Villanova - Oklahoma Final Four Tournament Tidbits

• Villanova is in their 3^rd National Championship game and their first since 1985 when they defeated Georgetown 66-64.  They are 1-1 in the National Championship game.  They lost to UCLA 68-62 in 1971 in their first National Championship game appearance.
• Villanova is now 3-2 in National Semifinal games:
• Lost to Ohio State 53-36 in 1939
• Defeated Western Kentucky 92-89 in 1971
• Defeated Memphis 52-45 in 1985
• Lost to North Carolina 83-69 in 2009
• Defeated Oklahoma 95-51 in 2016
• Villanova’s 44-point win (95-51) is the largest ever in a National Semifinal game.  The previous high was 34 by Michigan State over Penn 101-67 in 1979 and Cincinnati over Oregon State 80-46 in 1963.
• It was Villanova’s largest margin of victory in the tournament.  Their previous high was 43 when they defeated Penn 90-47 in the 1971 Elite Eight.
• The win was the 4^th largest margin of victory for a Big East Team.  Connecticut defeated Chattanooga 103-47 (56 points) in the 2009 First Round,  Syracuse defeated Brown 101-52 (49 points) in the 1986 First Round and Syracuse defeated Montana 81-34 (47 points) in the 2013 First Round.
• It was the 3^rd largest margin of victory in the Sweet Sixteen or later.  UCLA defeated Wyoming 109-60 (49 points) in the 1967 Sweet Sixteen and Duke defeated Connecticut 101-54 (47 points) in the 1964 Elite Eight.  It was the 13^th largest margin of victory all-time.
• The loss was Oklahoma’s biggest defeat in the tournament.  Their previous worst was 30 points when the lost to Louisville 78-48 in the 2008 Second Round.
• Oklahoma’s worst Final Four loss was 18 points to Oregon 55-37 in 1939.
• The loss by Oklahoma was the biggest defeat ever for a Big Twelve team.  The previous high was 39 points when West Virginia lost to Kentucky 78-39 in the 2015 Sweet Sixteen.
• Villanova is now 1-1 in the tournament vs. Oklahoma.  They lost to Oklahoma 78-59 in the 1988 Elite Eight.
• After never defeating a Big Twelve team in tournament history before this year, Villanova has now defeated Big Twelve teams in back-to-back games.   They are the 6^th team to defeat 2 or more Big Twelve teams in a single tournament.  The others were Syracuse in 2003 (with 4 wins), Georgia Tech in 2004, Louisiana State in 2006, Connecticut in 2009 and Kentucky in 2012 (with 3 wins).
• Villanova’s win is their 6^th all-time vs. a #2 seed.  Only Kentucky has more wins over #2 seeds with 8.  They are 6-2 all-time vs. #2 seeds.
• Villanova is now 3-1 when playing in Texas (all games in Houston).  Their only loss was the 1971 National Championship game.
• Villanova is 12-0 when scoring 90 or more points in the tournament.  Only North Carolina (24-0), Duke (21-0) and Kansas (20-0) have better records.  Arkansas is also 12-0.
• Oklahoma is now 2-3 in National Semifinal games:
• Lost to Oregon 55-37 in 1939
• Defeated Texas 55-54 in 1947
• Defeated Arizona 86-78 in 1988
• Lost to Indiana 73-64 in 2002
• Lost to Villanova 95-51 in 2016
• Oklahoma is now tied with Penn, Louisiana-Monroe and Belmont for a tournament worst 0-4 vs. #2 seeds.