The last time Villanova and Michigan met, we saw one team giving the other a good licking, in short time asserting its superiority and doing so thoroughly the rest of the game.
The same thing happened against Wednesday night as the two teams met as part of the Gavitt Games. Incredibly, the victory may have been even more decisive this time than the lopsided national championship game in April. Almost as remarkably was the tables turning completely in favor of the team that lost in April and was on the road last night.
In one of the more astonishing outcomes of a national championship rematch that could be imagined, Michigan drilled Villanova 73-46 Wednesday night, a victory that was every bit as complete as the score indicated. The Wolverines led by 14 after 10 minutes, 44-17 at halftime, by 30 midway through the second half, and the Wildcats labored to even break the 40-point mark, shooting 31.8% while also committing 21 turnovers.
Michigan deserves ultimate credit for playing an almost perfect game. The Wolverines were rock-solid on defense, converted tough baskets inside regularly, and made the Wildcats pay for every mistake. For a team that has a fair amount of reloading to do itself, Ignas Brazdeikis (18 points, seven rebounds) made it look like that the Go Blue won’t miss Moritz Wagner much at all, and Charles Matthews (19 points) appeared to be a player ready for a lead role.
At the same time, this is the same Michigan team that had its hands full with Holy Cross just a few days earlier. And so, it was jarring to see the defending national champions, at home, look completely outclassed, like a weary low-Division I school that might’ve been on the road for almost an entire month and was brought in for a guarantee game and an easy win.
While the game had some elements of everything going right for one team and almost nothing for the other (a scenario that has played out more than a couple times already early this season across the nation), the Wildcats looked every bit as bad as the final numbers said.
There were a number of defensive breakdowns-the type rarely seen of Nova teams in recent years-Michigan’s good start included several of them. Veterans Phil Booth and Eric Paschall struggled, making just 5 of 22 shots combined. Turnovers were rampant, the final total being seven more than the number of field goals (14) Villanova made.
On top of that, there was a whole lot of players trying to do too much and not trusting their teammates enough. Nova finished with just seven assists, and there were way too many forced shots and instances where the offense was one pass (or less) and shoot.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in one of Jay Wright’s practices the rest of the week. As the second half went on, there were no histrionics from the Villanova coach, but one could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he looked on, offering instruction from time to time. Wright has referred to this as a season that will include a lot of teaching, and there will unquestionably be plenty to learn from with this one.
It’s quite clear that it’s going to take time for Villanova to jell as a team and play to the high standards established by the program. The same might be said of the Big East as a whole.
If there’s one thing the Gavitt Games has shown, it is that Big East teams who have been at the top recently will have some work to do to stay there. Along with Villanova, Xavier also was beaten handily at home by Wisconsin on Tuesday (and after struggling with rebuilding Evansville in its previous game), and last night Nebraska led Seton Hall almost the whole way and then dropped the hammer at the finish for an 80-57 win.
James Palmer scored 29 for the Cornhuskers, and he, Isaac Copeland (18) and Glenn Watson (14) outscored the Pirates by themselves. Besides Myles Powell (24 points) and Michael Nzei (13 points plus nine boards), Seton Hall received little consistent production, and looked like a team a long ways away right now.
Side Dishes
- Normally we don’t give much of a look at non-Division I games, but a performance for the national record books will get our attention. Robert Morris guard Josh Williams scored 49 points last night in the Colonials’ 104-57 win over NCAA Division III Mount Aloysius (Pa.), and incredibly it took him just 16 made field goals to do so because he hit 15 three-pointers. That ties the NCAA record set by Keith Veney of Marshall way back in 1996, and his scoring total also is an RMU single-game record.
- It’s not just experienced Big Ten teams hammering inexperienced ones from the Big East. Indiana at home blew away Marquette 96-73, with Romeo Langford powering his way to 22 points. Evan Fitzner also added 16, or triple his average the last two years playing at Saint Mary’s. The Hoosiers looked good at home, while the Golden Eagles again looked like a team with little defense or inside play.
- A couple ACC teams took stunning losses. Radford is a solid team that made the NCAA Tournament last year from the Big South, but Notre Dame was still at home when the Highlanders scored a 63-60 knockout. Radford did so even without starting guard Carlik Jones, who it was announced by the school before the game was suspended due to conduct detrimental to the team. Caleb Tanner scored 20, including six three-pointers, and Ed Polite-one of the better players few know about-added 16 plus 11 rebounds.
- Equally as surprising was the result to the northeast, where Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis-that’s IUPUI-came back from a 14-point first half deficit to defeat Boston College 76-69. Camron Justice scored 29, and this was the team picked to finish sixth in the 10-team Horizon League topping an ACC squad.
