Villanova Basketball: 3 keys to beating Michigan Wolverines in Sweet 16

Villanova Basketball and the Michigan Wolverines will meet this Thursday night for a Sweet Sixteen showdown in the Lone Star State.

Michigan comes into this game against Villanova Basketball off of two recent upsets over Colorado State and Tennessee. Hunter Dickinson led the way in the scoring column in both games for the Wolverines. Against Tennessee, he was nearly unstoppable. He tallied 27 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.

Juwan Howard and Phil Martelli have proved to be a strong coaching duo and Michigan is a team that is heating up at the right time. Will it be enough to take down the Wildcats?

The answer is no. The Villanova Wildcats are arguably the most fundamentally sound basketball team in the nation. The way they practice translates directly into the game.

Jump stops, ball fakes, and delivering crisp passes are facets of basketball that can sometimes be overlooked in today’s “highlight” era of the game. Jay Wright and his staff have done a tremendous job of stressing the importance of the little things, and the team has bought in.

Here are the three keys to the game for Villanova to emerge victorious.

Get to the Free Throw Line

Villanova is the best free throw shooting team in the nation. Collectively, they shoot 82.6% from the stripe. This is a stat that should not go overlooked. They have a strong advantage over any team they play in the free throw department.

This came into play down the stretch of their matchup against Ohio State. When the Buckeyes brought the game to within one possession, Villanova was able to attack the basket and get themselves to the free throw line to hold onto their lead. Villanova shot 17-20 as a team from the free throw line on Sunday. This proved to be the difference-maker in the game as Ohio State shot a lousy 6-11 from the line.

If Villanova can get to the free throw line often against Michigan, they will put themselves in a solid position to win the game.

Value Possession

As discussed previously, Jay Wright has done an incredible job with stressing the importance of the fundamentals to his team. Villanova has a low turnover percentage of 15.6%. Continuing to value possession of the basketball is going to be key against Michigan this Thursday. The worst thing that Villanova can do is give Michigan extra chances to put points on the board.

Luckily for Villanova, they have one of the best point guards in the country. Collin Gillespie has been nothing short of incredible throughout his entire career at Villanova. He understands what it means to value possession and he knows what it takes to win these types of games. I expect Gillespie to maintain his composure as he always does and take care of the ball for the Wildcats in this one.

Make Hunter Dickinson Uncomfortable

For Michigan to have a chance in this game, Hunter Dickinson is going to have to have himself a night similar to the game against Tennessee. Standing in at 7-foot-1, Dickinson is a matchup nightmare for the Wildcats.

Eric Dixon anchors the paint for Villanova but is just 6-foot-8. It is extremely important that Dixon is physical with Hunter Dickinson from the get-go. Dickinson needs to be made uncomfortable early.

If Villanova is able to limit Hunter Dickinson and force other Michigan Wolverines to put up a majority of the shots, I think they will win this game by double-digits.