U-M, Villanova push past key injuries in Sweet 16 run

INDIANAPOLIS » Villanova spent all season operating with the security of having senior point guard Collin Gillespie leading the attack. Michigan knew it could depend on versatile veteran Isaiah Livers.

Now the Wildcats and Wolverines have figured out how to win without them in the NCAA Tournament.

Gillespie is out with a serious knee injury suffered in the regular season’s final week. Livers is out indefinitely with a foot injury diagnosed during the Big Ten Tournament. And both teams are in the Sweet 16 after successfully adjusting so far to those major late-season hits.

“Obviously things are going to happen in the season, but we just try to stay consistent,” said Michigan’s Brandon Johns Jr., a starter with Livers out. “We try to work together at all times. And we just work on it in practice and everything, just to keep the flow going and try to instill that confidence in everybody to step up. It’s been working, so we’ve just got to keep it rolling.”

It hasn’t been easy for either team. But they’re still advancing, with the fifth-seeded Wildcats meeting top-seeded Baylor in Saturday’s South Region semifinal and the No. 1-seeded Wolverines facing Florida State the following day in the East.

“There’s no feeling sorry for ourselves,” Villanova forward Jermaine Samuels said after the second-round win against North Texas. “There’s no being down on ourselves, blaming each other for anything, it’s just the next challenge, next man up, and keeping that laser focus on trying to be the best team we can be. And whatever happens, happens.”