The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The Michigan Wolverines were on the wrong side of that divide Monday night in San Antonio, Texas.
Michigan got off to a strong start in the NCAA men’s basketball title game then the Villanova Wildcats ran away with it. The final score was 79 to 62 and gave Villanova its second national championship in three years.
Michigan Radio sports commentator John U. Bacon was at the game. He joined "Morning Edition" host Doug Tribou to talk about what went wrong for U of M.
According to Bacon, it's easy to find the cause of the Wolverines' demise.
"One guy: [Donte] DiVincenzo," he said. "Without him, Michigan wins. It's that simple."
DiVincenzo, a sophomore guard, came off the bench to score 31 points, adding five rebounds and three asssists.
Although DiVincenzo didn't start the game, his performance wasn't a complete surprise. This season the Big East Conference named him its Sixth Man of the Year, an award that honors players who come off the bench.
For Michigan, senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman lead the scoring with 23 points. Junior Moe Wagner, who's widely expected to enter the NBA draft next season, had 16 points and seven rebounds.
This was the Wolverines' second trip to the title game under coach John Beilein. Michigan lost to Louisville in 2013.
