Villanova Wildcats: Donte DiVincenzo leads team to second title in three years

Thanks to a strong outing by Donte DiVincenzo off the bench, the Villanova Wildcats defeated the Michigan Wolverines for their second championship in three years.

Heading into this year’s 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Villanova Wildcats were considered one of the top favorites to end up cutting down the nets in San Antonio with the opportunity to claim their second title in three season after their historic win in 2016. It may not have been pretty at first, but the Wildcats showed once again why they were considered one of the best teams in college basketball all season, and now it’s safe to say Jay Wright‘s team can officially earn the dynasty label after taking down Michigan 79-62 during Monday’s championship game.

While all eyes were on Jalen Brunson heading into the contest, it was actually Donte DiVincenzo that came up big for Villanova off the bench after leading all scorers with 31 points. Throughout the season, the Wildcats always had a major advantage over their opponents with DiVincenzo since his impact was what most teams expect from their starters, and it’s tough to imagine Villanova still ending up on the winning end it wasn’t for the sophomore guard.

For the most, the Wildcats were fortunate to have their way in this year’s tournament after defeating each of their opponents by double-digits, and crazy enough, that ended up being the case against the Wolverines. Once they entered halftime with a nine-point lead, Villanova seemed confident in their chances to come out strong in the second half since Michigan seemed to be pretty worn down, but winning by 17 points seemed like a bit of a stretch.

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Live or die by 3-point shooting has been the reputation Villanova established all season, and seeing them recover after a poor start against Michigan was truly remarkable to witness, as Wright deserves plenty of credit for not hitting the panic button. Between the Wildcats winning their second title in three seasons along with the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Super Bowl a few months ago, isn’t it amazing to see fans in the City of Brotherly Love finally having something worth celebrating after all of the years of suffering? Who knows, maybe the Philadelphia 76ers or Philadelphia Flyers will be next!