By: Kylan Watson
The Villanova University Wildcats faced the University of Michigan Wolverines in the Men’s College Basketball National Championship game on Monday night. The Wildcats won their second title in two years. They beat Michigan by a score of 79-62 accomplishing their goal. With the victory Villanova proved that they are the most dominant program in college basketball today.
It was not a good start for the Wildcats though as the Wolverines were hitting all their shots early in the game. Michigan was up by seven points by half-time. Villanova was not hitting their shots in the first quarter, and star player Jalen Brunson also got in to some foul trouble and had to go to the bench. The Wildcats needed a player to step up if they had any hope of coming back and holding off the Wolverines. The player that stepped up for Villanova was point guard and sixth man Donte Divicenzo.
Divicenzo was the cog that kept the Wildcats afloat during this game. Divicenzo scored 31 points, grabbed five rebounds, and passed for three assists. Divicenzo was the player who was hitting the big shots when Nova needed them the most.
Michigan did not go down without a fight though they continued to pound Nova in the paint, to open their three-point shooting. The player that benefitted the most from this game plan was Michigan guard Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Rahkman scored 23 points and like Divicenzo was hitting some big shots for his team.
Despite the efforts of Rahkman and his teammates, the Wildcats were too much for them. The Wildcats used a three-point barrage to beat the Wolverines. This is nothing new for Nova as they have relied on the three-point shot throughout the tournament.
With the win Nova won their second championship in two years and have cemented the program’s status as a premiere program in college basketball. Villanova’s only remaining opponent maybe college basketball history.
1 word: DIVINCENZOOOOOOOOOO
He had a great game and was the sole reason Nova stayed in the game and eventually won it.