Four years after losing to Villanova in the 2018 national championship game, the Michigan men’s basketball team got another crack at the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
The stage was set, again, in San Antonio. This time, it was a Sweet Sixteen showdown. Despite the different rosters and a new head coach for the Wolverines, the result was the same. Villanova fought off Michigan’s late pushing, hanging on for a 63-55 victory in a low-scoring affair.
The Maize and Blue Review breaks down three takeaways from the Wolverines’ season-ending loss:
Free throw and layup woes plague Wolverines’ comeback efforts
First, it was Frankie Collins who missed a pair of free throws. Then Brandon Johns Jr. had an empty trip to the charity stripe. Next up, Eli Brooks missed his first attempt. The Wolverines missed their first five free throws and six of their first eight en route to a 7-of-14 performance at the line.
Things were even worse at the rim, where Michigan missed nine of its first 18 layups. Johns, Dickinson and Moussa Diabate all failed to convert on their fair share of looks from within five feet of the basket, preventing any sort of comeback from materializing. When the Wolverines clawed back to make it a four-point game with 3:19 to play, layups proved to be their Achilles heel. They never tied the game or evened the score in the game’s waning moments.
Hunter Dickinson establishes a paint presence but struggles to finish
Entering Thursday’s Sweet Sixteen matchup, it was clear Hunter Dickinson would be a handful for the Wildcats’ defense. His four-inch height advantage over Villanova’s tallest starter gave him a big size advantage around the rim, and he took advantage of it.
Dickinson started cold, missing his first three shots, but ultimately settled in and found his rhythm. He made his next four shots en route to a team-high eight first-half points, establishing a dominant presence in the low post. But he was forced to the bench on two separate occasions after picking up a pair of fouls — one of which saw him graze a shooter’s finger while the other became an and-one when he tried getting out of the way.
Dickinson finished with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting and dominated the glass with 15 rebounds. He missed a handful of layups and bunnies in the game’s crucial second-half moments despite getting good looks throughout the night. The shots he took were the same ones he often makes effortlessly, but it looked as though there was a lid on the rim for much of the night.
Eli Brooks’ career comes to a close, but not without a fight
Juwan Howard hasn’t shied away from praising Eli Brooks’ leadership throughout the season. As Michigan’s fifth-year senior captain, he is often likened to a coach on the court. Over the course of the Wolverines’ roller coaster campaign, he’s been a steadying hand. His experience as the lone holdover from the 2018 Final Four team proved invaluable.
But on Thursday, it all came to a screeching halt. Not without a fight, though.
Brooks finished with 14 points, canned a trio of 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. He took his game to a new level in the second half, posting 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting as he tried to save Michigan’s season. But to his demise, he and the Wolverines fell short.
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