- A third ACC team was in trouble for a while as Clemson got a challenge for a while before putting away Sam Houston State 74-59 as Marcquise Reed scored 26. It’s notable that the Tigers have not been overwhelming teams in their 3-0 start. Michigan State also had a battle for a while before pulling away in the second half from Louisiana-Monroe 80-59 with 23 from Cassius Winston.
- There have been some real clunker games this week, contests that looked decent or better on paper that wound up horribly lopsided. Michigan/Villanova was one of them, Duke’s 84-46 win over Eastern Michigan was another. The Blue Devils are the Blue Devils, but the Eagles are supposed to be one of the Mid-American Conference’s best, and have the size to at least give a fight against name teams. Yet EMU scored just 13 points in the first half and was down 35 at the break.
- Houston won the battle for the city of Houston, beating Rice 79-68. In another battle of state foes, Wright State topped Toledo 84-74 with Cole Gentry scoring a career-best 30.
- Loyola (Ill.) topped Niagara 75-62. Cameron Krutwig is a big key to the Ramblers’ season as a big man with the potential to be one of the best in the country, and he was perfect from the field (7-for-7) in going for 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
- It’s really not even much of an upset, Seattle at home defeating Washington State 78-69. Score one for the WAC over the Pac-12, though, as Terrell Brown came off the bench and made the difference for the Redhawks with 21 points and eight boards.
- Saint Mary’s got a solid road win, topping New Mexico State 73-58 with Jordan Ford scoring 28. The Gaels have been somewhat forgotten this year, but it would be no surprise if SMC is over 20 wins again, and maybe more.
- Arizona drubbed Texas-El Paso 79-46, holding the Miners to 33.3% shooting. Brandons Randolph and Williams scored 21 each for the Wildcats. On the other side, it’s going to take some time for Rodney Terry in El Paso.
- Oklahoma State rolled past Texas-San Antonio 82-60, bouncing back from the loss to UNC Charlotte behind 20 and 10 from Cameron McGriff. UTSA, meanwhile, is a discouraging 0-3 now after coming into the season with high expectations after a surprising 2017-18 campaign. The Roadrunners were one of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the country last year (353 triples) but are struggling mightily so far at 23.5% through three games, including just 5 of 26 in this one.
- A note from Tuesday, the SEC announced that it has extended its agreement with the city of Nashville to make it the almost-yearly host of the league’s tourney. Every tourney through 2030 with the exception of 2022 will be in Nashville, with an option to extend it to 2035. Interesting that the league is essentially settling on one place as its host.
Today’s Menu:
- ESPN’s first eight-team events tip off with the Charleston Classic and Myrtle Beach Invitational taking place barely two hours away on the South Carolina coast. Charleston features an intriguing set of quarterfinals, starting with Ball State-which pushed Purdue this past weekend-against Virginia Tech (11:30 a.m. Eastern, ESPN2). Northeastern has a prime chance for a brand-name win when it takes on Alabama (2 p.m., ESPNU), Purdue faces a pesky Appalachian State team (5 p.m., ESPN2) and the day finishes with Davidson against Wichita State.
- The Myrtle Beach event opens with Saint Joseph’s with a golden chance to beat an ACC team when it faces Wake Forest (11:30 a.m., ESPNU). Central Florida against Cal State Fullerton is very intriguing, Valparaiso faces depleted Western Kentucky (5 p.m., ESPNU) and West Virginia takes on Monmouth (7:30 p.m., ESPNU).
- The first of many events with automatic semifinalists that needlessly receive exemptions is the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden, where Syracuse and Connecticut will face off in a rush of old Big East nostalgia (7 p.m., ESPN2). That’s followed by Oregon meeting Iowa (9:30 p.m., ESPN2).
- The Gavitt Games are still going, and another reloading Big East team gets a home game as Creighton welcomes Ohio State, another squad that was expected to be searching for an identity but has looked very strong to start (7 p.m., FS1).
- A game that should be on television: Belmont goes to Lipscomb as the Nashville rivals renew the Battle of the Boulevard. The Bisons won both last year.
- Fresno State travels to TCU, the first NCAA Division I opponent of the season for the Bulldogs.
- The night finishes with a pair of 2018 NCAA tourney Sweet 16 teams facing off as Texas A&M-coming off a home loss to UC Irvine-heads to face Gonzaga in the McCarthey Center (11:30 p.m., ESPN2).
Enjoy a hoops-filled Thursday.
