Michigan Set to Face Villanova for National Championship
4/1/2018 11:37:00 AM | Men's Basketball
» U-M faces No. 1 seed Villanova for the 2018 NCAA national title.
» The Wolverines are seeking their second national title. Michigan "Shocked the World" in 1989 win an OT victory over Seton Hall for its only national championship.
» U-M advanced to the national championship game after a 69-57 comeback win over No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago in the semifinal round.
» Michigan owns the longest win streak in the nation, having won 14 straight games -- 11 of which have come away from home.
NEXT GAME: NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Monday, April 2 -- vs. #1 seed Villanova (San Antonio, Texas), 8:19 p.m. CDT
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• Photo Gallery: Michigan Prepares for Villanova (April 1)
The No. 3-seeded University of Michigan men's basketball team (33-7) will square off with No. 1 seed Villanova (35-4) Monday night (April 2) for the 2018 NCAA national title at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:19 p.m. CDT (9:19 p.m. EDT) with the game broadcast on TBS.
A LOOK AT EAST REGION CHAMPION VILLANOVA
• Villanova brings a 35-4 overall record to the national championship game, which includes a 14-4 mark in Big East Conference play. The Wildcats finished second in the Big East in the regular season and won the Big East Tournament title.
• Six players score in double figures for Villanova, led by 19.2 points per game from Jalen Brunson. Mikal Bridges adds 17.6 points per game, followed by Donte DiVincenzo (13.0), Omari Spellman (10.9), Eric Paschall (10.7) and Phil Booth (10.3).
• Villanova leads the nation in scoring as the Wildcats average 86.8 points per contest. Villanova is also ranked sixth in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 50.1 percent as a team.
• Jay Wright is in his 17th season as the head coach at Villanova and is making his third Final Four trip (2009, '16) with the Wildcats, who won the national championship in 2016. Wright was previously the head coach at Hofstra for seven seasons (1994-2001).
WITH A VICTORY
• With a win over Villanova, Michigan would win the second national title in school history, joining the 1988-89 team that defeated Seton Hall in a thrilling overtime championship game.
• A victory would extend Michigan's school record for wins in a season to 34.
• A win would give John Beilein 800 victories in his collegiate coaching career.
• A win would give the Big Ten Conference its first national championship since Michigan State in 2000. Current Big Ten member Maryland won the title in 2002, but the Terrapins were a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference at the time.
MICHIGAN IN THE 2018 NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The No. 3 seed in the West Region, Michigan opened the tournament in Wichita, Kansas, where the Wolverines defeated No. 14 seed Montana (61-47) and No. 6 seed Houston (64-63). U-M then traveled to Los Angeles and defeated No. 7 seed Texas A&M (99-72) and No. 9 seed Florida State (58-54) to advance to the Final Four in San Antonio. In the national semifinals, Michigan defeated South Region champion and No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago, 69-57, to advance to the national championship game for the second time in six seasons.
• Michigan's Final Four appearance is its eighth (* sixth after NCAA sanctions) in school history and the second under head coach John Beilein, who led U-M to the national championship game in 2013.
• Charles Matthews is leading Michigan in the NCAA Tournament in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game. Matthews is shooting 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the field in the tournament.
• Moritz Wagner is averaging 14.8 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game in the NCAA Tournament. Wagner is shooting 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the floor in the tournament.
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman is also scoring in double figures in the NCAA Tournament. Abdur-Rahkman is averaging 12.6 points per game, along with 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest.
• Duncan Robinson is adding 8.8 points per game, while Zavier Simpson is averaging 5.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
• Michigan is holding opponents to just 58.6 points per game in the NCAA Tournament, allowing them to shoot just 38.7 percent from the field, including 24 percent from three-point range.
THE 14-GAME WINNING STREAK
• Since falling at Northwestern (61-52) on Feb. 6, Michigan has won 14 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in the nation. Michigan snapped the previous national-best of 14 by Loyola Chicago in the national semifinals. Here are some fact and figures about the winning streak.
• Michigan is holding its opponents to just 62.1 points per game. Opponents are shooting just 40.6 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from three.
• U-M is averaging just 8.8 turnovers per game during the 14-game stretch and has a +3.4 turnover margin.
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman leads four Wolverines scoring in double figures at 15.0 points per game. Abdur-Rahkman is also averaging 3.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 37.7 percent (29-of-77) from three-point range.
• Moritz Wagner is averaging 14.9 points, along with a team-best 7.0 rebounds, per contest during the streak. Wagner is shooting 51.3 percent (78-of-152) from the field during the streak.
• Charles Matthews is adding 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest during the 14-game stretch. Matthews is the only Wolverine to score in double figures in all five games in the NCAA Tournament.
• Duncan Robinson is scoring 11.0 points per game, shooting 48.9 percent (45-of-92) from the field, .457 (32-of-70) from three and .865 (32-of-37) from the free-throw line.
• Zavier Simpson is averaging 8.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game during the streak.
SAY WHAT?
• Michigan has won its last 14 games, the longest streak in the nation, with 11 of those on the road. The 14-game win streak is Michigan's longest since winning the first 16 games to start the 2012-13 season.
• Only four players on the roster have played for U-M in the NCAA postseason prior to this season: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (five games), Duncan Robinson (five), Moritz Wagner (five) and Zavier Simpson (three).
• Since 2013, Michigan has 16 NCAA Tournament wins, tied for the most in the country with North Carolina. Duke and Kentucky are right behind with 15.
• Michigan is one of seven schools to reach four Sweet 16s since 2013, joining Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky and Wisconsin.
• U-M won four games in four days for the second straight year to win back-to-back Big Ten Tournament titles.
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman is the U-M career games played record holder at 143, moving past Zak Irvin (2014-17) and Jordan Morgan (2011-14) in the national semifinals.
• Abdur-Rahkman has played in 138 consecutive games, with 66 straight starts.
• With 132 assists (3.3 apg) and just 30 turnovers, Abdur-Rahkman is third in the nation with a 4.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. Zavier Simpson is 29th in the nation with a 2.55 assist-to-turnover ratio (148 A, 58 TO)
• Duncan Robinson has not missed a single game in his three seasons as a Wolverine (114 straight).
• In fact, Robinson has played in 123 straight games when you include his final nine games at Williams College (DIII) before transferring to Michigan.
• When Robinson scores six or more points, U-M is a perfect 29-0.
• When Jordan Poole scores in double figures, U-M is a perfect 10-0.
• When Moritz Wagner records a double-double, U-M is a perfect 9-0.
• U-M ranks second in the nation for fewest turnovers per game with 9.25. Virginia leads the nation at 8.5.