Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from Wolverines win over Villanova

Matthews was the top dude Wednesday night

When Matthews decided to come back to Michigan basketball, it offered him a great opportunity to be the guy. Well, Wednesday night, against the defending National champs, he took the reigns and didn’t look back.

His performance on the defensive end was impressive, however, his first half offensively was even better. Matthews connected on seven of his first nine shots and scored 16 first-half points. He was most effective working in the post. He hit a couple fade-away jumpers early and was also able to muscle his way into the basket.

Much like last season, when Wagner was the center of the Michigan offense, on Wednesday, it was focused around Matthews. On lots of possessions, he got a touch in the post and with his ability to shoot and drive, the Wildcats had a tough time defending him.

Matthews didn’t hit a trey and Michigan struggled from deep (5-of-17), yet his breakout performance in the first half helped the Wolverines finally break out of their offensive slump.