THE BASICS:
Well, now we know what we’ve got left. Loyola put up a great fight, but fell to Michigan in the first of the two national semifinals, and with a record-setting deep-shooting barrage, Villanova advanced to another title game by rolling past Kansas.
THE STARS:
These three are NOT stooges: Hakeem, Larry and Mo
If not for Mo Wagner, the Wolverines wouldn’t have had much a chance against Loyola-Chicago. But they did have Big Mo in the lineup, and he did something pretty amazing — becoming just the third player in a national semifinal to score 20 or more points and gather up 15 or more rebounds.
The other two to turn that trick? A couple of no-names: Hakeem Olajuwon and Larry Bird.
Wagner laughed when a reporter asked him about the feat:
Wagner seemed unfazed by Loyola’s stingy defense, and when he started going stronger to the offensive glass, things seemed to open up for Michigan’s outside shooters.
He evened the game at 47 with a move that shows off his multiple talents — after getting double-teamed on the block, Wagner faked a pass, dribbled out to the 3-point line, and buried the game-tying shot.
Nothing to it.
Villanova's Eric Paschal is suddenly a sniper
The game had long been decided when with just over three minutes to play, Donte DiVincenzo rolled through the Kansas defense, and dished to Eric Paschal, who threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk.
But it was symbolic. Symbolic of the ease with which ‘Nova toyed with the Kansas defense. And symbolic of how Paschall was a force to be reckoned with. The redshirt junior hit all but one of the 11 shots he took — including four of five from behind the 3-point arc. With weapons like Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Omari Spellman keeping opponents’ attention, when Paschal gets rolling, the Wildcats are a tough team to slow down.
After struggling from behind the 3-point stripe last year, and then getting off to a slow start this season, Paschal has heated up down the stretch.
What's been the key? Hard work and good coaching, he said:
THE SKINNY:
Gimme some time to warm up, please!
Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was the bigger barn. Either way, the shooting in the first game between Loyola-Chicago and Michigan was not pretty through the first few TV timeouts.
While John Beilein’s bunch insisted on continuing a steady stream of bricks — missing 11 of 13 from behind the arc in the first half — the 11th-seeded Ramblers alleviates any shooting woes by getting closer to the rim. After falling behind early, Loyola-Chicago used a heavy dose of aggressive drives as underdogs jumped out to a 29-22 halftime edge.
But when Wagner started crashing the offensive glass in the second half, everything fell into place.
Michigan roared back with a 17-2 run, and Loyola coach Porter Moser simply didn’t have any answers.
“We had that run with the turnovers. And it snowballed on us. And they hit some shots. I don't think it was any one thing. We tried to space it and cut hard. Their length. They're really good defensively. They close the gaps. We always talk about getting the domino going. They closed the gap of opportunity really fast,” Moser said. “I thought we were rotating so well for so long that it just was a step slower, when you start getting that many turnovers in a row, and it was just — it was a painful run.”
Still, the run has left a sense of pride in the school, as Kirk Wessler of the Peoria Journal Star writes here.
Here's what Loyola's Ben Richardson had to say on the subject:
THE NEXT STEP:
Can Villanova do the Texas two-step again? After winning it all in Houston in 2016, the Wildcats sure looked unstoppable in the semifinal, using some amazing outside marksmanship to easily roll past a fellow No. 1 seed.
Michigan likes to shoot, and Mo Wagner proved he can bury the long ball in the Alamodome on Saturday, but if Villanova has anything close to a repeat performance of its semifinal showing, Jay Wright will get to hoist his the national championship trophy for the second time in the three years.
We’ll find out for certain on Monday night.
Tip-off is slated for 8:20 local time (Central).