championship.

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.