“Around this time, we came together more than any team I played with,” Adams said. “We wanted to get it done real bad.”

With Massimino smiling and waving to the crowd that cheered his picture on the big screen, it was a nice reminder of when his players shocked college basketball by defeating mighty Georgetown for the title.

The difference is, those Wildcats were an unheralded eight seed that no one expected to win a title. This Villanova team has been ranked in the top 10 all season and shared the Big East regular-season championship.

Villanova also needed to knock off a No. 1 seed in ’85, Michigan, but Foye made sure there was no 8-over-1 upset in this one. Perhaps playing at the Wachovia Center — where it finished 5-0 this season — gave Villanova just the edge it needed.

Olson said he didn’t want his complaint to sound like “sour grapes,” after a loss, but he questioned the NCAA’s decision to place top seeds so close to home.

“I think this is a great tournament, but I think it’s something the tournament committee needs to look at,” he said.

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Foye was phenomenal in the first half, scoring 20 points. He sank consecutive 3-pointers that snapped a tie game and finally got a raucous rise out of what had been a dormant home crowd and helped the Wildcats take a 42-35 lead at the break.

“We loved being here,” Wright said. “It was great being comfortable here.”

Not even a spunky Arizona team could make Villanova feel that uneasy.