SportsPulse: Trysta Krick and USA TODAY Sports' Scott Gleeson look ahead to Monday's national championship game and discuss if Michigan can take down red-hot Villanova. USA TODAY Sports
After 66 games of the NCAA tournament, there are two teams left standing.
No. 1 Villanova and No. 3 Michigan will clash for the men's college basketball national championship on Monday at the Alamodome (TBS, 9:19 p.m. ET).
Which team has the edge at each position?
BACKCOURT
Jalen Brunson, the junior guard who already helped Villanova to one national title, is not just the best point guard still playing — he’s the best overall player. A savvy, scrappy throwback point guard who uses his IQ to win games, Brunson will be the difference-maker for Villanova, especially if the game comes down to the last minute.
He is far from the only weapon on the perimeter, though: Pity those who overlook redshirt junior guard Phil Booth, who was instrumental in the national title game two years ago, scoring 20 points in 25 minutes off the bench as Nova topped North Carolina.
Michigan guards Charles Matthews, a junior, and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman will have to play well offensively and defensively. But experience counts, and this is Villanova’s second national championship appearance in three years. That will be most evident in the back court.
Edge: Villanova
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FRONTCOURT
Do you believe in Mo(e)? That refers to momentum, which Michigan has in spades right now, and Moritz Wagner, Michigan’s 6-11, 245-pound forward from Germany who is a handful for everyone. Wagner, a junior, is hitting his stride at the perfect time, just like the Wolverines. He can score inside and out, as evidenced by his 24-point, 15-rebound performance on Saturday where he hit three threes, and scored on putbacks. His motor knows no end, and his teammates feed off his energy.
On the flip side, Villanova’s Omari Spellman and Eric Paschall can provide matchup problems for Michigan because they, too, can stretch the floor, but no one matches Wagner’s motor. His teammates feed off his energy and emotion, and he can get them going at any time. He will also be the best passing big man on the floor.
Edge: Michigan
COACHING
This is probably the toughest to call, and both coaches know it. Michigan’s John Beilein is a coaches’ coach, respected across the country at every level, willing and able to adapt to his roster each season. His guys are tough defensively, using length and grittiness to claw back into games. He doesn’t panic, either. Michigan was down as much as 10 to Loyola-Chicago in the semifinal, but Beilein and his staff just kept coaching and teaching — he’s a stickler for fundamentals — encouraging to Wolverines to trust that shots would start to fall, and they’d be OK.
On the other bench, you have a bonafide, established coaching star in Wright, who already has one national title. Like many coaches, Wright and his offense have been influenced by the NBA style of playing without a true center, and on the cusp of his second title in three years, it’s obviously working. He’s been here before — and recently — so he knows what it takes, and how hard it is to get there. He also doesn’t seem to panic (not that there was any reason for that Saturday when Villanova was raining threes).
The edge goes to Wright, but just barely.
Edge: Villanova
INTANGIBLES
Don’t underestimate the value of experience.
Multiple Villanova players on the current roster were crucial to the Wildcats’ title run two years ago, and now they’re older, wiser and stronger.
That’s how they got past West Virginia’s suffocating pressure in the Sweet 16, and there’s no one tougher than the Mountaineers.
Edge: Villanova
THE PICK
The Wildcats already have dispatched one No, 3 seed (Texas Tech) in gritty fashion, and then easily handled a 1 seed (Kansas). Yes, the Wolverines’ length and athleticism on the perimeter will make it tough to score … for a bit, anyway.
Michigan limited Loyola to 1-for-10 shooting from three, but this is the best offensive team Wright has ever had at Villanova.
And in the NCAA tournament, teams that can score win titles.
Edge: Villanova
Read Again Brow https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2018/04/02/villanova-michigan-who-has-edge-ncaa-tournament-national-championship-game/477046002/
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