The Wildcats and their horde of long-range shooters are playing for their second title in three years, a chance to establish a mini dynasty. The Wolverines are after their first title since 1989, hoping to grasp the trophy that slipped through coach John Beilein’s fingers in 2013.
If you were to begin a list of the best active college basketball coaches who haven’t yet won a title, you wouldn’t write many — perhaps any — before coming to John Beilein of Michigan.
Arike Ogunbowale floated in a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left, lifting Notre Dame to its second women’s basketball title with a thrilling 61-58 comeback victory over Mississippi State in the NCAA championship game on Sunday night.
Villanova is a 6½-point favorite over Michigan and the total is 145½ in Monday’s NCAA championship game. Here’s a survey of opinions from Review-Journal staff members, other media, oddsmakers and professional handicappers.
Key facts and matchups for Monday night’s NCAA national championship game between No. 1 Villanova and No. 3 Michigan.
The Villanova Wildcats, favored to beat Michigan on Monday night at the Alamodome, are most often compared to the Golden State Warriors.
Derek Stevens has gained priceless promotional value with his NCAA Tournament gambit. Before the tournament, the aggressively loyal Michigan grad bet $25,000 on the Wolverines to win the championship at 40-1 odds.
Michigan’s game plan used to revolve around offense, hitting enough shots to outscore teams. Sometimes it worked. Many times, often on the biggest stages, it didn’t.
Villanova took as decisive a step toward its second national championship in three years as anyone could have imagined, overwhelming a fellow No. 1 seed in Kansas 95-79 in the Final Four.
Michigan played the villain to the underdog Final Four narrative on Saturday, using a huge second-half effort to beat Loyola-Chicago 69-57 in San Antonio.
Villanova has won 10 straight games and is 8-2 ATS during the streak. The Wildcats have rolled through the NCAA Tournament, going 5-0 straight-up and ATS while winning each game by an average of 18 points.
Villanova made a Final Four-record 18 3-pointers Saturday night, playing long ball to snuff out the Kansas Jayhawks early in a 95-79 victory.
Michigan is moving on to the national championship game for the first time since 2013 after ending Loyola-Chicago’s incredible run in the NCAA Tournament.
Arike Ogunbowale’s jumper from the corner with a second left lifted Notre Dame to a 91-89 overtime victory over UConn on Friday night in the national semifinals.
The popular Final Four storyline that is No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago and its 98-year-old team chaplain on Friday did, in fact, relegate the Wildcats and Jayhawks to the back seat of media attention at the Alamodome.
