March Madness: Villanova Above Michigan Despite Bad Shooting

SAN ANTONIO — With a six-point lead in a game that felt closer with eight minutes to go, Villanova was patient and precise. Players jammed the ball in and around the Michigan defenders, waiting for the ideal scoring opportunity. Finally, Villanova’s veteran guard in a red shirt, Caleb Daniels, caught the ball in the paint and advanced, his body rushed to the 1.6-metre Wolverines forward Moussa Diabate as the ball passed through the hoop. A 3-point game was set after a referee’s whistle.

The Wildcats, however, did not attend their fans’ celebrations. They’re back on the defensive. The Wolverines with seed 11 would surely reciprocate, as they had all evening. And with a couple of shots and a few free throws, Villanova’s 9-to-half lead was 4.

But after second-seeded Villanova played far from her best game, she took a driving layup and a 3-pointer hit by Jermaine Samuels, enough to beat the Wolverines 63-55 on Thursday. He’s in the round of 16 in San Antonio.

One of the two Big East teams remaining in the NCAA tournament along with Providence, coach Jay Wright’s Wildcats showed that the conference was all theirs until another program came out of their 3-pointer. But any team Ranked as high as #4 During the regular season, he would be looking for more than just a conference championship, which the Wildcats won at Madison Square Garden this month for the fourth time since 2017.

“We’ve been beaten. We need to rest,” Wright said. “We can learn by watching some movies. It’s about survival now.”

Villanova defeated Michigan in the national championship game in 2018, but her luck in the tournament was worse: In 2019, the Wildcats lost to Purdue in the second round and were eliminated by Baylor in the round of 16 last year. , the ultimate champion.

But now, the Wildcats are one win away from their seventh Final Four in program history in a run where they’ve won two national championships since 2016 and produced some formidable NBA talent.

Sacramento Kings’ Donte DiVincenzo, Phoenix Suns’ Mikal Bridges, Dallas Mavericks’ Jalen Brunson and more have come from the show in recent years.

Villanova’s sniper graduate student guard, Collin Gillespie, will enter the upcoming draft after leading the Wildcats with nearly 16 points per game this season and ranking as one of college basketball’s top 3-pointers. Gillespie caught four of his 10 three-pointers against Michigan, played all but one minute and finished with 12 points.

Villanova didn’t shoot well beyond the arc as a team. 30 3-pointers had Villanova 9 while the Wolverines were 6 of 18 from bottom.

Michigan surprised many by reaching this round of the tournament, given the Wolverines’ tumultuous season including Coach Juwan Howard. five-game suspension After a post-game shootout with his Wisconsin coach. But the Wolverines had the size advantage they needed to succeed against the smaller Wildcats. Michigan fell early to its leading scorer and tall man Hunter Dickinson, where he found success and finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds despite foul trouble. Villanova added a smaller squad and committed two quick fouls on Dickinson in the first half, which he finished with four fouls.

“We’ve never met anyone like Hunter Dickinson,” Wright said after the match. “Dude, this guy is a handful. He’s tall, he’s around, he’s got strength, he’s got talent, he has intelligence, he’s competitive. We’re running into some good ones out there, but I think he’s the best we’ve had this year.”

But on a night of mediocre shooting for both teams, Michigan uncharacteristically missed too many important shots, including those around the rim and half of their free throws.

“We look good,” said Eli Brooks, Michigan’s graduate student bodyguard. “We didn’t just use capital letters. I think we got the look we wanted. We didn’t just shoot.”

— Alanis Thames

Duke (30-6) survived and advanced against seventh-seeded Michigan State on Sunday, extending Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career for at least another week. Still, the Blue Devils will be populated by an older Texas Tech team that was ranked #1 in defensive efficiency by KenPom. The Red Raiders (27-9) allow only 13 points in paint per game in the tournament, the least on the field. They will try to play a physical game that disrupts Duke’s offensive flow (Thursday, 21:39 East, CBS). The Blue Devils have five possible NBA draft picks led by world-class forward Paolo Banchero, who averaged 17.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

“I’m not that excited,” said Mark Adams, Texas Tech’s first-year head coach, to face Duke. “I don’t know if anyone is excited to play Duke.”

Adams added that Krzyzewski “has always been my mentor, someone I look up to.” “He’s not only a great coach, he’s also a great person. I’ve done a lot for basketball. And he made a program that we all admire and respect. He’s just got one team after another, a dynasty he built. So our hats are off to him.”

If Duke advances, he could get a rematch against Gonzaga, which will be the highest-profile match of the tournament. The Blue Devils beat the Bulldogs 84-81 with Banchero 21 points and young forward Wendell Moore 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists at Las Vegas on November 26.

— Adam Zagoria