The Michigan Wolverines and Villanova Wildcats look for an early-season statement win as they square off on Wednesday night in a title game rematch.
To end the 2017-18 season and March Madness, it was the Michigan Wolverines taking on the Villanova Wildcats, a game in which the latter was emphatically victorious. In a new year where both teams have seen tremendous roster turnover from last season, the Wolverines and Wildcats will square off again on Wednesday night in an early-season top-25 matchup.
Eighth-ranked Villanova lost the majority of the starters from their title-winning team last year, seeing the likes of Jalen Brunson, Omari Spellman, Donte DiVincenzo and Mikal Bridges make way to the NBA. However, Jay Wright has proven that he’s not about being a one-year wonder and has a new group that appears primed to make some noise.
The Wildcats have opened the season against subpar competition, facing Morgan State and Quinnipiac to begin the year. As you’d expect, the Phil Booth-led group handled both quite easily. However, Booth and the likes of Eric Paschall have shown already that they are equipped to lead this new iteration of Villanova to more success.
As for Michigan, John Beilein has his team bringing in reinforcements as well after losing Mo Wagner, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and even Duncan Robinson. With that said, this is Charles Matthews’ team as he, Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske look to lead the way for a younger Wolverines team.
Admittedly, the Wolverines weren’t overly dominant in wins over Norfolk State and Holy Cross to get to their 2-0 start. However, this 18th-ranked Michigan team is loaded with talent of their own. And if Beilein can get his group up for a big game on Wednesday night, they should be able to push the Wildcats, perhaps more so than they did in last year’s title game.
Game Info
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018
Start Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Villanova, PA
Arena: Finneran Pavillion
TV Info: FS1
Live Stream: FuboTV, FOX Sports Go
These are obviously two very different teams than the ones that met for the National Championship Game to end last season. Having said that, both Villanova and Michigan have the potential to make real noise this year, and an early-season statement victory would be a nice jump-off point for either squad.