One And Done

by TigerNet Staff - Sat Mar 22 00:55:03 GMT-04:00 2008

TAMPA, Fla. - Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher kept Tampa's upset streak intact.

Reynolds scored 21 points, Fisher added 17 and the 12th-seeded Wildcats gave this NCAA tournament pod its fourth upset in as many games with a 75-69 victory over No. 5 seed Clemson in the first round of the Midwest Region on Friday night.

Villanova, which has more wins as a lower-seeded team in the tournament than any program since 1979, overcame an 18-point deficit for this win.

Reynolds and Fisher were at the center of it all.

The Wildcats trailed 36-18 with 5 minutes to play in the first half. But they got hot from 3-point range - Reynolds made his first three after the break - and slowly sliced into the big lead.

Fisher was 2-for-3 from behind the arc and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Reynolds' biggest shot was an off-balance 3-pointer with Cliff Hammonds in his face just before the shot clock expired. Hammonds fouled him on the play, then dropped his head in disbelief after the ball banked off the backboard and through the hoop.

Reynolds missed the free throw, but his bucket gave Villanova its first lead of the game, 50-49 with 11:56 remaining.

Clemson nearly folded from there, looking every bit like a team that hadn't been in the NCAA tournament in 10 years.

But Villanova helped the Tigers get back in it.

The Tigers trailed 64-57 with 3:44 remaining, but Terrence Oglesby made five consecutive free throws - three after he was fouled on a 3-pointer and two more after Villanova coach Jay Wright was whistled for a technical.

Clemson's Demontez Stitt tied it at 66 with two more free throws with 1:55 to go, but the Wildcats retook the lead by making 9-of-10 from the stripe over the final 1:37.

Stitt led the Tigers with 14 points. K.C. Rivers Jr. added 12, and Oglesby finished with 11.

Clemson said tournament experience was overrated, and players pointed to their run in last year's NIT as something that would help them in this one.

They know now it's not the same.

Especially not in Tampa, the bracket-busting town that could be called Upset City after Friday's opening round. It was the first site in NCAA history to have four 12 or lower seeds win. In fact, no other had done it more than twice.

First, No. 12 seed Western Kentucky knocked off fifth-seeded Drake in overtime with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Then, 13th-seeded San Diego upended No. 4 seed Connecticut in OT with another dramatic shot.

Siena's shocker wasn't even close. The 13th-seeded Saints led from the start and sent fourth-seeded Vanderbilt home earlier than expected.

Villanova has more NCAA tournament wins than Western Kentucky, San Diego and Siena combined, and badly wanted another one.

The Wildcats had hoped to prove to everyone that they deserved to be in the 65-team field. They were one of the last teams to get in, spending several anxious days waiting on the bubble.

When they did hear their name called during the selection show, coach Jay Wright got concerned whether his players would have a letdown after such an emotional high.

They looked like they might to start the game.

But Reynolds, Fisher & Co. refused to let it happen.