Villanova's pedigree too much for Duke

A lot of merit.

In another display of presence and power, the Big East took over TD Banknorth Garden last night as first Pittsburgh, then Villanova took care of business, setting up an NCAA East Regional final tomorrow night of Eastern powers.

Pittsburgh, the No. 1 seed in the region, knocked off Atlantic 10 party crasher Xavier, which set up Villanova against Duke, a white-collar and blue-blood meeting of teams with similar academic pedigrees.

But after a first half in which Villanova dominated everything but the scoreboard, coach Jay Wright's team broke the game open midway through the second half and rolled to a 77-54 victory and the first All-Big East regional final since 1987, when Providence defeated Georgetown to advance to the Final Four.

With UConn knocking off Purdue in a West Regional semifinal in Glendale, Ariz., the Big East has three spots in the Elite Eight and a guaranteed slot in the Final Four. With Louisville, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, and Syracuse, a No. 3 seed in the South, playing tonight, the Big East still has visions of placing four teams in the Final Four.

Villanova (29-7) entered the tournament as a No. 3 seed and the fourth-best team in the Big East, which produced three of four No. 1 seeds - UConn, Louisville, and Pittsburgh.

If Villanova plays the way it did last night, the Wildcats could alter the depth chart.

Villanova won't back down to Pittsburgh, a team the Wildcats beat in January, and they didn't back down to Duke. Villanova came out and played defense - limiting Duke's best player, Gerald Henderson, to one basket in the first half. The Wildcats shut off Duke's 3-point shooting. Offensively, they were solid and, at times, spectacular as they worked inside and outside, methodically taking apart Duke, just as it took apart UCLA in the second round, which means the Wildcats, with a lone national championship on their résumé, have waltzed over two programs that have combined for 11.

How good was Villanova?

Where do you want to start? Although the Wildcats only managed a 26-23 lead at halftime, the statistics told a story of Villanova's domination on defense. The Blue Devils, who finished 30-7, a tribute to coach Mike Krzyzewski's abilities, couldn't score from long range. Actually, the Blue Devils had trouble scoring at all.

Henderson was held to 7 points. The Blue Devils' 3-point prowess - one of the keys to their success - was shut off as they made 5 of 27 from long range. Henderson was a woeful 1 of 14 from the floor and Duke made only 16 of 60 shots.

Offensively, Villanova did what it had to do with efficiency. Guard Scottie Reynolds had a game-high 16 points, and center Dante Cunningham had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Reggie Redding wasn't far behind with 11 points and nine rebounds.

"We've been getting better and better as the season goes along and that's really exciting," said Wright, as the Wildcats put together one scoring burst after another, outscoring Duke, 51-31, in the second half.

The Wildcats took care of business quickly in the second half, doubling their lead to 16 during a four-minute stretch.

"The team continues to get better and that's the beauty of this team," Reynolds said.

Krzyzewski acknowledged Villanova's potential. "They have a chance to do something special," he said.

As the clock ticked down to the final seconds, Villanova supporters had a request. "We want Pitt. We want Pitt."

Wright says he will deal with Pittsburgh when the time comes. "I just watched the game against Xavier," said Wright. "Just seeing that beast [Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair] . . . I don't want to think about it yet."

Villanova will get Pittsburgh tomorrow in an East Regional final that very well could turn into the Big East's private party next week in Detroit.