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

There isn’t a talent gap

This Villanova team is really good. There is no questioning that but leading into the NCAA tournament, Tennessee actually ranked higher in the Kenpom rankings.

Michigan has been inconsistent all season long, and that was evident over the final month of the season as the Wolverines alternated wins and losses. Yet, each of those losses was to a team playing in the NCAA tournament and as UCLA showed last season, talent matters in March.

When Caleb Houstan hits 3-pointers or Moussa Diabate has one of his standout games, this team is really hard to beat. Houstan struggled against Tennessee, but Diabate scored 14, while Eli Brooks and Dickinson carried the offense.

Nova has six top-100 recruits on its roster. Michigan basketball has eight and it has five guys that ranked in the top 50, while the Wildcats have one.

Now, Villanova doesn’t see the kind of freshmen mistakes Diabate and Houstan make. They won’t take a wrong step on defense or have an unforced error on offense. They won’t foul and they shoot the ball really well.

But Michigan basketball has more NBA-level talent. Frankie Collins showed what that talent can mean in a one-game setting and so did Diabate. Even Houstan, who three makes were critical in the first-round comeback.

If a couple of those guys put it together or if Houtsan has one of those nights where he makes 4-5 3-pointers, Michigan can easily win this game and the truth is, it has the edge in talent.

It’s just a matter of whether that talent will show up when it matters most.