BOSTON -- Let us all be blessed enough to get one more game in this NCAA Tournament with the amount of bloodthirstiness that spilled over Friday night between top-seeded Villanova and No. 5 West Virginia. 

That was an aggressive form of urgent tournament fun. 

The No. 1-seeded Wildcats will move on to Sunday's East Regional final against Texas Tech after a 90-78 win over West Virginia that could be as mentally and physically as exhausting as any other opponent that awaits. They're showing the scrapes now, and will have the bruises tomorrow, to prove it. 

"What a game, man," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "What a college basketball game. I hope that looked as good as it did from the bench, man. ... That was the most physical, physically demanding, mentally demanding 40 minutes we've played in a long time. They're so relentless. They keep coming at you."

Villanova won with the offensive pace of an everlasting tennis rally and the brutality of an old Big East game. A fitting flurry of a fist fight for the former league rivals. 

"When I started watching film, I just thought, man, this is a tough matchup, number one, and if we survive this, we're a pretty mentally tough team, and this is going to be like an old-school, grind-out game," Wright said. "But it's funny how the game has changed. It's old-school grind-out, but it's 90-78. That would have been 58-50 back in the day and no fouls called."

If it's possible to have a 12-point gap feel like a two-possession game near to the end, Friday night's Sweet 16 game between the Wildcats and Mountaineers is as good a candidate as any you'll see this season. 

West Virginia ran itself into exhaustion while trying to topple what looks like the best team in college basketball. It didn't so much fail as it helplessly watched Villanova -- again -- win with big shot after big shot. Sometimes you can't decide your fate; Villanova decides it for most teams. 

As time expired, all five Mountaineers standing on the floor slouched in defeat, hands on their shorts as they took their 11th and final loss of the season. Sophomore swat sensei Sagaba Konate was biting his lip and holding back tears as he walked toward WVU's bench. Pissed off, he clenched his fist and hammer-punched the scorers' table before graciously shaking hands with Villanova. He and Wildcats sophomore Omari Spellman stopped for a quick moment of respect. 

"Beast," Spellman endearingly said of Konate, speaking to his ridiculous block of Mikal Bridges. "I didn't see that coming. It was awe-inspiring. I had never seen anything like that live."

West Virginia seemed to wake up the beast from within. Konate and his teammates brought something ferocious and alluring out of Villanova. The athleticism and drama on display bordered on primal. 

Konate's beautifully timed block on Bridges couldn't turn the game for WVU, but it did ignite the arena and the nation watching at home and elsewhere. 

"Konate is one of the best rim protectors I've seen in college basketball in a long time," Wright said. "I was an assistant in the Big East when Mutombo and Mourning were at Georgetown. But Mikal Bridges is one of the best athletes around, and he took it at him, couldn't finish. The kid is impressive. The kid is really tough. He's young. It's hard."

In the locker room afterward, Konate sat with fraying tape around his knees and wrists. He reflected on the loss and spoke to the competitive spirit both teams brought. 

"That's where I get my energy from," Konate said of his shot-blocking tenacity. "I always talk trash, I always play emotional. I'm a competitor. I don't have any temper. I play emotionally competitive. That's what I do."

Konate's two-handed denial of Bridges is sure to end up in "One Shining Moment" -- but Eric Paschall's revenge dunk should be there as well. After Bridges had his soul snatched by Konate, Paschall climbed the ladder and got one through on Konate. 

"I've watched him play all year and I've seen him get some blocks that … I don't know how you get it," Paschall said. "I can see his fire."

Villanova's already proven time and again how good it is, why it's tracking toward another Final Four. Friday night brought a renewal in faith of how a veteran team that's loaded with NBA talent and a surefire All-America at point guard can separate itself from most others in its sport.

The Wildcats are a poised, sort of stoic group. This was victory with animation, of course with the exception of junior point guard Jalen Brunson, whose resting heart rate might rival Harry Houdini in his prime. Brunson was typically terrific: 27 points, four assists, winning plays often in the final stretches. Spellman finished with 18 points and eight boards. 

Villanova didn't need any more motivation to get to a Final Four, but WVU reminded the Wildcats of how great they can be and how dangerous they are when backed into a corner. This was the kind of challenge that can catapult a team right into the Final Four. 

Repeat it again: Villanova, the best offense, and team, in the country. It rip-roared a 22-6 run in the second half, flipping a six-point deficit into a 10-point cushion in less than five minutes. It's appalling how quickly the game turned. 

Its lead was never surrendered again.

"I just looked at Jalen, Mikal, and Phil, and I could see in their eyes we were good," Wright said. 

Wright called West Virginia coach Bob Huggins' scheme "really intelligent basketball."

The smartest and hardest combo, then, because Nova was pushed to its edges early. Villanova burped up the ball too often to win in the first half. Then it found its typical composure, led by Brunson. Too good. 

"Most importantly for us, nothing changes," Brunson said. "Nothing changes no matter who we play, no matter where we play, what time, what day. It doesn't matter. Nothing changes for us." 

Nothing's changed with Villanova's reputation. Through three rounds, Villanova is a team apart. It's gone from good to great to downright dangerous. Call this team anything you want, but all descriptions must include the reality that this group has looked like and performed as the best team in the tournament -- and it's not that close.