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Who said the word revenge can only work with the Michigan football team?
No. 18 Michigan (3-0) blew out No. 8 Villanova (2-1) 73-46 in a rematch of the 2017-18 National Championship game. The Wolverines never trailed in the contest.
Charles Matthews led the charge with 19 points but freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis added 18 points and seven rebounds to help lead the Wolverines.
What happened
U-M started the game with a 12-4 run highlighted by a couple Zavier Simpson and Charles Matthews layups underneath.
From there it only got worse for the Wildcats. Matthews slammed home another dunk and the Wolverines went on a 13-0 run midway through the first half to build a 39-13 advantage.
U-M led 44-17 going into the locker room. It was the largest halftime deficit for UV since 2003.
Nothing changed in the second half. Every time the Wildcats tried to change momentum, U-M had a counter to offer. They a 30-point lead into the 10 minute mark of the second half and never let go of it.
U-M outscored the Wildcats 44-20 in the paint. U-M was 310th in the nation in scoring offense at 59 points per game coming in, they had 44 at the break.
The Wolverines shot 51 percent from the field and held UV to 31.8 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent (3-of-15) from beyond the arc. U-M’s bench also outscored the Wildcats 20-14 led by Eli Brooks who had five points.
Another big stat was the Wolverines producing 16 fast-break points to UV’s two points. U-M forced 21 turnovers and scored 25 points off of them. They only turned the ball over eight times themselves.
Up next for the Wolverines is the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. They start with George Washington on Saturday, Nov. 17 at noon.