About seven months ago, these two teams were playing for a national championship, and on Wednesday night, the no. 19 Michigan Wolverines and no. 9 Villanova Wildcats will meet again. This time, the game is part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games competition between the Big Ten and Big East. After a 17-point win in the championship game, the Wildcats are 7-point favorites over Michigan on Wednesday night.
Michigan coach John Beilein’s offseason included heart surgery, but he’s back on the sidelines and picked up his 800th career win in the team’s season opener against Norfolk State. The Wolverines have made two trips to the national championship game in the past six years but probably have the highest preseason expectations they’ve had in at least a handful of seasons.
Speaking of preseason expectations, Villanova is surely familiar with those after winning two national championships in the past three seasons. One would think expectations would be released after the Wildcats saw four players leave early for the NBA draft. However, Jay Wright has recruited well and gathered enough talent to make Villanova the runaway favorite to win the Big East this year.
In the Booth
The Wildcats may have lost most of their key players from last season, but senior Phil Booth looks ready to step up and take the reins. He’s averaging 20 points per game over the first two games of the season while taking over 20% of Villanova’s shots. Fellow senior Eric Paschall has also started to grow into a more prominent in blowout wins over Quinnipiac and Morgan State to start the season.
The caveat for the Wildcats is that they haven’t gotten much from some of their heralded newcomers early in the year. Freshmen Jahvon Quinerly, Cole Swider, and Brandon Slater were all expected to contribute right away but all three have made little impact during the first two games. The Wildcats were also expecting a little more from Albany grad transfer Joe Cremo. Against a big-time opponent like Michigan, Villanova may need a couple of those guys to step up.
New Kids on the Block
To be fair, Michigan is in a similar position. The Wolverines are working to replace three of their top four scorers from a year ago, most notably Mo Wagner. Fortunately, after his brilliant player in the NCAA Tournament last season, Charles Matthews has already taken on the burden of being Michigan’s go-to scorer. Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis has also helped the Wolverines put the ball in the basket in wins over Norfolk State and Holy Cross, giving Michigan two outstanding wing players.
Beilein has also seen a number of sophomores and juniors step into new roles. The likes of Jordan Poole, Jon Teske, Isaiah Livers, and Zavier Simpson all know that more will be asked of them this season. Of course, all of them got their feet wet playing in big games last season, which could give the Wolverines a little more depth and experience than their opponents on Wednesday night.
Test Time
This will be a big test for both teams. Unfortunately, we’ve learned little about each team from early season blowouts. However, Michigan, at the moment, has a little more experience and appears a little more solidified. The Wolverines should be ready for a road test and at least make this a close game. Bet on Michigan at least beating the 7-point spread against Villanova.
