We should guard against saying that what the Michigan basketball team is doing is easy. It's not easy at all.
The Wolverines are making it look easy, though, and they did once again in another lopsided win over Villanova (89-61).
The Wildcats hung around with Michigan basketball for part of the first half. Villanova didn't have a meaningful lead, though. It wasn't quite wire-to-wire for Michigan, but it was close. The Wolverines led by 30 at the half, thanks to a 30-2 advantage in points in the paint.
Villanova was another team ranked in the top 40 of the Kenpom rankings. Michigan basketball beat them like a low major. The defense was suffocating. Michigan won the rebounding battle, had more assists, fewer turnovers, and led in most categories except for 3-point makes.
Here are the gut reactions to a blowout win for Michigan over Villanova.
Michigan didn't even shoot well
The Wolverines shot 27 percent from 3-point range. They also shot just 56 percent from the free-throw line, and still won the game going away. When the starters were pulled, Michigan had nine turnovers and nine fouls.
In the last four games, Michigan has been lights out from 3-point range. When this team hits double-digit 3s, it has a good shot at hitting 100. Michigan didn't shoot well, and that's why this win was impressive.
The Wildcats made nine 3-pointers in their own right, but Michigan's defense did an exceptional job. Villanova had just five assists. That means a lot of one-on-one shots and two 2-point shots. With Michigan switching everything, that's how it played out.
Villanova, a team with the 27th-best adjusted offense, according to KenPom, needed a late run just to score 60 against Michigan.
The defense was elite, but the offense scoring as much as it did, shooting as poorly as it did from 3-point range was a reminder of just how good this team is.
Depth on display
This was another game where the depth of Michigan basketball was on display. All nine rotation players scored at least five points. Seven players scored at least eight points.
There is no shortage of offensive weapons on this team. Yaxel Lendeborg managed just nine points on six shots. It still didn't matter in the 28-point win.
Dynamic point guard play
Elliot Cadeau had too many turnovers against Villanova (4). That's too many. Yet, the North Carolina transfer also made four triples and added two steals to go along with 18 points. He also had four assists.
3-point shooting was supposed to be a weakness for the point guard. Instead, he's been shooting the ball better and better.
Boring game
For the fifth straight game, it was over by halftime. It wasn't competitive, and it wasn't as close as the final 28-point margin suggests.