The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Michigan Wolverines 79-62 in the 2018 National Championship on Monday night, and the players and students celebrated together in the student section.
Oftentimes when teams win a championship, fans bolt from their seats and flood the court (or the field, what have you), security allowing, to participate in the unforgettable moment.
But on Monday night, in the seconds following the Villanova Wildcats’ dominant win over the Michigan Wolverines, the Wildcats players flipped the script.
Overcome with emotion and feeding off the energy of the Villanova student section at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Donte DiVincenzo, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and the rest of the Wildcats went up into the student section to celebrate with their classmates. It was an unforgettable moment, easily one of the best the night had to offer:
https://twitter.com/marchmadness/status/981012153124532224
Winning a national championship is no joke. Immediately following that final bucket, players are inundated with television cameras and reporters, coaches and family members. They’re lucky if they can find a moment to embrace their teammates as they don their new championship gear and soak in the moment — and then the interviews and the awards ceremony begins.
But displaying the connection the Wildcats players have with their program (and in a choice FanSided Fandom 250 moment), somehow the players found time to walk over to the Villanova student section and put in some face time with their biggest fans.
Villanova last won a national title in 2016, so some of these students have been here before. But it’s a feeling we assume never gets old, and by the looks of those students’ faces, it never will.
The Villanova students are fired up dreaming of 2nd title in 3 yrs / Michigan will be tough / they can defend the 3 / teams have shot 18-75 vs them in @marchmadness pic.twitter.com/Ba1qxqgvT3
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) April 2, 2018
And ironically, of the Wildcats players on the court tonight, only Brunson was part of the National Championship-winning team two years ago.
Off the Wildcats’ bench, DiVincenzo scored a team-high 31 points for Villanova, by far outscoring all five starters. Bridges was next, with 19.
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The Wildcats set a new record tonight for made three-pointers, further cementing what we always knew — that they were easily the most dominant team this season all along.