“I get tics whenever I think about it,” Self said of the 2018 semifinal in which the highlights may have well ended after Kansas scored the opening basket.

Self and a handful of players quietly took that whipping and made sure it did not happen again on Saturday, surging to an early lead and fending off the Wildcats down the stretch for an 81-65 victory.

Kansas will play the winner of Saturday night’s other semifinal between North Carolina and Duke on Monday night, allowing the Jayhawks to vanquish another memory

The Jayhawks moved on thanks to a near-flawless performance from Ochai Agbaji, their fifth-year senior guard, who scored 21 points and made all six 3-pointers he attempted

Villanova, playing without Justin Moore, who ruptured his Achilles’ tendon last week, tried to shoot its way back from an early 19-point deficit but its guard triumvirate

The Wildcats drew within 64-58 on Jermaine Samuels’ 3-point play, but could get no closer. When Christian Braun hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring

It was one of a number of plays Agbaji’s block of a 3-pointer, others that rimmed out for Villanova, a put back by McCormack that turned the Jayhawks way.

Kansas scored the first 10 points, Villanova turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions and Agbaji was on fire, making his first four shots, all 3-pointers.