Special to BIG EAST.com
NEW YORK –Twelve months ago on the same Madison Square Garden floor, the Villanova Wildcats lost to Seton Hall in heartbreaking fashion by two points in the BIG EAST men’s basketball tournament championship game.
Villanova responded to that gut wrenching loss by using the game as a springboard for a magical run through March Madness to the National Championship title.
On Friday night, this time in the semifinals, it was the Pirates who suffered a painful 55-53 loss to top-seeded and regular season champion Villanova (30-3) on a Josh Hart put back and foul shot with nine seconds remaining.