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Same Old ‘Nova! The Best!

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Villanova 74, Seton Hall 72

When: 6:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 16, 2019
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 19,812
Recap for Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

NEW YORK  – A 7-0 run late in the second half enabled No. 25 Villanova to hold off Seton Hall 74-72 Saturday night for the Big East Tournament championship at Madison Square Garden.

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Eric Paschall scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures for the top-seeded Wildcats (25-9), who earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Phil Booth and Saddiq Bey each added 16, while Jermaine Samuels netted 12 points.

Villanova led by as many as nine points with three minutes left, but had to sweat out a rally that saw the Pirates have two chances to tie or win.

Myles Powell’s 3-pointer from about 27 feet out on the right wing was on line but banged off the back iron with about five seconds left. Booth grabbed the long rebound but was called for walking with 0.2 seconds left. Game officials caucused and reset the clock to 0.4 seconds.

Seton Hall tried a lob pass to the bucket, but it caromed off the backboard and bounced near midcourt before it was touched, ending the game.

Powell, who led all scorers with 25 points, put back his own missed shot with 15.5 seconds left to pull Seton Hall within 73-72. Paschall made 1 of 2 free throws with 13.7 seconds remaining for a two-point edge, setting the stage for the dramatic conclusion.

Anthony Nelson added 12 points and Myles Cale tallied 10 for the third-seeded Pirates (20-13), who should receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney on Sunday.

The first half was a low-scoring grinder, with each team playing its third game in as many days.

Villanova made the first run, a 12-2 burst that ended with a Paschall pullup jumper with 13:26 left in the half to make it 12-7. Bey converted a layup with 5:52 remaining in the half for a 25-18 advantage, but Seton Hall made its first big push right after that.

Cale started an 8-0 spurt with two free throws and ended it with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:31 on the clock, giving the Pirates a 26-25 edge.

The Wildcats responded, with Dhamir Cosby-Rountree sticking back Paschall’s missed layup just before time expired to give them a 28-26 lead at intermission.

–Field Level Media

US Basketball Writers Honor Oc

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MINNEAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report from Official USBWA News Release) – The late Jim O’Connell, long-time Associated Press national college basketball writer, will have an award named for him and be honored as its first recipient by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

O’Connell, a former president of the USBWA and member of its Hall of Fame, died in July. He will be honored at the annual awards luncheon April 8 at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in Minneapolis. His wife, Anne, sons James and Andrew, and sisters Winnie and Mary are expected to accept the award, which will be named the Jim O’Connell Award for Excellence in Beat Reporting.

Known throughout basketball as Oc, O’Connell covered 39 consecutive Final Fours for the AP and served as its national college basketball writer since 1987. He received the Curt Gowdy Award for outstanding lifetime coverage of basketball from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Upon receiving that honor, O’Connell stated, in the most unassuming way possible, “this is easily the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“The question wasn’t whether to honor Oc,” said USBWA president and Newport News Daily Press columnist David Teel. “It was how to honor Oc, and a beat-reporting award that carries his name is perfect. No one embodied the love of the game and often-unseen hours of the grind like Oc, and we hope this award will inspire dedicated beat reporters just as Oc inspired us.”

The award will become an annual tribute to the daily work of reporters who meet the highest standards of beat reporting while exceeding the USBWA Code of Ethics..

O’Connell’s AP career spanned the championship game between Magic Johnson of Michigan State and Larry Bird of Indiana State; the creation of the Big East Conference; the growth of the NCAA Tournament to 68 teams; and the capacity of Final Four venues to 70,000 and beyond. He also attended every Big East Tournament from 1980-2017 and covered 20 Maui Invitationals.

He worked the Olympic Games from 1984 in Los Angeles through 2004 in Athens, and according to FIBA, held the unofficial distinction of covering more Olympic basketball games than any reporter.

“He was the source on college basketball,” former AP sports editor Terry Taylor.

