Villanova's trip to Final Four has a familiar look

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In many ways, the scene took you back to the 2009 East Regional final, when Scottie Reynolds went end-to-end in just under 5.5 seconds for the game-winner against Big East rival Pitt. And not just because Villanova is going back to the Final Four. Seven years ago, the Wildcats had to overcome a late four-point deficit, after getting to the Sweet 16 the year before. And an hour or so afterward, Reynolds was still holding onto the game ball tightly while sitting in front of his locker.

Late Saturday night, Villanova beat another No. 1 seed in the Elite Eight. This time it was for the South title, against the top seed in the NCAA Tournament. These Wildcats found themelves down five midway through the second half, after they'd led by seven at intermission. They would never trail in the final 8 1/2 minutes. Kansas, which had won its previous 17, did get to within one with 15 seconds to go. It ended 64-59, as Villanova - which went 18-for-19 from the foul line - made eight straight free throws in the closing 33 seconds.

And a good hour later, Ryan Arcidiacono was holding court at his stall in the KFC Yum! Center. The regional trophy was right in front of him. Both his arms were wrapped around it. No way he was letting go.

Hard to blame him.

"I never knew my 22nd birthday could be better than my 21st," he said. "It's the first time I've played on my birthday. I won't have a better one, unless I have a kid and he's born on the same day . . . I had a little smirk on my face (when it was over). I know how much this team has put into this."

The reason he hadn't played on March 26 the past two years was that the Wildcats lost in the second round as a top-two seed. The selection committee made them a No. 2 for the second time in three years but didn't send them to Philadelphia's region even though the rules allowed them to. Doesn't matter anymore.

"To be honest, I was watching those (East) games (on Friday) night and it was getting to me a little bit," said Jay Wright, who becomes the third Big 5 coach to go to two Final Fours, and first in 58 years. "Seeing teams on our (alternative) court, celebrating . . . I wasn't mad at anybody. I'll just tell you it hurt."

Next up in Houston on Saturday will be the No. 2 seed out of the West, Oklahoma, which beat another No. 1, Oregon, 80-68. The Sooners defeated Villanova in early December in Hawaii, 78-55. Both teams made it to No. 1 this season, Villanova for the first time.

"I am not going to have to inspire our guys at all," Wright noted. "I mean, we got lit up. It's interesting. They were an older team then, and it kind of taught us a lesson. They were where we wanted to get to. We're just starting to get there. Oklahoma's been there all year.

"Players don't like to be embarrassed. They don't want to look back on the court. They know (Oklahoma) could embarrass us, if they start hitting threes. Oregon's a helluva team."

The ones that make it this far usually are.

For a program that has won 95 of its last 108, the Wildcats still hadn't been past the second game since 2009. This group has tied the school record for wins, set last season. But that team went home early, again. That's what made this all the more meaningful.

"Amazing," said senior center Daniel Ochefu, who more than held his own against the Kansas bigs: 10 points on eight shots, eight rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 29 minutes. "That's the only word. It's just a dream come true.

"It's like two opposite ends of the spectrum, after all the shortcomings. We continued to build year after year, and we got there as a senior. Wow."

What about that net hanging around his neck?

"I may never take it off," he said through the widest of smiles.

Wright dealt with the shortcomings, too. Maybe more than anyone else. In victory, he felt for his guys.

"It's like your children," he said. "Even though we lost for two years, I still know they're great. We did everything we could to make them understand that just one game in a tournament doesn't make you a loser. But to see them prove it to everybody else . . .

"When you get there as a coach and you've never been there, it hits you. You know, I got to this. It can be a little much in your own head. This time, I'm watching them enjoy it. And so I get to enjoy it a lot more."

Wright said he didn't think the 2009 team was a Final Four team until it beat Pitt. This time, not as much.

"I told these guys they had a chance to win a national championship," he said. "You kind of sensed it about halfway through the year. After we played Oklahoma and Virginia (11-point loss in Charlottesville on Dec. 19), high-level games, I knew we had a lot of time to get better. Sometimes it's about where you run into people. Kansas ran into a hot team.

"(The players) have to want it bad, when things get rough. You can't just put that in as a coach. You don't get here unless you have that figured out. You can tell they do. They failed twice and came back from it. So they don't fear taking the heat. They already have. Life's not always fair. You can do the right things but not get what you deserve. Now to see them fulfill their potential, that's the greatest thing for me, to see the looks in those eyes."

They had won their first three games by averaging 88 points. This was a street fight. They only shot 40 percent. They made just four of 18 from the arc. They missed their last five shots, and seven of their last eight. But they turned it over once in the last 19:45. They found a way. Which is mostly what March is about.

"Going through struggles really helped us persevere," said Arcidiacono, a product of Neshaminy High whose parents are both Villanova graduates. "We know what the lowest of the lows are. Now we're getting to see the other side. You have to trust the process. It was a program commitment. Growing up watching Villanova, I never thought I could be part of it. We're not done yet. I'd lose them all in the first round for three years to get to the Final Four my last go-round."

So what was he doing when Reynolds was having his moment of glory?

"I was playing in an AAU tournament in (Long Island)," Arcidiacono remembered. "I was running around, freaking out in the (hotel) hallway. We got noise complaints. At that point in my life, I was hoping to just play basketball for fun and maybe get a scholarship. I can't believe this is actually happening. It's something I can't describe.

"Last year, I couldn't watch the games the following week. I just couldn't. It was something in my stomach. We should have been there. We lost. Even when we'd go out to eat, I couldn't look at the TV."

Now, everyone else will get to watch them.

@mikekerndn