Michigan Basketball Thrashes Villanova Start To Finish, Wins 73-46
Michigan ran a great set on its first possession to get sophomore guard Jordan Poole an easy lay-up inside, and U-M never let up in a 73-46 thrashing of Villanova.
They called it the toughest non-conference ticket in the history of the school, but the Wolverines took the crowd out of it early.
Two dunks inside, one by wing Charles Matthews on a great dish from junior center Jon Teske, a putback by frosh Ignas Brazdeikis followed by a transition dunk by Matthews forced an early Villanova timeout.
Michigan played smothering defense in the early going, including Brazdeikis. Junior point guard Zavier Simpson got his offense game going, too, taking it to the rim twice and scoring. His second put the Wolverines up 14-7 at the 14-minute mark.
Philly native Eli Brooks nailed a triple from the top on his first shot to make it 17-8 at 10:40. A triple from Livers in transition and a foul underneath gave the ball back to the Wolverines. They took advantage to go up 14 on a Matthews turnaround jumper.
The lead expanded to 26-10 before the Wildcats finally responded with a three. Matthews followed with a putback dunk to make it 28-13, at which point the Wolverines held a 20-4 edge in the paint.
Sophomore wing Isaiah Livers’ three made it 31-13 at 5:45 and silenced the crowd. Poole than nailed aN NBA triple that made it 34-13 after a stop on the next trip. Brazdeikis’ three-point play made it an unfathomable 37-13.
Villanova had eight turnovers at the point to Michigan’s one.
U-M finished the half strong. It was 41-15 after two Matthews free throws, another good sign for the Wolverines.
A steal and finish by Matthews helped open it up to 44-17 at the break. U-M shot 56.3 percent with one turnover in the first half to the Wildcats' 24 percent and 10 miscues.
“We do see [better shooting] in practice, and we can see it trending in the right direction," Michigan coach John Beilein said heading into the half. "It’s all about our defense … Charles has done a great job, Zavier [too] ... then you can score off our defense."
Matthews led Michigan at the break with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Livers and Brazdeikis had seven each and Simpson notched six points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Wolverines had 15 points off turnovers and a 26-8 edge in points in the paint.
SECOND HALF
Simpson started the second half scoring with a driving layup following a stop and pushed the lead to 29 points. A Simpson steal and Brazdeikis drive and finish, and one, opened it up to 49-17.
A Simpson free throw made it 50-19, but Villanova scored the next four, and the crowd got back into it on a Paschall drive and dunk.Poole ended the run with a steal and pass ahead to Livers for a transition hoop. U-M continued to lock it down on defense and led 52-24 at 12:58.
Brazdeikis’ kiss off the glass at 12:15 pushed the lead back to 29 after a ‘Nova free throw.
The Wildcats came out in a trap at the second TV timeout , but it resulted in Poole’s uncontested layup underneath after some good ball movement.
A Brazdeikis drive and finish made it an even 30 again, 58-28, at 10:30. He continued to take it to the rim in the second half, helping the Wolverines stay a step ahead.
U-M slowed the pace and took the air out of the ball and led 65-39 at the 3:21 mark, the last TV timeout.
Michigan went to the bench at the three-minute mark. Freshman David DeJulius added an exclamation point with a triple from the top that made it 70-41, and frosh Colin Castleton's putback made it 72-41. The final margin was 27 for Michigan, ending the Wildcats' streak of 106 games in a row without losing by double digits.
U-M outscored the Wildcats 25-1 in points off turnovers and 44-20 in the paint. Matthews led the way with 19 points, while Brazdeikis added 18.
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