NCAA Men’s Basketball 2019 National Championship Odds

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VILLANOVA, PA – Election Day polls will close across the United States but College Basketball will just be tipping-off the 2018-19 season tonight as the major conferences, mid-majors and practically every men’s basketball team in the land prepares for the upcoming hoops season . The talented oddsmakers at MyTopSportsBooks.com have issued updated odds for the 2019 NCAA Championship and a few other interesting props to get the season off to an interesting start.

2019 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – OPENING ODDS (November 6th)

  • Kentucky: 6/1
  • Kansas: 7/1
  • Duke: 7/1
  • UNC: 11/1
  • Gonzaga: 12/1
  • Nevada: 14/1
  • Villanova: 15/1
  • Virginia: 16/1
  • Oregon: 22/1
  • Tennessee: 30/1
  • Michigan State: 32/1
  • UCLA: 40/1
  • FIELD: 7/1

In addition, looking ahead to the college basketball season, MyTopSportsBooks.com issued these prop offerings:

o Odds a freshman wins the Naismith Player of the Year Award – 7/2

o Odds that Duke’s Zion Williamson dunks from the free throw line in a 2018-19 game – 32/1

o Odds a Men’s college basketball team wins its first NCAA National Championship – 7/2

Note: Sports fans and gaming insiders are turning to the most reliable and accurate odds/information source available online at MyTopSportsbooks.com for analysis.

It’s Never Over ’til It’s ‘Nova

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Villanova 79, Michigan 62

When: 9:20 PM ET, Monday, April 2, 2018
Where: Alamodome, San Antonio
Attendance: 67,831
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

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Much was made of Villanova’s balanced, prolific scoring as the Wildcats mowed down one opponent after another in one of the most dominant runs through an NCAA Tournament in years.

Lurking in the shadows was a highly underrated defense, one that turned around Monday night’s national championship game with Michigan.

Allowing the Wolverines to make just 43.6 percent of their field-goal attempts and just 3 of 23 tries from 3-point range, the top-seeded Wildcats notched their second title in three years with a 79-62 verdict at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

In becoming the first team since North Carolina nine years ago to win every tournament game by double figures, Villanova (36-4) got a game-high 31 points from sixth man Donte DiVincenzo and 19 from Mikal Bridges.

Yet even DiVincenzo, the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player who steamrolled Michigan with a run of 10 straight points late in the first half and another burst of nine straight points in the second half, pointed to his defense as the most satisfying factor.

“The blocked shots, definitely,” he said when asked if scoring 31 points or rejecting a pair of shots pleased him more. “I pride myself on defense and bringing energy to this team.”

The Wildcats’ versatility and ability to play positionless basketball on offense also translates to the defensive end. Almost everyone in the Villanova rotation can guard multiple positions, allowing the team to switch screens if needed, and most of the player are quick enough to deny opponents their favorite spots.

Michigan (33-8) was able to execute its offense well enough for the first 10 minutes, leading on Moritz Wagner and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman to grab a 21-16 lead just over 12 minutes into the game. However, when Villanova started cutting off driving lanes and forcing the Wolverines to settle for jumpers, the game changed.

“They obviously played the drive better, and I turned it over a couple of times,” Wagner said. “You have to give them credit. They’re a really good team defensively and when they play like that, they’re tough to beat.”

DiVincenzo’s outburst made beating Villanova just about impossible. The Big East Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year scored 10 of his 18 first-half points in a span of just 2:55, keying a 23-7 spurt that turned a seven-point deficit into a 37-28 halftime lead.

Canning 3-pointers, scoring off the dribble and even drilling one long jumper over two defenders, DiVincenzo put Michigan in a hole it wasn’t about to escape.

“We needed to play better,” Wolverines coach John Beilein said, “but even if we had played at our best, it would have been very difficult to win with what DiVincenzo (was doing).”

Wagner scored to start the second half, but the Wildcats weren’t about to let suspense enter the equation. Continuing to string stops together while regaining rhythm offensively, they hit Michigan with a 14-3 run that Bridges capped with a 3-pointer for a 51-33 lead with 14:36 left.

