Michigan Basketball: Wolverines take revenge tour to Villanova

Michigan basketball decided to follow in the footsteps of the football team and in doing so, took the revenge tour for a stop in Villanova.

Chase Winovich might have been the instigator for the revenge tour but it made a stop in Philadelphia Wednesday, as the Michigan basketball team, led by Zavier Simpson and Charles Matthews destroyed Villanova 73-46.

The matchup, which featured 18th-ranked Michigan basketball and eighth-ranked Villanova, in a rematch of last season’s National Championship game, was a highly anticipated affair. However, the Wolverines beat down the Wildcats like the football team beat down Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State.

And while it doesn’t make up for finishing as the national runner-up last April, it brings a certain amount of satisfaction and also raises expectations for this season after the Wolverines weren’t overly impressive against Norfolk State and Holy Cross.

Michigan came in averaging just 59 points per game and shooting 36 percent from the field. Against Villanova, the Wolverines shot better than 50 percent and got big-time efforts from Matthews and freshman Ignas Brazdeikis. Simpson was also incredible on both ends of the floor.

A big part of the Wolverines victory was their domination in points off turnovers. At one point, Michigan basketball had a 24-0 nothing lead in that category, which probably had something to do with having just one first-half turnover.

Simpson gets a lot of credit for that, however, he wasn’t alone. He did finish the game with nine points, six assists and five steals, but he also got a lot of help from Matthews, who had 19 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

With Simpson and Matthews, along with Jon Teske playing at a high level, Michigan basketball suffocated Villanova on the defensive end of the floor. The Wildcats scored just 17 points in the first half and shot 31 percent from the field and 21 percent from 3-point range. The Wolverines also blocked six shots and had 11 steals, a combined total of 17 compared to three blocks and one steal for Nova.

In terms of non-conference wins, you can’t do much better than beating Villanova, the defending national champs, on the road. This will be a huge confidence boost now and a big resume-building win that will be a feather in the cap of the Wolverines come March.

While the Michigan offense was struggling, the defense came in allowing 40.5 points per game and when it was all said and done in Philly, the Wildcats, who were averaging close to 100, finished with 46. It was as good a defensive performance as Michigan basketball has had in the John Beilein era.

It also announced the Wolverines as legit Big Ten title contenders. It was hard to judge Michigan when it was down six to Holy Cross last Saturday — but now the team looks legitimate. The defense is dominant and the offense is coming around. Just look at how Iggy and Matthews attacked the hoop. Matthews also excelled with multiple fade-away jumpers and Simpson did great a job of getting to the bucket.

All in all, it was an impressive performance and one that should have Michigan basketball fans excited. At the very least, it was fun taking another ride on the revenge tour.