NCAA Men’s National Championship Game
Michigan vs. Villanova
■ Time: 9:20 p.m.
■ Where: Alamodome; San Antonio
■ Records: Michigan is 33-7, Villanova is 35-4
■ TV: TBS
■ Radio: 98.3 FM; 106.5 FM
■ Series: Villanova leads 3-1
■ When Villanova has the ball: Michigan will face its toughest defensive test of the season, and it’s not especially close. Villanova has the top-rated offense in the country, led by guards Jalen Brunson (19.2 points) and Mikal Bridges (17.8 points) among a cast of six players averaging in double figures. Worse still for opponents is all of them can shoot it. With a Final Four-record 18 3-pointers in their 95-79 demolition of Kansas in a semifinal, the Wildcats became the most prolific 3-point shooting team in NCAA history. They are 454 of 1,131 (40.1 percent) from outside this season. The Wolverines’ defense, meanwhile, gets plenty of deserved press of their own. Michigan is third nationally in KenPom.com’s adjusted defensive efficiency ratings and is holding opponents to 58.6 points per game during the tourney. Villanova has scored at least 85 points 27 times this year. The Wolverines haven’t allowed more than 72 since a 76-73 win Feb. 3 against Minnesota.
■ When Michigan has the ball: Michigan coach John Beilein might be a noted offensive wizard, and the Wolverines have displayed bursts when it all clicks lately. See: Texas A&M in the Sweet 16. But they have mostly slogged through the tournament, shooting 38 percent overall and 25 percent from 3-point range (24 of 96) in the four other games. In addition to center Moritz Wagner, the X-factor so far has been Charles Matthews. The junior transfer from Kentucky is becoming a star by the day, averaging 16.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in the five games. As for the other side, like the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, what makes Villanova so good is it also defends. The Wildcats have the nation’s 14th-most efficient D.
■ Notes: Michigan is appearing in its seventh national title game and the second under coach John Beilein (2013). The Wolverines are 1-5 in these winner-take-all finales, cutting down the nets in 1989 but falling in 1965, 1976, 1992, 1993, and 2013. ... A win would give the 65-year-old Beilein his 800th win as a college coach. ... UM has won 14 consecutive games. Its last loss came Feb. 6 at Northwestern. ... Villanova is 2-1 in its previous appearances in the title game, capturing it all in 1985 with a stunning 66-64 victory against Georgetown and in 2016 with a buzzer-beating 77-74 win against North Carolina. The Wildcats lost to UCLA in 1971. ... The teams’ last meeting came in 1985 during the Wildcats’ storybook title run. Villanova beat UM 59-55 in a second-round game in Dayton. ... Villanova coach Jay Wright is in his 17th season at the Philadelphia school and on the brink of polishing off one of the great five-year runs in NCAA history. The Wildcats are 163-21 since 2013.
Contact David Briggs at: dbriggs@theblade.com, 419-724-6084, or on Twitter @DBriggsBlade.
First Published April 1, 2018, 4:30 p.m.
