Postgame Press Conference 

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Powered by the senior tandem of Eric Paschall (22 points, five rebounds) and Phil Booth (20 points, five assists), the Villanova Wildcats rolled past Oklahoma State 77-58 Friday at HP Pavilion. The Wildcats advance to Sunday's championship game at 1 p.m.
 
The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never trailed against the Cowboys (3-2 overall) of the Big 12.
 
"This was a good next step for us," stated head coach Jay Wright, whose team will play in a November tournament championship game for the sixth consecutive season. "We're just trying to get better every game. Oklahoma State gave us good competition. We knew they could really speed us up by driving the ball. They forced us to play physically and I was really proud of our guys."
 
The Wildcats ended the day with 16 made 3-pointers, the most in this event's 13 year history. VU was 16-of-40 on the day (.400).
 
"We did a good job of playing intelligently," noted Wright, whose team improved to 4-2 on the season.
 
Crisp ball movement in the game's early stages produced clean looks for the Wildcats and they took advantage. Paschall dropped in 3-of-3 from beyond the arc – all on open looks at the basket – and helped Villanova build a 15-9 lead after 5:13 of game action. What's more, Villanova was credited with four assists on those five early field goals.
 
The Wildcats continued that early momentum with Paschall setting the tone – scoring five more points before heading to the bench for a short rest – to help VU build a 25-13 lead at the 11:38 mark of the first period.
 
The early offensive firepower slowed towards the end of the period though. Villanova endured a 3:24 scoring drought as it missed four straight attempts from the field while Oklahoma State shaved the deficit to 32-22. A Booth 3-pointer pushed the VU margin back to 35-22 and that was followed a short while later by another Paschall triple – his career best sixth of the period.
 
            Villanova held a 42-26 lead at halftime. Captains Paschall (20 points) and Booth (nine points) accounted for 29 of those points. Cosby-Roundtree collected 10 rebounds in the period as the Wildcats limited Oklahoma State to 10-of-26 shooting from the field (.385).
 
            The Wildcats executed smoothly in the first 1:35 of the second half, getting two defensive stops to help key a 6-0 run. A short pull-up jumper by freshman Saddiq Bey with the shot clock winding down on the first possession of the second half helped get the ball rolling in the sequence.
 
            Villanova pushed its edge to 54-29 before a 7-0 spurt by Oklahoma State cut the Cowboys deficit to 54-36 with just under 13 minutes to play in the period. The Wildcats forced an OSU shot clock violation and followed that with a Cole Swider 3-pointer to get the lead back to 57-36 with 11:17 left in the period.
 
            Consecutive 3-pointers by the Cowboys' Mike Cunningham brought OSU to within 57-42 before another Swider triple got the lead back to 60-42. Five more points by OSU – including another Cunningham 3-ball – brought the Cowboys to within 60-47.
 
            Oklahoma State kept pushing and got to within 71-58 with 1:53 left on the clock. A pair of Bey free throws pushed the lead back to 73-58 with 90 seconds left.
 
            Other key performers for the Wildcats were sophomore forward Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds) and Bey (13 points and nine caroms). The Wildcats outrebounded OSU 39-26.
 
"We obviously need Eric and Phil to score," stated Wright. "When Eric gets off to a start like that, it makes a big impact. But they did other things. Phil had five assists. Eric was getting other people shots. They were making the extra pass and the two of them were really good defensively because of their experience."
 
Indeed, Villanova limited the Cowboys to .407 shooting from the field on the day and held a 17-11 edge in points scored off of turnovers.
 
Paschall spread the credit for his early success to others.
 
"I would just say my teammates found me and my coach gave the confidence to make the right play," Paschall stated. "My teammates did a great job of finding me throughout the game and put me in great position."