Villanova basketball ran into a buzzsaw Wednesday night, as the Wildcats got absolutely dominated on both ends of the floor in a 89-61 loss to the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Michigan broke away early, as it built a 30-point lead by halftime. The second half was mostly about finding out what the final score would be, as Michigan basketball cruised to its ninth straight victory to start the 2025-26 season.
The Wolverines had an 18-3 run in the first half, which they also finished with a 12-0 run. While many would look at Michigan's overpowering offense as a main reason for its crumpling of the Wildcats, Villanova head coach Kevin Willard reminded everyone not to overlook the Wolverines' stout defense.
“Defensively. Everyone talks about their offense, but everything is predicated off their defense,” Willard said after the game about what makes Michigan hard to beat (via David Szczepanski of WXVU). “They use length well. They switch great. They’re so well connected defensively right now.”
Michigan held the Wildcats to just 34 percent shooting from the floor and only 10-for-37 on shots taken from behind the arc. It was also the eighth consecutive game that the Wolverines held an opponent to a 45.0 effective field goal percentage or worse. Before the Villanova game, Michigan limited the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Rutgers Scarlett Knights to only 35.8 eFG% and 40.3 eFG%, respectively.
Moreover, Michigan is leading the nation with an adjusted defensive rating of 85.6, per KenPom.
Willard will look to steer his team back to its winning ways, as the 7-2 Villanova basketball team takes on the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova.
