Top Offense Vs. Top Defense in NCAA Championship Game
The Michigan Wolverines and the Villanova Wildcats will meet on tonight at Alamodome. The 2018 NCAA Championship in Men’s Basketball is on the line. Tip-Off is set for 9:20 pm EST. TBS will have the coverage. TNT will have coverage that is focused on Michigan and TRU TV will have the coverage focused on Villanova.
Oddsmakers opened the Wildcats as -6.5-point favorites versus the Wolverines, while the game’s total opened at 146. The line is now Villanova -7 and the total is down to 144.5.
No. 1-seeded Villanova will attempt to win its second national championship in three years. The Wildcats are the top seed in the East and they have put on a shooting clinic so far. While dispatching Kansas 95-79 in the national semifinal on Saturday night they were on fire. They hit 18 shots from 3-point land to set a Final Four record. The previous mark was 13.
Michigan has already set a single-season record for victories so far. They will play in their seventh national championship game in program history. The Wolverines roared back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat NCAA, and media darling Loyola-Chicago 69-57.
Michigan will play Villanova for the fifth time ever. This is the second time in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats defeated Michigan 59-55 in the second round of the ’85 NCAA Tournament.
Villanova Has Many Weapons in NCAA Championship Game
Villanova was led by junior Eric Paschall against Kansas. He shot an incredible 10 of 11 from the field and finished with 24 points. Only UCLA’s Bill Walton had a better shooting night in a Final Four matchup. Walton was 21 of 22 in 1973.
The Wildcats also received 18 points from Jalen Brunson as well as 15 points and 13 rebounds from Omari Spellman. Villanova has been a balanced team the entire tournament.
Villanova has won games many kinds of ways through the NCAA Tournament. When 3-pointers weren’t dropping in the Elite Eight against Texas Tech the Wildcats found other ways to win. They hit 29 of 35 free throws while going an atrocious 4 of 24 from behind the arc.
Villanova won the national championship in 1985 and 2016. A third title only one game away, potentially. Legendary coach Rollie Massimino guided the ’85 team. He was in attendance in ’16, but passed away about six months ago.
Michigan is Playing Best Basketball for NCAA Championship Game
Michigan will play in its first NCAA championship game since 2013. A victory over Villanova would close its season with 15 consecutive wins.
Moritz Wagner was outstanding against Loyola-Chicago with 24 points and 15 rebounds. The kid shot 10 of 16 from the floor. Wagner is a 6-foot-11 junior and can play all over the floor. He was only the third player to score 20-plus points with 15-plus rebounds in a national semifinal game. He joined Larry Bird in 1979 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1983.
Michigan’s unlikely season will continue. After going 19-7 through the first 26 games, they have put it in high gear as they try to win its second career national championship.
Recent Form
| Name | Record | ATS | Offense | Defense | Diff | ATS Home | ATS Away | OU Record | OU Home | OU Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 33-7 | 25-13-1 | 73.93 | 62.92 | 11.01 | 9-5-1 | 8-4 | 18-20-1 | 5-10 | 7-4-1 |
| Villanova | 35-4 | 26-12-1 | 86.77 | 70.38 | 16.39 | 9-4 | 6-6 | 26-13 | 11-2 | 6-6 |
Power Stats
| Assists Turnovers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Assists | Turnovers | Ratio | |
| MICH | 14.48 | 9.25 | 1.57 | |
| VILLA | 16.62 | 10.59 | 1.57 | |
| Rebounding | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Offense | Defense | Total | |
