Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo drives to the basket over Michigan guard Charles Matthews (1) during the second half in the championship game of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 2, 2018, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (KEVIN LAMARQUE)
In the end, there was just no stopping Villanova. And there was no stopping Donte DiVincenzo.
The redshirt sophomore scored 18 points in the first half to help Villanova pull away from Michigan as the Wildcats defeated the Wolverines 79-62 at the Alamodome in San Antonio Monday night to capture their second NCAA men’s basketball championship in three seasons.
The win not only capped a 36-4 campaign for Villanova, it also capped one of the great three-season runs in college basketball history. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, the Wildcats have won 103 games and lost just 13.
Monday night’s victory also secured the legacy of Villanova head coach Jay Wright, who joins Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina’s Roy Williams as the only active coaches with multiple national titles.
Unlike on Saturday night, when Villanova opened the national semifinal by outscoring Kansas 22-4, the Wildcats were slow to get started against Michigan. They trailed by as many as seven points in the first half before DiVincenzo caught fire, sparking a 23-7 run to give Villanova a 37-28 lead at halftime.
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