March Madness: Villanova bound for Final Four after knocking off Houston

Final four bound

Jermaine Samuels scored 16 points and Caleb Daniels added 12 and the Villanova Wildcats beat Houston 50-44 in a grind-it-out defensive effort in the Elite Eight matchup. It's Villanova's first trip to the Final 4 since 2018 when it won the National Championship.

Villanova ready to dance on

The Cougars missed a pair of three pointers, and the ball went out of bounds off a Houston player. Villanova up 50-44 with 12.8 seconds remaining. They might need to make a few free throws, but the Wildcats seem to be in position to move on.

Cougars fouling

They fouled the wrong guy, but Houston sent Collin Gillespie to the line with 25.7 seconds left. He drained both and Villanova leads 50-44. Bad news for Villanova, Justin Moore suffered an injury when he slipped and fell. He left the game, and needed to be helped off the court. Let's hope it's not serious.

Huge layup

Jermaine Samuels scored two for Villanova to make it a six-point game. The Cougars then hit a pair of free throws, making it a 48-44 game. Nova ball with 48 seconds left, Wildcats up four.

Cougars won't go away

Houston continues to hang in there with the Wildcats, and trail by four with 1:22 left. Villanova's ball, Wildcats up 46-42.

Clutch shooting

Villanova, the nation's best free throw shooting team, have made all of its free throws tonight. The Wildcats are 13-for-13 from the line, Houston is 7-of-12. Villanova up 46-40 with 1:56 left in regulation.

Moore Villanova

The Wildcats will get a chance to extend their lead when Justin Moore shoots two from the line after the timeout. Houston cut the Villanova lead to two, but it's now at four with a chance to extend it to six. Houston has played well this half, but the Wildcats are doing their best to answer. It's a good game, as you'd expect at this level. Villanova is just over three minutes away from the Final Four.

Gillespie stops the bleeding

Collin Gillespie just scored his first points since the first half, but they were huge. The bucket extends Villanova's lead to four, and the Wildcats kept Houston from scoring on next possession. Villanova leads 44-40 with just over four minutes remaining.

Make that 2-point lead

Taze Moore just hit a layup to make it 42-40 before Jay Wright called a timeout to help the Wildcats regroup. Houston on an 11-2 run and are one possession away from tying or taking the lead.

Cougars clawing back

Taze Moore just drained two free throws to but the Villanova lead to 42-38. The Cougars are on a 9-2 run and are within striking distance with just over six minutes left.

Same old storyline

This game is going the same way all of Villanova's games have gone thus far. The Wildcats jumped out to leads on Delaware, Ohio State and Michigan in the second half, only to have the other team claw back. The first three times, the Wildcats stopped the bleeding and went on to win. If they can do it again, they'll be back in the final four. Villanova leads 40-34 with just under eight minutes remaining.

Free throw problems

Houston has missed five of its last seven free throws and find themselves down 40-32 with nine minutes to go. They are dominating on the boards, however, so Villanova needs to start boxing out. Houston is getting way too many second chances in the second half.

Defense hangs tough

Houston averaged 72 points per game in its first three tournament games. After eight minutes into the second half, they have 29. The Cougars are still in the game, they trail Villanova 38-29 after Justin Moore's three-pointer.

Nova stops a run

Houston cut Villanova's lead to five, but Jermain3e Samuels responded with an old fashioned three-point play to establish a 35-27 lead with 14:21 left.

From beyond

It took 10 attempts, but Houston just drained its first three-point shot of the game and cut the Villanova lead to seven. It then forced a turnover on the next trip downcourt, before a TV timeout. The Cougar fans are buzzing, it's their ball down 32-25 with 15:40 left in the second half.

It's a turnover

Josh Carlton just picked up an offensive foul, his third foul of the game. Villanova holds a 32-22 edge with 16:39 left in the first half. Wildcats have the ball.

Villanova comes out hot

Caleb Daniels hit a three to start the second half, then the teams traded two-pointers, so Villanova leads 32-22 with 17 minutes left in the second half.

Cats up at the half

Villanova heads into intermission up seven after Houston's J'Wan Roberts hit one of two free throws with .1 second left on the clock. The Wildcats are playing great defense and keeping the bigger Cougars from imposing their will. When Houston shoots from the outside, it's good for the Wildcats, the Cougars have missed all eight shots from beyond the arc and are shooting just 30 percent from the field.