| MICH | 8.48 | 24.95 | 33.43 | |
| VILLA | 9.56 | 26.31 | 35.87 | |
| ShootingPercentage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Offense | Defense | Differential | |
| MICH | 46.86 | 42.46 | 4.4 | |
| VILLA | 50.06 | 42.80 | 7.26 | |
Michigan Wolverines
| Name | Record | Home | Away | ATS | ATS Home | ATS Away | Offense | Defense | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 33-7 | 23-1 | 10-6 | 25-13-1 | 14-8-1 | 11-5 | 73.93 | 62.93 | 11.00 |
| Last 10 | 10-0 | 6-0 | 4-0 | 7-3 | 3-3 | 4-0 | 74.00 | 61.30 | 12.70 |
| vs Conf | 17-5 | 9-1 | 8-4 | 15-6-1 | 6-3-1 | 9-3 | 72.00 | 65.45 | 6.55 |
Villanova Wildcats
| Name | Record | Home | Away | ATS | ATS Home | ATS Away | Offense | Defense | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 35-4 | 23-1 | 12-3 | 26-12-1 | 18-6 | 8-6-1 | 86.77 | 70.38 | 16.39 |
| Last 10 | 10-0 | 8-0 | 2-0 | 8-2 | 7-1 | 1-1 | 84.70 | 68.00 | 16.70 |
| vs Conf | 17-4 | 11-1 | 6-3 | 12-9 | 9-3 | 3-6 | 87.67 | 75.14 | 12.53 |
NCAA Championship Supergrid
| Title | Stat | Rank | Stat | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense | 73.93 | 133 | 70.38 | 99 |
| Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense | 86.77 | 1 | 62.92 | 8 |
| Team | record | ATS | O/U | AVG | AVG ½ | FG% | REB | 3PT | steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 55.00 | 20.00 | 41.07 | 31.00 | 6/21 | 4.00 |
| Villanova | 1-0 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 60.00 | 27.00 | 45.10 | 35.00 | 6/20 | 7.00 |
Head To Head Detail
| Date | Away | away score | Home | home score | line | ATS | Total | O/U | FG% Edge | Reb Edge | 3PT Edge | Away Half Score | Home Half Score | Away FG% | Home FG% | Away Rebounds | Home Rebounds | Away Three Pointers | Home Three Pointers | Away Steals | Home Steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 25, 2014 | MICH | 55 | VILLA | 60 | -4.5 | VILLA | 133 | U | VILLA | VILLA | Push | 20 | 27 | 41.1 | 45.1 | 31 | 35 | 6/21 | 6/20 | 4 | 7 |
NCAA Championship Betting Trends
| Michigan Wolverines | ||
|---|---|---|
| Michigan is 11-3 ATS in its last 14 games | ||
| Michigan is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Michigan’s last 5 games | ||
| Villanova Wildcats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Villanova is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games | ||
| Villanova is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 15 of Villanova’s last 20 games | ||
Michigan Wolverines
| Date | Opponent | score | Result | line | Total | ATS Result | field goal percentage | free throw percentage | three pointers | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2018 | LOYCH | 69-57 | W | -5.5 | 129 | W/U | 42.37 | 66.67 | 7 | H |
| Mar 24, 2018 | FLAST | 58-54 | W | -4.5 | 144 | L/U | 38.78 | 66.67 | 4 | H |
| Mar 22, 2018 | TEXAM | 99-72 | W | -2.5 | 136 | W/O | 61.90 | 87.50 | 14 | H |
| Mar 17, 2018 | HOUST | 64-63 | W | -3.5 | 135 | L/U | 35.59 | 70.00 | 8 | H |
| Mar 15, 2018 | MONTA | 61-47 | W | -10 | 134 | W/U | 44.68 | 63.64 | 5 | H |
Villanova Wildcats
| Date | Opponent | score | Result | line | Total | ATS Result | field goal percentage | free throw percentage | three pointers | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2018 | KANSA | 95-79 | W | -5 | 155 | W/O | 55.38 | 71.43 | 18 | A |
| Mar 25, 2018 | TEXTK | 71-59 | W | -6 | 146 | W/U | 33.33 | 82.86 | 4 | H |
| Mar 23, 2018 | W.VA | 90-78 | W | -5.5 | 152.5 | W/O | 50.00 | 85.19 | 13 | H |
| Mar 17, 2018 | ALA | 81-58 | W | -11 | 149 | W/U | 39.68 | 87.50 | 17 | H |
| Mar 15, 2018 | RADFD | 87-61 | W | -22.5 | 138.5 | W/O | 59.62 | 78.57 |
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