Once Donte DiVincenzo snapped Villanova out of its early-game funk, there was simply no stopping the Wildcats on Monday night.
The sophomore guard came off the bench to score 31 points as Villanova routed Michigan, 79-62, in San Antonio to win its second national championship in three years.
"I really can't get my mind around it," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "I never dreamt of this. We just took it one day at a time. We try to get better every day, and I thought we played our best game in the championship game."
The nation's top-scoring offense -- one that set a record for 3-pointers -- the Wildcats opened the night ice cold from behind the arc, making one of their first nine attempts. That allowed Michigan to build a seven-point lead, at 21-14 with 11:00 to play in the first half. But Villanova answered with a 9-0 run, going ahead on one of DiVincenzo's five 3-pointers on the night.
The Wildcats were up 37-28 at halftime and then steadily widened their lead throughout the second half. Villanova outshot Michigan 47.4 percent to 43.6 percent from the field and 37 percent to 13 percent from 3-point range, and outrebonded the Wolverines 38-27.
The fact that Villanova (36-4), a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, won it all wasn't exactly shocking. But on a team that features the Naismith Player of the Year, Jalen Brunson, and a likely NBA lottery pick, Mikal Bridges, it was surprising that DiVincenzo ended up being a no-brainer for Final Four Most Oustanding Player. He also had five rebounds, three assists and two blocks Monday.
"We're so close. We grind every single day in practice, and we're brothers," DiVincenzo said. "And just being able to be up here with these guys and experience this, it's a dream come true."
Bridges finished with 19 points. Brunson scored just nine points on 4-of-13 shooting.
This time, the Wildcats didn't need a 3-point buzzer-beater in the championship game like they did two years ago against North Carolina. In fact, Villanova had a relatively smooth path to the title, winning all its NCAA tournament games by at least 12 points.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman led third-seeded Michigan (33-8) with 23 points. Moritz Wagner had 16 points and seven rebounds. Zavier Simpson added 10 points.
The Wolverines have now lost four national championship games since their last and only title in 1989.