Ty Watches the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game

The college basketball season came to an end last night.

I watched because the Wolverines were playing. I have been in and out of this particular tournament, but I have watched all of Michigan's games, either on TV or my phone. I had to watch the entire game last night because it was the title game. I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that this particular Michigan team would make it this far when the season started. I thought they could push for a tournament bid, but to be in the title game, I was kind of in shock. And, even after the spread of 6.5 points, which is a ton in basketball, was released, I still thought that maybe, just maybe, Michigan could find a way to win a title. I bought into the talk that their defense would be able to, not shut down, but slow down Villanova's three point shooting prowess. They came off a pretty impressive second half against Loyola Chicago, the darlings of the tournament, so I also thought that they had momentum going into the title game.

What I failed to realize was how dominant Villanova had been this entire tourney. They pretty much destroyed every team in their way. Hell, two nights before the title game, they throttled a very solid KU team. They made 18 three pointers and they pretty much shut down a pretty solid KU offense. The closest any team had played Villanova was Texas Tech, and Villanova won that game pretty easily, pulling away to a 12 point victory. I looked past all of that and thought that my team could do the unthinkable. No one, and I mean NO ONE, was picking Michigan. I like when that happens because then they can play with a chip on their shoulder.

When the game started, my belief that they could pull off the upset only got stronger. They came out of the gates with their heads on fire. Mo Wagner was killing it down low. Muhammed Ali Abdur Rahkman was finally hitting jump shots. Charles Matthews was attacking the rim and had a great chase down block early. They were doing it all for the first half of the first half.

Then, Villanova calmed down and just took over. As soon as they brought in that red headed Italian dude, it was done. That kid came in the game with Michigan leading 21-14. From that point on, Villanova outscored Michigan the rest of the game 68-41, and it wasn't even that close. Villanova started to hit threes. Villanova made life miserable for Wagner and Matthews. Jalen Brunson was abusing both Zavier Simpson and Abdur Rahkman down low. Mikail Bridges started to assert himself. Villanova's young big men started to destroy Wagner and Jon Teske down low. Basically, Villanova did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted down the stretch of the first half, and the entirety of the second half. Michigan was only down 9 at halftime, but it felt like so much more to me. And, Villanova came out, after giving up an easy 2 to Wagner to start the half, and scored what seemed like the next 11 points to balloon their lead to 15. Then it was 18, then it was 19, and finally, it got as high as 22 points.

I did not give up because anything can happen in a college basketball game, but I'd be lying if I said that I truly thought they could come back. First off, Michigan is not built to make big time comebacks like that. They used to be, because of their three point shooting prowess, but this team was built to dribble drive, play defense and make an occasional three here and there. When Villanova started to hit shots, I kind of knew it was over for them. Also, Villanova's defense, while I felt they got away with a ton of contact, played exceptional last night. They crowded the guards. They forced tough threes from Duncan Robinson. They slowed Wagner down after his hot start. Matthews disappeared in the second half due the defense. They were toast. I also feel like they did not pace themselves properly last night. As I said, they came out on fire, but after that first 10 minutes, they were tired, they had heavy legs and they just couldn't keep up.

The better team won last night. Villanova was clearly, not only last night, the best team in college basketball this year. Last night only further hammered that point home. Watching them for the first time last night, I was blown away at how good they are. They do everything that a winning team should do, and they do it exceptionally. They looked so good last night. I'm sure that is how it was all year. I mean they sat Jalen Brunson, the player of the year, for a good 10 minutes due to foul trouble, and they didn't skip a beat. In fact, their lead grew. This team is a very good team, and they will continue to be a very good team as long as Jay Wright sticks around. They will lose Brunson and Bridges most likely, but every other kid that played important minutes last night will be back. That is scary. Michigan will most likely lose Wagner to the draft, and Abdur Rahkman and Robinson are graduating, but they will return a lot of guys from last night too. They should be good again, but no one is going to be beating this Villanova team any time soon. They have won 2 titles in the last 3 years, and they are only getting better. I have to give props to how good this team is. Villanova is on the verge of being a college basketball dynasty, if they aren't already.

While last night was a very painful watch for me, I am proud of what this Michigan team accomplished this year. I do not believe in moral victories, and last night stunk. That being said, this team won 34 games, won the Big Ten tournament, made the Final Four and made the title game. That is quite impressive for a team that I very little deep postseason hope for coming into the year. John Beilein is doing great work there, and I am now excited to see where this team goes next year. They have a lot of young talent, they will only lose 2-3 guys, and I love the youth that got experience this year.

I will say again, last night was brutal, but I'm excited for next season. Congrats to Villanova though. They  deserved to win, and they showed it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet.

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