Michigan Basketball: 3 reasons Wolverines can beat Villanova in Sweet 16

Here are three reasons why Michigan basketball can beat Villanova in the Sweet 16. 

We are two days away from Michigan basketball’s Sweet 16 matchup against Villanova. The Wildcats and Wolverines played in the NCAA Tournament in 2018 in the national championship game, which was a lopsided loss for U-M.

Now, the two teams will meet in San Antonio once again with a berth in the Elite 8 on the line in the South Region. Villanova got to this round by defeating Ohio State in the Sweet 16, while Michigan upset sixth-seeded Colorado State and third-seeded Tennessee.

Michigan won those games without DeVante Jones, who is normally the starting point guard, but missed all except for about 10 minutes due to a concussion. His status for this week is unclear.

Frankie Collins stepped in and played well in his absence, especially against Colorado State where he turned into a true X-factor on both ends of the floor. Even if Jones is back, I’d expect to see Collins a little more because of Villanova’s ball-screen heavy offense.

The Wildcats are going to be a challenge and head coach Jay Wright is one of the best in the business. But, Michigan is capable of winning this matchup, and here are three reasons why.

Hunter Dickinson has been unstoppable

We can talk about all the different reasons that Michigan basketball has reached the Sweet 16 — and there are a lot — but none matters as much as the play of Hunter Dickinson.

In the first two tournament games, Dickinson has averaged 24 points per game, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 2.5 assists. He also made three 3-pointers, hit 16-of-23 total attempts, and made 15-of-17 free throw attempts (86 percent).

Yes, his is a liability on defense and Villanova is going to try to exploit it as much as possible with pick-and-pop 3-pointers and forcing him to defend in space. On the same token, Villanova isn’t effective at guarding post-ups and ranks 165th overall in 2-point field goal percentage.

The Wildcats also don’t have a player taller than 6-foot-8. So either Villanova guards him one-on-one and he destroys them or they double him, leading to the sort of open treys the Wildcats normally don’t give up since they rank 41st in 3-point defense.

It will be an interesting chess match but when Dickinson is playing at his best, Michigan basketball can play with anyone. And since February, he’s averaged 20.9 points per game, shot 55 percent from the field, and made 12-of-38 shots from 3-point range.

He’s been one of the best offensive players in the country regardless of position and that makes Michigan a tough matchup, at least for teams that struggle to defend the rim, as Villanova does.