Bill Self, Jay Wright agree – 2018 Final Four matchup has no bearing on this year’s meeting

By Matt Tait     Mar 31, 2022

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Villanova coach Jay Wright, right, talks with Kansas coach Bill Self at the men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 31, 2022, in New Orleans. Kansas will play Villanova on Saturday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

New Orleans — There have been [several recent meetings between Kansas and Villanova that have taken place on some of college basketball’s biggest stages.][1]

But no one associated with either program seems to want to talk much about them.

At least not here and not now, as the top-seeded Jayhawks and second-seeded Wildcats prepare to do battle at 5:09 p.m. Saturday in the first of two national semifinals at the Caesar’s Superdome.

The most recent meeting came in 2019, but the guy who hit the game-winning shot in that one — Villanova forward Jermaine Samuels — didn’t even mention that when he was asked about that game on Thursday.

Before that, Kansas exacted revenge for its 2018 Final Four loss to the Wildcats with a home win during the early portion of the 2018-19 regular season. That game didn’t come up at all on Thursday. The 2018 Final Four game did, though. But only for Kansas coach Bill Self to not-so-fondly remember that the game was over by the under-12 timeout of the first half.

“I haven’t wanted to think about that since 2018,” Self joked. “They were unbelievable that day. They made 18 3s. Jumped out on us 22-4. It wasn’t over before it started, but it wasn’t far off. That was a special team he had, maybe one of the best teams college basketball has seen in the last decade. When you’re that talented and that well coaches and drilled and then you play your very best on a particular day, you’re going to be tough for anybody to handle. And they certainly were too much for us that day.”

Villanova coach Jay Wright’s memory of the game was a little different.

“My recollection of that game was it was just one of those games,” Wright said. “We just made… it was ridiculous. And we’ve been on the other side of that. It happened to us this year at Baylor. Happened to us this year at Creighton. They just made every shot. We made every shot (in 2018). We don’t even count that as… We were just lucky that happened.”

While the win, which featured an NCAA-record 18 3-pointers, and 13 of them coming in the first half, propelled the Wildcats to their second national title in three seasons, Wright said his memory of that particular game fell into the ‘Aw shucks’ department.

“I remember looking down at Bill thinking, ‘I’ve been there,'” Wright said. “It just so happened in a Final Four game.”

Nothing that happened then, of course, matters today. And Wright made sure to point that out on Thursday, as well.

“I do think this year (we have) really different teams,” he said. “We don’t have the firepower that that team had. Kansas is a way faster team and much more explosive and much more perimeter-oriented than that team. So it’s almost like we’re flip-flopped in terms of what the teams are like. So different.”
Here’s a look at our coverage from New Orleans so far:

• KU guard Ochai Agbaji is in position to add name next to Danny Manning’s on exclusive list

• Hi Mom: KU coach Bill Self’s mom has been back in the bleachers for KU’s run to the Final Four

• Villanova’s Caleb Daniels completes ‘marathon’ from New Orleans to Final Four

• Bill Self, Jay Wright agree – 2018 matchup has no bearing on this year’s game

• Self finds it ‘pretty special’ to have Kansas City-area kids Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun as key part of KU’s run

• Bill Self hopes Jayhawks play for themselves and each other and ‘just enjoy it’

“>• Photo gallery from Day 1 of KU-Villanova

• Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski reached out to KU coach Bill Self after passing of Self’s father

• Bill Self breaks down Villanova guard Collin Gillespie

• Villanova, Jay Wright give initial thoughts on Kansas

• A quick capsule glance at Villanova

• Kansas enjoying ‘great experience’ in its first day at the Final Four

• Jayhawks arrive in New Orleans ready to soak up ‘college basketball’s best’

[1]: https://www2.kusports.com/news/2022/mar/27/kansas-villanova-rekindle-history-final-four-match/?mens_basketball

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.