Leading the Wildcats in scoring are Jermaine Samuels with seven and Eric Dixon, who has six. Houston is defending Collin Gillespie very well. He missed his only shot from the field, but did hit both his free throws. So far he's 10-for-10 from the line in the tournament.

Taze Moore leads Houston with six points. This pace of play does not help the Cougars, who will look to run in the second half. They tried in the first half, but it's easier said than done against Villanova.

And Nova responds

The Wildcats have scored four straight points on the strength of a pair of Collin Gillespie free throws and a tough two by Eric Dixon, after posting up. Villanova has drained all 10 of its free throws so far, and enjoy a 27-18 lead with 45 seconds left in the half.

Cougars coming on

Thanks to a cold spell by the Wildcats, Houston has cut the lead to 23-18 with 1:28 left. The Wildcats were up by as much as 11.

Timeout Villanova

The Wildcats used their first timeout of the game, so let's check out the foul situation. No Villanova players have more than one foul. On Houston, Fabian White and Josh Carlton have two fouls. Villanova ball, 2:19 left, Wildcats up 23-16.

Home field advantage

Whenever Houston sees positive momentum, they AT&T Center erupts. That's a huge advantage when playing within driving distance of your campus as the Cougars are. Houston just scored four straight points and its fans got loud. Villanova still leads 21-14 as Eric Dixon prepares to shoot two free throws. 3:35 left in first half.

Villanova extends lead

The Wildcats built an 11-point lead on Justin Moore try, but the Cougars responded with a layup. Still Villanova enjoys a nine-point lead with four minutes remaining in the first half.

Wildcats standing tall

Despite being the smaller team, Villanova is actually winning the rebounding battle, 11-10. The Wildcats are also playing great defense and haven't allowed a three pointer. Houston is 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. When the game resumes, it's Villanova ball. Wildcats are up 18-10 with 7:19 left in the first half. So far, this has to make Jay Wright happy.

Cougars attacking

Houston has scored on its last four possessions and just forced Villanova's first turnover. Wildcats still lead 16-10 with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half.

Houston heating up

The Cougars have scored on two straight possessions and drew a foul on their third. The Wildcats have matched them, though, scoring five points and actually extending their lead before the free throws. Villanova leads 14-6 with 10:42 remaining before halftime.

Villanova defense sizzling

Houston has missed its first four three-point attempts and have just two points through the first seven minutes of the game. Villanova leads 9-2. This has helped keep the Houston, who are plentiful at the AT&T Center in San Antonio quiet.

Defensive battle early

Both teams are finding scoring tough to come by in the early going. Houston has hit just one of its first five shots and turned it over twice. The Wildcats haven't scored since their opening two possessions, missing five straight shots. The Wildcats will be shooting free throws after the timeout, leading 5-2 with 15:47 remaining in the first half.

Quick start for the cats

Jermaine Samuels opened with a trey and Eric Dixon followed with a layup to give the Wildcats a quick 5-0 start. With two minutes gone, the Wildcats have an early 5-0 lead.

Today's starters

Houston is starting Jamal Shead, Taze Moore, Kyler Edwards, Fabian White and Josh Carlton. The Wildcats will counter with their same lineup, Archbishop Wood grad Collin Gillespie, Brandon Slater, Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels and Abington grad Eric Dixon.

Game at a glance

Villanova has played well in the tournament, but its toughest test thus far might come today in the No. 4 seeded Cougars.

In their first three games, the Wildcats eliminated Delaware, Ohio State and Michigan. In their latest win, a 63-55 triumph over the Wolverines, Villanova got a balanced scoring effort led by Jermaine Samuels' 22 points. Justin Moore (15 points) and Collin Gillespie (12) also had strong games for the Wildcats. Gillespie was banged up at the end of the game on Thursday, but reports say he's feeling fine for today's game.

The Cougars have had a tougher road, and they've looked great in their first three games. After besting University of Alabama at Birmingham in the first round, the fifth-seeded Cougars beat Illinois, a four seed, before toppling top-seeded Arizona 72-60 in the Sweet 16. Guard Dalen Terry led Houston with 17. Bennedict Mathurin added 15.

If you're betting, the Cougars come into the game a 1.5 favorite.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Villanova bound for Final Four after knocking off Houston