Villanova. Champions!!

Much credit to the Michigan Wolverines. Few thought they would get as far as they did. All the way to the national Finals. They were riding a 14 game winning streak to boot.

Yet it always seemed like the proverbial shoe was waiting to drop.

Granted, Michigan has a vastly improved defense from years past, is well coached, and has a few sharp-shooters of their own. But it should be noted that throughout the tournament, at least until the Finals, everything had pretty much fallen their way. UM, a #3 seed themselves going in, hadn't faced an opponent ranked higher than a #6 seed.

In the semis, they faced dear Sister Jean and her #11 seed Loyola/Chicago. The latter was the true Cinderella of the tournament, until they were rather easily dispatched by Michigan. No big surprise there.

But then came Villanova. If memory serves, the Wildcats were ranked as the #1 overall team in the country before the season even started. Come Monday night in San Antonio, it was Michigan that became the Cinderella, to the tune of 6-7 point underdogs. That's a bunch as basketball games go. 'Nova, justifiably a #1 seed, was supposed to roll over the Wolverines.

And so they did. After an early feeling out process in the game, it quickly became apparent which team was far superior.

This is what happens when a team has better ball handlers, better rebounders, and a better team defense than their opponents. That's not even to mention always having five guys on the floor that can bomb away from 3-point range.

Indeed, the Wildcats set several records for 3-point shooting. Most in a single NCAA tournament game. Most for the tournament. Most for the entire season. Not by a little, but smashing the previous records. And they lit up the Wolverines as well.

So it likely should have come as no big surprise they wound up walloping UM by a whopping 17 points in the NCAA Final.

In the latter stages of the game, UM had pretty much thrown team play out the window. It was one-on-one street hoops. Who can put on the best move, drive to the basket, and either make it or get fouled?

But that was hardly a recipe for success. Throw in a few missed free-throws, a bane of Michigan throughout the year, and the final result was rather predictable.

Yes, Villanova is just.... that.... good. If these teams played ten times, it's highly likely 'Nova would win all of them.

In a politically correct world, many would say Michigan deserves a lot of credit for accomplishing what they did. Indeed they do. They went further than most thought they would.

But in the real world, their magical little "run" not only came to an end, but they got stomped, thrashed, taken to the woodshed, and otherwise beaten to a pulp by the Wildcats. Men against boys. A beat down.

So here's to the Villanova Wildcats and head coach Jay Wright. The 2018 collegiate men's national basketball champions.

And they earned every bit of it.

The pounding they put on a #1 seed Kansas team in the semis should have been an omen of things to come.

Michigan turned out to be little more than cannon fodder.

They were a nice feel good story while it lasted, but c'mon. Is anybody really surprised on how it turned out when all the marbles were at stake?

Against a talent galore steamroller like Villanova?

The right team won, and for all the right reasons.

They were just better.

By a lot.

Period.

Congrats to Villanova, and enjoy.