The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DiVincenzo makes it rain for Villanova
‘Big Ragu’ scores 31 points in 79-62 win in title game.
SAN ANTONIO — When he wasn’t dribbling behind his back, winking to the TV announcers, stuffing shots or dishing out assists, Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo was making it rain. First, 3-pointers. Later on, confetti. The redhead kid with the nickname Big Ragu came off the bench to make five 3s and score 31 points late Monday to lift Villanova to another blowout victory in the NCAA Tournament — this time 79-62 over Michigan for its second national title in three seasons.
The sophomore guard had 12 points and an assist during a first-half run to help the Wildcats (36-4) pull ahead, then scored nine straight for Villanova midway through the second to snuff out the Wolverines. He capped the second shooting skein with a 3-pointer from a step behind the arc. He punctuated it with a knowing wink over to the sideline, where TV announcers Jim Nantz and Bill Raftery were sitting.
Yep, he knew he could do it. And his teammates were more than willing to let him steal the show.
“If someone’s hot, feed ’em,” said Jalen Brunson, the national Player of the Year, who finished with nine points and was perfectly fine with playing a supporting role on this night.
In taking the program’s third overall title, Villanova won all six games by double digits over this tournament run, joining Michigan State (2000), Duke (2001) and North Carolina (2009) in that rare air. The last team to win its two Final Four games by 16 or more: UCLA in 1968. During the dynasty.
One key question: Does Jay Wright’s team belong on the list of the best of all-time?
Maybe so, considering the way Villanova dismantled everyone in front of it in a tournament that was dripping with upsets, underdogs and at least the appearance of parity.
Maybe so, considering the Wildcats won in seemingly every way imaginable. This victory came two nights after they set a Final Four record with 18 3-pointers (they had 10 in this one), and one week after they relied more on defense in a win over Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.
“We don’t really look at it that way,” Wright said. “We don’t look at it as, did we just dominate that team? No. We played well.”
And really, that debate’s for later.
DiVincenzo squashed any questions about this game with a 10-for-15 shooting night — 5 for 7 from 3 —that was, frankly, better than that. He was a no-doubt winner of the Final Four’s most-outstanding-player award.
About the only drama at the end was whether DiVincenzo could unwrap himself from his teammates’ mob hug to hurl the ball underhanded toward the rafters after the buzzer. He succeeded there, too.
“Sometimes I think about whether I’m a good defender, because in practice, he makes me look bad,” said junior Mikal Bridges, who likely made this his final audition for the NBA with a 19-point night on 7-for-12 shooting.
DiVincenzo joins Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the rare club of players to crack 30 points while also shooting better than 66 percent from the floor in a Final Four game. He finished 10 for 15 from the field, with five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. He had the highest-scoring game for any single player against Michigan’s stingy defense this season, and the most in a championship game by a non-starter.
What a couple of months it’s been for Philly. First the Eagles. Now this. The Super Bowl, though, was a classic. This one was only beautiful to one team.