Villanova is 7-1 this season, but what I see in their record is a bunch of wins against Pennsylvania schools and losing to their one tough school, BYU. They're facing No. 2 Michigan, which is 8-0 and have won five of the games by 30 points. They won by 40 points in the last two, including a win over Gonzaga, which was favored by 2.5 points. Dusty May has his team ready for battle, and they're averaging 94 points a game and shooting 52.8%. Their best attribute, though, is how the whole team has bought into defense, allowing only 34.6% shooting. Villanova doesn't have Jay Wright anymore, or even Kyle Neptune, who's been replaced this season by Kevin Willard as head coach.
This is a big number for a matchup of two storied programs, but based on current form, I bet the favorite. The Wildcats have played an easy schedule and still rank second-worst nationally in 3-point percentage allowed (42.5 percent). Michigan takes more than 40% of its shots from deep and has made 44% of its 3-pointers over the past three games. Combined with Michigan's advantages inside, I'm looking for another Wolverines blowout.
