SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Jermaine Samuels is usually a cool customer, with a friendly manner about him, letting his game do most of his talking. In the second half Thursday inside the AT&T Center, NCAA Sweet 16, the Villanova fifth-year forward played it entirely different. Samuels took a charge and emerged off the floor, on the run, pumping his first like a blitzing linebacker who had pulled off the game’s big sack.
In the end, it wasn’t emotion that carried the day for Villanova. It was Samuels, though, for very large portions of this one. Villanova advanced, 63-55, with Samuels leading all scorers with 22 points. The early minutes featured his ability to put up soft, driving contested layups that spin in from weird angles. The late minutes, a Samuels quick step past Michigan biggest man Hunter Dickinson gave Villanova its final separation, for a 56-50 lead with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left.
Collin Gillespie then provided the final dagger with a three-pointer on Villanova’s next possession, moving the No. 2 seeds into Saturday’s Elite Eight, facing the winner of the Arizona-Houston nightcap here.
