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SAN ANTONIO — The city of Houston is a mere 197.1 miles from AT&T Center, and there were times when it sounded as if the entire city had showed up Thursday night.
In truth, Houston and Arizona could have played their NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup anywhere, and it wouldn’t have mattered. They could have played the game without fans, and it wouldn’t have mattered.
“It was just electric out there,” Jamal Shead said.
Houston razed Arizona, 72-60, in the South Regional semifinals.
Villanova, you have a problem.
The Cougars (32-5), an otherworldly fifth seed, punked these Wildcats (33-4), making them the third No. 1 seed to be ousted from the tournament. Baylor lost last weekend and, earlier Thursday, Gonzaga fell to Arkansas.
Only Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats can keep Kelvin Sampson from back-to-back Final Four appearances. Villanova had better play its best game of the season Saturday in the Elite Eight.
The Cougars, quicker and hungrier and tougher and loaded with swag, seemed to be the higher seed, leaving Arizona frazzled, skittish and tormented. The Cougars were so connected, so dominant, you left wondering if they might give Saint Peter’s a game.
“We’re a tough bunch,” Sampson said. “They bought into the game plan and they’re not afraid of anybody.”
Benn Mathurin, who saved the Wildcats in the second round against TCU, was out of sorts and never a factor, finishing with 15 points.
Arizona cut it to 64-58 with 2:10 left on a layup by Dalen Terry (17 points), but a dagger 3-pointer by Kyler Edwards (19 points) put Arizona out of its misery.
“They deserved to win,” Christian Koloko said.
Shead, a 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard from Manor, Texas, refused to let Arizona mount a comeback. Shead scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half.
Taze Moore, who had strafed Illinois, committed his fourth foul with 14 minutes and change left, and the Cougars never relented.
“The key to beating Arizona is controlling the pace,” Sampson said.
The Cougars spent the last minute or so pointing up at their delirious fans and imploring them to rain down more love. The fans obliged. Sampson followed suit when the game ended, looking up into the crowd and pounding a fist repeatedly into his hand.
Mathurin shot just 1-for-7 in the first half, and misery loved company, as the Wildcats were 7-for-25 overall and trailed 34-28 at the break (they finished the night shooting 33.3 percent). The worst was yet to come.
“I’m proud of our fans,” Sampson said.
The feeling is mutual.
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