Villanova Basketball: 3 keys to beat Kansas in Final Four matchup

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - MARCH 26: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts during the first half of the game against the Houston Cougars in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Elite 8 Round at AT&T Center on March 26, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /

1 of 4

Villanova Basketball (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Jay Wright has led Villanova Basketball back to the Final Four for the third time in the last six NCAA Tournaments. The last two times the Wildcats made it this far — in 2016 and 2018 — they won it all.

That said, circumstances are slightly more unfortunate this time around. There’s no way to dance around it — Justin Moore’s injury is undeniably damaging to this Villanova team. Moore suffered a torn Achilles in Villanova’s Elite Eight win over Houston that will sideline him for the Final Four. Moore was Villanova’s second-leading scorer and arguably the team’s best shot creator.

This Villanova team is experienced, well-coached, and more than willing to do the dirty work necessary to win in March, which was on full display in that 50-44 win over Houston in the Elite Eight. No team has scored 70 points on this Villanova team in seven total games in the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament alone, the Wildcats are holding opponents to an average of 55 points — a number that drops to 49.5 points in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

Kansas is the betting favorite to win this game and for good reason. According to KenPom, the Big 12 was the best conference in the country this season by a wide margin. This is a Kansas team that won the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles before making this run to the Final Four. Since an ugly loss to Kentucky back on Jan. 29, Kansas has been the best team in the country according to T-Rank.

Villanova still has a very real chance to win this game — even without Justin Moore. The margin for error is just incredibly small. Here are three keys for Villanova in its quest to upset Kansas and make its third national championship game in the last six years.