Michigan
19-15,11-9Big Ten
#6 Villanova
29-7,16-4Big East
Michigan Denied Return Trip to NCAA Elite Eight by No. 2-Seeded Villanova
3/24/2022 10:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» No. 11-seeded Michigan fell 63-55 to No. 2-seeded Villanova in the NCAA Sweet 16.
» The Wolverines held Villanova to 9-of-30 on three-pointers but themselves struggled to convert on layups and free throws.
» Hunter Dickinson posted his second straight double-double of the tournament with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
» Michigan cut the lead to four points in the final 3:30 of the game but went cold and could not capitalize on a flurry of late Villanova turnovers.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The No. 11-seeded University of Michigan men's basketball team saw its upset run in the NCAA Tournament come to an end Thursday (March 24) as the Wolverines lost 63-55 to No. 2-seeded Villanova in the Sweet 16 at the AT&T Center.
Though the Wolverines held the prolific three-point-shooting Wildcats to 9-of-30 from deep in a rematch of the 2018 NCAA championship game, they themselves struggled to take advantage of close-range and free throw opportunities. Michigan converted on just 12-of-29 layup or dunk attempts and shot 7-of-14 from the line after entering as one of the best teams from the line in the entire tournament.
Michigan had established itself as a team that rallied in the second half in each of its first two NCAA Tournament upsets against No. 6-seeded Colorado State and No. 3-seeded Tennessee, but U-M was unable to rekindle that same magic in its Sweet 16 matchup against the Wildcats. After pulling within four points with 3:30 to play, the Wolverines hit just one of their last 11 shots and could not capitalize on three Villanova turnovers in the final minute that could have delivered a third straight upset.
Hunter Dickinson notched his second straight double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds to go along with three assists and a pair of blocks, and Eli Brooks hit a trio of three-pointers in the second half to get to 14 points total to go with five boards and an assist. The duo was only a combined 11-of-30 from the field, however, as the Wolverines hit just 21-of-61 shots (34.4 percent) from the field.
U-M (19-15) jumped out to a quick, early lead, 5-1, on the strength of a layup followed by a three-pointer by Caleb Houstan on consecutive possessions, but the Wildcats (29-7) reacted with four straight buckets -- including three layups in a row from Jermaine Samuels -- to take the lead, 10-9. Over the next four minutes, Villanova's lead grew to seven points, 18-11, as the Wildcats hit back-to-back threes to go into a media timeout with 10:30 left in the half.
Michigan bounced back after the break, as Dickinson hit a pair of shots in the paint on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to three points, 18-15. Villanova brought its lead back to five, 20-15, on a pair of free throws, but neither team was able to get anything going offensively for the next few minutes. Just over four minutes elapsed between Dickinson's last jumper and the next field goal from either team, another jumper from Dickinson.
As Villanova continued its shooting drought, Michigan started to find its groove. DeVante' Jones scored on successive possessions with a layup and a three-pointer as the Wolverines surged back into the lead on a 7-0 run heading into the final media timeout of the half. Out of the break, Villanova snapped a nearly seven-minute scoring break with an and-one layup to re-claim its lead and followed it with a three-pointer off a Michigan turnover to stretch out to 26-22 with just over three minutes to play in the half.
As stagnant as both teams were in the middle of the half, that sequence ignited a last five minutes during which the teams scored a combined 24 points, with Michigan going 5-of-9 from the field for 13 points during the span.
The Wildcats had opportunities to capitalize on momentum, but the Wolverines nipped any potential Villanova runs in the bud. Terrance Williams II hit a fast-break triple to bring it back to within two points, 28-26, with 2:26 left to play. Villanova responded with a second-chance three to push the lead back to five, but Moussa Diabate cut it to three with a layup with just under a minute as the Wolverines stymied the Wildcats on three straight attempts from deep to end the half.
Neither team was able to find its footing coming out of the locker room. Michigan held Villanova to 1-of-9 shooting from the field in the first five minutes of the half, but the Wolverines were only able to hit 1-of-4 themselves while coughing up a pair of turnovers and allowing a pair of offensive boards to the Wildcats.
Villanova looked to be on the verge of breaking the game open with a 5-0 run to take a nine-point lead, 40-31, and a subsequent drawn charge on Jones. Brooks came alive to keep the Wolverines in it, though, as he hit a pair of threes with just under 11 minutes left to close within six, 43-37. Brooks' triples snapped a seven-and-a-half-minute field goal drought.
The Wolverines found themselves again down nine points, 50-41, with just under eight to play and again started to build a rally as Frankie Collins hit a layup in the stead of an injured Jones and Dickinson threw down a dunk. Villanova fought hard to keep the lead at nine points, but Brooks hit his third three-pointer of the half to cut it to six, 54-48, with 3:32 to go.
Michigan looked to be back in it with a pair of Williams free throws that cut the Villanova advantage to four points, 54-50, but Villanova scored five unanswered points on back-to-back possessions to regain a nine-point edge, 59-50, with less than two minutes to play.
Dickinson gave the Wolverines a breath of life as he blocked a Wildcat dunk and grabbed an offensive board that led to free throws on the ensuing possession, but he hit just one of two to cut the Villanova lead to eight, 59-51.
Villanova committed three turnovers in the final 50 seconds of the game, but the Wolverines were able to salvage only a pair of Dickinson free throws out of them as the Wildcats clinched the game and denied Michigan a return trip to the Elite Eight.
