Villanova enters Saturday’s Final Four semifinal game against Kansas as a 5-point favorite.
Perhaps just as significant is the fact 18 of 23 ESPN staff members predict Nova (34-4), the surviving No. 1 seed in the East Regional, will defeat the Jayhawks (31-7), the No. 1 seed out of the Midwest, in a showdown between the Big East and Big 12 schools to tip around 7:49 p.m. at the Alamodome.
“We’re used to it. Against Duke we were underdogs,” KU sophomore center Udoka Azubuike said Friday before the Jayhawks’ 50-minute shootaround at the dome. “We’re just going to do what we always do, play like we normally do,” he added.