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Wildcats whip Wolverines

China Daily | Updated: 2018-04-04 09:36
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Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo takes a souvenir cutting from the basket after leading the Wildcats to the championship. [Photo/Agencies]

DiVincenzo squashed any questions about this game with a 10-for-15 shooting night-5 for 7 from downtown-that was, frankly, better than that. He was a no-doubt winner of the Final Four's MVP award.

With Michigan refusing to go away early in the second half, he opened his game-sealing run with an around-the-back dribble to get to the hoop and get fouled.

At the other end, he delivered a two-handed rejection of Michigan's Charles Matthews-his second block of the game, to go with five rebounds and three assists-when Matthews tried to bring it into the paint.

The 3 that sealed it came from a big step behind the arc and put Villanova in front by 62-44 with 7:58 left.

"Honestly, I didn't look at the score at all," DiVincenzo said.

"I didn't know how many points I had, I didn't know any of that. I was just trying to make the right play. And Omari (Spellman) was setting unbelievable screens for me getting me open."

About the only drama at the end was whether DiVincenzo could unwrap himself from his teammates' mob hug to toss the ball underhanded toward the scoreboard after the buzzer. He succeeded there, too.

"Sometimes I think about whether I'm a good defender, because in practice he makes me look bad," said junior Mikal Bridges, who likely made this his final audition for the NBA with a 19-point night on 7-for-12 shooting.

What a couple of months it's been for Philly. First the Eagles, now this. The Super Bowl, though, was a classic. This one was only beautiful to one team.

Michigan (33-8) came out playing the tough-nosed defense it relied on over a 14-game winning streak that shot the Wolverines to their second final in six years.

Moe Wagner scored 11 early points to continue his great play in the Final Four. Villanova started 1 for 9 from 3-point range.

And yet, after DiVincenzo banged down a 3 from a step behind the arc for Villanova's second of the night, coach John Beilein looked at the scoreboard and saw his team behind, 23-21.

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