The Villanova Wildcats are back in the championship for the second time in three years. Not only that, they’re expected to win again too. The oddsmakers at BetDSI have posted the Wildcats as a 6.5-point favorite, which makes them the biggest favorite in an NCAA Tournament title game since the Duke Blue Devils in 2010.
The Wildcats have looked virtually unstoppable the entire way. They haven’t even been threatened at any point, which is what contributes to them being such a big favorite. They have won all of their games by at least 12 points, which includes their 16-point win over the No. 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the Final Four. The Wildcats topped Kansas 95-79. Prior to that they topped No. 3 Texas Tech 71-59. In the Sweet 16, they turned away West Virginia 90-78. In the second round, they ousted No. 9 Alabama 81-58 and they also outed No. 16 Radford 87-61 in the opening round. What you’ll notice is Villanova has has had no problem scoring points through all of their contests, including against good defensive teams like West Virginia. They have averaged an incredible 84.8 points per game through five NCAA Tournament contests. They’re also coming off a game where they scored a record 18 three-pointers, which was the most ever in a Final Four game. They’ll carry a 10-game winning streak into the Champions Game.
As for their opponent, No. 3 Michigan, they’re going to use all of this as motivational fodder. Defense has been their calling card, so it will be interesting to see if they can slow down the Wildcats incredible offense. The Wolverines have held opponents to an average of just 58.6 points per game through the NCAA Tournament. If they can somehow keep Villanova under 60, they should win. If they keep them under 70, they should still have a chance. The Wolverines are also on a roll right now as they have won 14 straight.
As mentioned, the Wildcats are the biggest NCAA Tournament Championship Game favorite since the Duke Blue Devils in 2010. Back then, the Blue Devils were favored by seven points over the Butler Bulldogs. The Wolverines have only been a dog nine times this season and they are 5-4 in those contests.
