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Philippines, 23 Apr 2025 |
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Nova Wildcats rout Michigan to win NCAA title By Adeline Deladisma PhilBoxing.com Wed, 04 Apr 2018  SAN ANTONIO. The Villanova Wildcats came in as favorites and they did not disappoint. Villanova defeated Michigan in Monday night's NCAA National Championship game (Tuesday morning, Manila time) 79-62, winning their second title in three years. They relied on a high powered offense and stifling defense to down the Wolverines at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. Michigan came out of the gates aggressively. Junior forward Moritz Wagner scored 9 points in just under five minutes and Michigan pushed out to a 21-14 lead. Villanova closed the first half with a 7-0 run and led 37-28. The Wildcats continued their dominance into the second half and didn't look back. The blitz was led by redshirt sophomore Donte DiVincenzo, who was named the Final Four?s Most Outstanding Player. DiVincenzo had 31 points off the bench, the most scored by a non-starter in a National Championship game. Eighteen of those points came in the first half and was the spark Villanova needed to get into gear. Did he expect to have such a big game on the biggest stage in college basketball? ?Honestly, no, I did not think that I was going to have this kind of night, because every night I come into a game, I just try to bring energy. And if we get off to a good start, I try to take the energy to a new level. I try to defend and rebound to the best of my ability and just try to get it going?. These guys did a great job of finding me, and I just found myself in a rhythm.? Wildcat point guard Jalen Brunson was named the Naismith Player of the Year yesterday, the highest individual honor in college basketball. Brunson finished with 9 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals and played only 23 minutes the entire game due to foul trouble in the second half. While well below his usual numbers, he had no difficulty trusting his teammates, DiVincenzo included, to win the game. ?I just kept telling him to keep going, keep going, keep going. But he knows how to play the game of basketball. He knows how to be aggressive but at the same time get his other teammates shots?. He?s just so special. And it just showed tonight.? Michigan coach John Beilein remarked, ?We couldn?t get it going on either end, and let?s credit Villanova in both respects. They played really good defense. Everybody talks about their offense, but I think what?s really underrated is how good they are defensively.? Villanova head coach Jay Wright dedicated the win to the late Rollie Massimino, who coached Villanova to an upset victory over the Georgetown Hoyas in the 1985 NCAA Final. "We got this one for the RVM on our shirt- Rollie Massimino on the shirt. He's with us here. That's something he always preached, you know, family. When you come to Villanova, you come because you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself? We're really fortunate to get the kids that want to play team basketball. They love being part of a team." And out of this last effort as a team and family, the Villanova Wildcats are again NCAA Champions. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Adeline Deladisma.  |
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