SAN ANTONIO, TX — Donte DiVincenzo came off the bench to score 31 points No. 1-seeded Villanova beat third-seeded Michigan 79-62 on Monday night at Alamodome in San Antonio to win its second National Championship in three years.
DiVincenzo, who played a team-high 37 minutes and was instrumental at key moments after Jalen Brunson slipped into foul trouble during the second half, shot 10 of 15 from the field and hit five of the 10 Villanova 3-pointers.
The 6-foot-5 reserve junior guard also grabbed five rebounds, three assists and two key blocks.
“Honestly, I didn’t look at the score at all,” said DiVincenzo, who scored 12 points in the first half before exploding in the second.
“I didn’t know how many points I had. I didn’t know any of that. I was just trying to make the right play.
“And Omari (Spellman) was setting unbelievable screens for me getting me open. And I was just feeling it.”
Mikal Bridges added 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers, while Spellman pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (36-4), who pull ahead with a decisive run late in the first half to lead 37-28 at the break.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman led Michigan with 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting in his final college basketball game.
Moritz Wagner scored 11 points early, but was limited to just five after that, with Villanova head coach Jay Wright revealing at halftime that he instructed his players to keep the ball away from the big forward.
Wagner ended with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Wolverines (33-8), who had won 14 straight entering the NCAA Tournament championship game on Monday night.
Meanwhile, junior guard Brunson, the national Player of the Year, ended with nine points and went junt 4 of 13 from the field for Villanova, which won all six NCAA Tournament games by double digits.
“It just shows how much depth we have, and that we don’t care who gets the credit,” Brunson said.
The Wildcats joined Michigan State (2000), Duke (2001) and North Carolina (2009) as the only teams to do so.
BOX SCORES AND MORE ESPN LINKS BELOW
