The Wolverines hit the road for the first time this season.
Who: No. 18 Michigan Wolverines (2-0) at No. 8 Villanova Wildcats (2-0) Where: Finneran Pavilion (Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) When: Wednesday, Nov. 14,6:30 p.m. ET Point spread: Villanova -7.5 Watch: FS1 (live stream: fubo.tv *) Listen: Detroit: WWJ-950 AM; Ann Arbor: WWWW-102.9 FM; anywhere: MGoBlue.com Tickets: Sold out Follow: Andrew Kahn
Michigan’s first road game of the year is a rematch of last season’s national championship against the eighth-ranked team in the country.
The game is being played on Villanova’s newly-renovated campus arena, just outside of Philadelphia, and the 6,501-seat venue is sold out. A Villanova basketball spokesperson said it was one of the toughest tickets at Finneran in years.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Villanova head coach Jay Wright said he’d been exchanging texts with John Beilein. «Both of us were complaining that we don’t have enough tickets,» Wright said with a laugh. The Wildcats often play their high-profile matchups at the Wells Fargo Center.
National championship rematches are rare. The last time there was a rematch of the national title in the following season was Dec. 4,2010, when Duke beat Butler, just as it had in the 2010 final.
Much like that sequel, this one won’t have many of the same characters as the original, won by Villanova 79-62 in San Antonio. Michigan’s Moritz Wagner, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, and Duncan Robinson are gone. Villanova lost title game hero Donte DiVincenzo, player of the year Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Omari Spellman early to the NBA.
But the Wildcats still have guard Phil Booth and forward Eric Paschall. The two fifth-year seniors are averaging a combined 38.5 points per game in wins over Morgan State and Quinnipiac to start the season.
Wright also brought in the ninth-ranked recruiting class in the country and a grad transfer who averaged 18 points per game at Albany last season. The freshmen aren’t starting, but they’re contributing.
«We’re excited about this one to see where we are when we’re playing against the best,» Beilein said.
Michigan has struggled offensively in its two 19-point wins to start the year. The Wolverines have missed some open looks, but zone defenses have thrown them off. Jordan Poole is 1-for-10 from the field and 0 of 6 from 3. «I don’t think he’s had very good shots actually,» Beilein said. «He has not been able to get open the way we’d like to get him open.»
Villanova likes to deploy a small lineup, and Beilein could counter with sophomore Isaiah Livers at the center spot. Livers said the game has slowed down for him drastically compared to last year. Defensively, he’s recognizing opponents’ sets before they even begin. When he gets the ball, he’s realized it’s not a «hot potato.» «I learned that the game is patience,» he said.
Neither Livers nor his teammate Jon Teske, the two Wolverines who spoke with the media Tuesday, made a big deal about the rematch. Same for Beilein.
«I don’t think it’s, ‘Hey, remember the Alamo’ here,» he said before realizing the reference to the Alamodome, where the Final Four was played. «We want to go and play well against a good team.»
The game was not scheduled by the schools but rather arranged by the conferences as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, an event in its fourth year that pits the Big Ten against the Big East. Wisconsin and Georgetown earned road wins (over Xavier and Illinois, respectively) on Tuesday. Michigan-Villanova is one of three games Wednesday. Three more matchups follow over the next two days.
Pre-game reading:
+ Sophomore guard Eli Brooks, with a renewed confidence, returns to his home state
+ No ‘Revenge Tour’ mindset for Michigan basketball
+ John Beilein receives a giant painting of himself
+ Beilein thrilled Caris LeVert won’t need surgery
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