No Moe magic left for Wagner
SAN ANTONIO — Nine minutes had elapsed. Michigan led by seven. Moritz Wagner had scored 11 points. The Wolverines were slowing down heavily favored Villanova, and their 6-foot-11 German junior forward was the best player on the court, scoring at will inside and out. It was exactly as John Beilein had drawn up. The next 31 minutes, however, were what the Michigan coach most feared. Villanova woke up behind the red-hot shooting of sixth man Donte DiVincenzo, and Wagner couldn’t come close to replicating that brilliant start in the Wildcats’ thorough 79-62 victory at the Alamodome. “We needed to play better, but even if we had played our best, it would have been very difficult to win that game with what DiVincenzo did,” Beilein said of the 31-point barrage from the Wildcat sophomore guard. “It was an incredible performance. Sometimes, those individual performances just beat you, and you just [tip] your hat and say, ‘Good game.’ ” Wagner, a projected NBA firstround draft pick, was held scoreless over the final 11 minutes of the first half, taking just three shots, and never could find his groove after halftime. He was whistled for an offensive foul, hooking Jalen Brunson as he drove past him, and then was called for a technical foul as he jawed with Omari Spellman. Suddenly, Wagner had three fouls with 15:24 remaining, and Michigan trailed by 15 points. The game was never close again. His brilliant NCAA Tournament, which included a 24-point, 15-rebound, three-steal effort in the national semifinal victory over Loyola Chicago, would end on a sour note. Wagner made his first four shots, and was having his way with Spellman and Eric Paschall in the paint. But he made just two of his next seven attempts, and wasn’t nearly the factor he had been in the opening minutes. “They just adjusted,” Wagner said. Villanova began contesting Wagner’s drives more, leading to turnovers, and double-teaming him in the post. Michigan tried to get him free on pick-and-rolls, but the Wildcats switched each time, leading to poor shots as the shot clock wound down. “They wouldn’t let us run any of our stuff,” Beilein said. “We tried to run more action at them and they blew it up. They blew up a lot of our action. And I think that was something that we expected, but we didn’t react well on it.” It was a memorable season for Wagner and Michigan (33-8), which went from treading water in the underwhelming Big Ten in early February to the national championship game. Defense led the offensively challenged Wolverines, keying their run to the Big Ten Tournament title and the Final Four. But it couldn’t carry them past Villanova (36-4) after the fast start. It needed a superhuman performance from Wagner. It got one for nine minutes.