ANN ARBOR — Is this the game that Michigan gets challenged? Can Villanova come to Crisler Center and stay competitive past halftime? Those are the questions worth asking in advance of Tuesday’s nonconference showdown (6:31 p.m. ET, FS1).
Michigan is hosting a toy drive benefiting the local children’s hospital — fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the game — which begs for a joke about Villanova being re-gifted former player of the year Jalen Brunson or at least Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright. Based on how the Wolverines have played lately, that’s what it would take to beat them.
Here are their victory margins over their past five games: 41, 40, 30, 40, 25. It’s just the third time in program history, and first since 1989, Michigan has reached 100 points in three straight games.
“Three weeks ago we were terrible and now we’ve peaked,” Michigan coach Dusty May said, sarcastically, mimicking what some critics have suggested already this season. He wants Michigan at its best in March but said, “I would always err on playing good basketball over crappy basketball, whatever time of the year.”
The Wolverines have done that, most recently in their Big Ten opener: Saturday’s 101-60 win over visiting Rutgers. Villanova figures to be a step up in competition.
The 7-1 Wildcats (No. 35 in the NCAA’s NET rankings) haven’t lost since a season-opening setback against BYU (No. 10 in the AP poll) in Las Vegas, 71-66. Villanova hasn’t been seriously challenged since.
Kevin Willard is in his first year as coach after three in the Big Ten at Maryland. Bryce Lindsay is his leading scorer at 18.1 points per game; Acaden Lewis, a top-50 recruit whom May called “one of the best freshman guards in the country,” is next (12.8). Duke Brennan averages 11.4 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, a big reason Villanova is second nationally in offensive rebounding rate (per kenpom.com).
“They did a really nice job of putting the right pieces together,” May said of Maryland’s portal-heavy roster.
May called Villanova “a storied program” and clearly appreciates this type of matchup. Villanova made the NCAA Tournament nine straight times, a run that included two national championships and a Final Four appearance in Wright’s last season in 2022. Under his replacement, Kyle Neptune, Villanova hovered around .500 and never got back to the Big Dance. Enter Willard and a potential resurgence.
Michigan, though, is on another level right now. May is already preparing for potential counters teams may deploy weeks from now. The short prep meant lighter practices with more focus on film and other mental aspects of the game.
The Wolverines had much tighter turnarounds in Las Vegas last month and handled them exceptionally well, winning three games in three days.
That, coupled with the Rutgers performance, has kept the national spotlight on Michigan, which rose to No. 2 in Monday’s AP poll. The success and accolades can be handled one of two ways, May said. “It makes you complacent and you start patting yourself on the back or it pours fuel on your fire and you want more. Like, ‘Man, this is fun to be in meaningful games and to be in sold-out arenas and to have this energy and intensity around every game.’
“That’s what it seems like today, in early December, where our guys are.”