The Wolverines kept working but couldn’t get closer than 12 for the game’s remainder. DiVincenzo peeled off nine straight points in a 2:39 stretch, finishing it with a 3-pointer with 7:57 on the clock to make it 62-44.

Fittingly, it was DiVincenzo who dribbled out the final 10 seconds, flinging the ball toward the ceiling of the cavernous football stadium as his teammates mobbed him.

“We grind every single day in practice,” he said. “To experience this is a dream come true.”

Abdur-Rahkman paced Michigan with 23 points and Wagner contributed 16, but their best efforts just weren’t enough to hold off Villanova.

“I can’t put this into words,” Brunson said. “This is spectacular.”

NOTES: Villanova became the first team since North Carolina in 2015 to lead the country in scoring and win the national title. … The 2009 Tar Heels were the last team to win every tourney game by double digits. … DiVincenzo was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Bridges, Jalen Brunson and Eric Paschall along with Michigan’s Wagner. … The Wildcats’ win follows the Eagles’ Super Bowl triumph, making Philadelphia the first city ever to win the Super Bowl championship and the NCAA championship in the same year, according to TBS.

April Madness

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Michigan vs Villanova
When: 9:20 PM ET, Monday, April 2, 2018
Where: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

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 Omari Spellman
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SAN ANTONIO – Villanova is one win away from its second national championship in three seasons, but its final hurdle appears to be a daunting one. Michigan owns the longest winning streak in the nation at 14 games and will attempt to upset the Wildcats when the teams square off Monday in San Antonio in the NCAA Tournament title game.Villanova was a good 3-point shooting team in 2015-16 when it won the national championship (highlighted, of course, by Kris Jenkins’ championship-clinching 3-pointer at the buzzer), but the Big East champions have taken it to a new level this season.

The Wildcats set a Final Four record with 18 3-pointers in Saturday’s semifinal victory over Kansas and have made at least 13 3-pointers in four of their five wins in this event. “It’s our best offensive team. We’ve had some good ones. This is definitely our best,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose squad hopes to hand Michigan its first loss since Feb. 6. The Wolverines defeated upstart Loyola Chicago on Saturday, rallying from a 10-point second-half deficit to move to the brink of their first title since 1989.

TV: 9:20 p.m. ET, TBS

ABOUT MICHIGAN (33-7): The Wolverines won their final six regular-season games, followed by a 3-for-3 run in the Big Ten Tournament and a smooth surge through the first five games of the Big Dance, although they have yet to defeat a team seeded higher than No. 6 in this event. They have given up more than 63 points only once in this tournament and harassed Loyola into 1-of-10 3-point shooting and 17 turnovers, while Moritz Wagner (24 points, 15 rebounds) handled the bulk of the burden offensively. Charles Matthews added 17 points, but fellow starting guards Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Zavier Simpson combined for seven points on 2-of-17 shooting and must be better against the Wildcats’ talented backcourt.

ABOUT VILLANOVA (35-4): With Wooden Award finalist Jalen Brunson leading the way, the Wildcats are the top scoring team in the nation (86.8 points), which provides a nice contrast with the Wolverines, who are eighth nationally in points allowed (62.9). Brunson had 18 points against Kansas, second on the team to Eric Paschall, who recorded 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting (4-of-5 3-pointers), while Omari Spellman chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds and Donte DiVincenzo had 15 points off the bench. Mikal Bridges, potentially the top NBA prospect in this year’s Final Four, had 10 points against the Jayhawks and is capable of erupting from 3-point range, as the junior has drained multiple 3s in 13 of the last 14 games.

TIP-INS

1. Aside from the Elite Eight, when he shot 0-of-7 from the arc against Florida State, Wagner is 9-of-15 from 3-point range in the NCAA Tournament.

2. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, Villanova is the fifth team to win its first five games by double digits. The only team in that group to lose the championship game was North Carolina (against Villanova) two years ago.

3. Villanova defeated Michigan en route to winning the 1985 national championship and won the last matchup in 2014, but this will be only the fourth meeting.

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