Michigan's dream run ends against Villanova, 79-62, in NCAA title game

SAN ANTONIO — John Beilein walked to the podium this past fall with an exasperated grin on his face.

His team’s identity was still months away from being realized. His point guard situation was murky. No one knew what to make of his bench. His freshmen were nowhere near ready.

“It’s going to be quite a journey this season,” Beilein said back then. “Quite a journey.”

If only he knew.

That journey took Michigan from unranked to a second consecutive Big Ten tournament title in early March and then a magical five-game run through the NCAA tournament. The Wolverines racked up 14 straight victories.

No. 15 wasn’t to be, though.

The Wolverines’ ride through the tournament came to an end on the final day of the season, as Villanova received a career-high 31 points from backup guard Donte DiVincenzo and scored a 79-62 win over Michigan in the national championship game Monday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

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Michigan finishes the season 33-8, setting a program record for wins in a season and returned to the title game for the second time since 2013. The result for Beilein and company, though, was exactly the same.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman led the Wolverines with 23 points. Moritz Wagner scored 16, as the Wolverines went 24-for-55 from the floor and 3-for-23 from 3-point range. Villanova shot 27-for-57, hitting 10-for-27 from long range.

Things started well enough for the Wolverines, as Wagner picked up where he left off with nine points in the game's first five minutes while Michigan flustered Villanova on the perimeter at the other end. The Wolverines led by as many as seven after a bucket from Wagner with 10:59 to play in the half.

But Villanova, which started 1-for-9 from long range, got itself going thanks to DiVincenzo.

A redshirt sophomore from Delaware who entered Monday night averaging 13 points per game off the bench, DiVincenzo carried the Wildcats through an early drought by racking up 18 points in the first half. DiVincenzo's 3-pointer, combined with a four-minute Michigan scoring drought, gave the Wildcats a 9-0 run and a two-point lead with seven minutes to play in the opening half.

Nova closed strong, too, as Michigan missed its final six shots of the half, and Jalen Brunson's late three closed a 7-0 Nova run, and a 37-28 lead at the break. Michigan was outscored 23-7 over the final 10 minutes of the half.

The second half didn't get any easier for the Wolverines, as Eric Paschall made a 3-pointer and a driving layup for another 7-0 Villanova run, pushing the Wildcats' lead to 44-30 with 18:03 to play.

The lead only grew from there, as Mikal Bridges pushed it to 18, four minutes later with a transition 3-pointer. Every time Michigan seemed to muster a response offensively, Villanova and its offensive weapons fired back.

Charles Mattews' steal and bucket chipped the deficit to 12, but DiVincenzo answered again with back-to-back 3-pointers. He offered a wink to press row on the way back down the floor with 7:48 to play. He made 5-for-7 shots from beyond-the-arc.

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Villanova was up 18, and Michigan's season was all but over.

The Wolverines' last gasp came after they closed to within 14, when Jordan Poole had a shot at the rim. His drive was out of control, though, and Bridges immediately cashed in with another 3-pointer, Villanova's ninth. He put the game away with his third 3-pointer three minutes later, pushing the lead to 22 and ending the Wolverines' season one win short of a title.

Michigan's calling card all year had been its ability to navigate through choppy waters by relying on a tenacious defense and an offense fueled by poise.

On Monday night, though, the Wolverines ran into college basketball's best offense — and its most complete team — before simply running out of gas in the Alamodome.

Michigan's dream journey ends the same way the 2013 run did, with a loss in the national title game.

Related: Michigan's Spike Albrecht wasn't going to 'get punked' in 2013 title game

Beilein and the Wolverines will leave the 2017-18 season knowing they'll be able to raise another Final Four banner into the Crisler Center rafters.

But Michigan's 1989 national title will remain lonely inside its trophy case for at least one more season.

Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner.

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