March Madness: Ranking the leading candidates to win Final Four MOP
Villanova and Michigan are in the NCAA men’s basketball national championship game for the second time this decade.
The Villanova Wildcats will face the Michigan Wolverines in the 2018 NCAA men’s basketball title game in San Antonio on April 2. Tip-off is set for 9:20 p.m. (ET) and will be televised by TBS.
This game is very intriguing as it pits the two hottest teams in basketball. The Wildcats have won 10 straight while the Wolverines are on a 14-game winning streak. Both teams won their respective conference tournament titles after failing to win a regular season crown.
The national title game also features teams who play a totally different style. Villanova has an explosive offense and likes to play with pace and in space. The Wildcats are the top scoring and 3-point shooting team in the nation.
In the meanwhile, Michigan relies on a tough, physical defense. The Wolverines rank eighth in the nation in scoring defense at 62.9 points a game. This not mean that the Wolverines are incapable of scoring. The problem is that they rely heavily on the trio of Moe Wagner, Charles Matthews and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. And if two of those struggle shooting, the Wolverines are in trouble.
Villanova (35-4) has been one of the top teams all season. The Wildcats, who opened the season ranked sixth in both national polls, started the season with 13 straight wins. The Wildcats did hit a snag down the stretch, losing three of its last six games to close the regular season. Each of those losses were by six or fewer.
But Villanova bounced back in the Big East Tournament. After eking out a 69-68 victory over Seton Hall, the Wildcats won their other conference tournament games by double figures. Which was culminated by 76-66 victory over Providence for the Cats third conference tournament crown in the last four years.
The Wildcats have been unbelievable in the NCAA Tournament. The Cats have won each of their six Tournament games by double figures, including a 95-79 victory over Kansas in the semifinals. Eric Paschall led all five starters in double-figures against the Jayhawks with a career-high 24 points.
Villanova, which knocked down an NCAA record 18 of 40 3-pointers against Kansas, has set an NCAA mark with 442 triples on the season. The Wildcats are averaging 84.8 points a game and giving up 67.0 points a contest during the Tournament.
Michigan (33-7) has got better as the season has worn on. The Wolverines, third during the regular season in the Big Ten, has not lost since Feb. 6.
Like Villanova, Michigan’s top players are very experienced. And the Wolverines have shown some moxy throughout the season. The Wolverines went 5-3 against teams ranked in the AP Top-25 and are 4-3 in games decided by four points or less. Granted, UM has a couple of bad losses ( LSU and Northwestern) as well.
Villanova is in the “Big Dance” for the sixth consecutive year. The Wildcats have an NCAA-high 163 wins over the last five seasons, reaching the national title game for a second time during this span. The Cats defeated North Carolina to win the 2015-16 national championship.
Michigan is in the national title game for the sixth time in program history. The Wolverines, who lost to Louisville in the 2013 championship game, has only one title (1989).