Michigan Meets Villanova with NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Championship at Stake
The brackets are busted, the national championship is here and Cinderella’s glass slippers are shattered. Michigan enters as a very hot team, winners of 14 in a row. But Villanova could be the nation’s best, a team that can score from anywhere, anytime.
The NCAA’s men’s college basketball tournament hits its crescendo tonight when Michigan meets Villanova for the national championship.
The game pits a number 1 seed against a team on a two-month win streak.
Michigan ended Loyola Chicago’s fairy tale season, overcoming a double digit deficit to Sister Jean’s favorite team to advance to the finals.
Now it faces an elite Villanova team that overwhelmed Kansas en route to the championship game.
But Michigan Coach John Bielein, who lost in the finals in 2013, says at this stage being top-ranked means nothing.
“It’s not about the best team. It’s a time when funny bounces of the ball will determine a champion,” Bielein says.
His Michigan squad brings a smothering defense that has shut down opponents since early February against a Villanova team featuring a line-up full of shooters that can score in bunches from anywhere on the court.
Here’s Michigan Coach John Bielein and some of his players previewing the national championship final:
And here’s Villanova Coach Jay Wright and some of his players’ take on reaching the championship game:
