Villanova blasts Michigan in NCAA final. Social media reacts
Well, it's official, Philadelphia is the city of champions.
About two months after the Eagles gave the city of brotherly love the Super Bowl title its always craved, Villanova's men's basketball team delivered a decisive college basketball national title.
In 2016, Villanova shocked North Carolina with a last second 3-point shot from Kris Jenkins as time expired to win a national title. Monday, against Michigan, the Wildcats didn't need those type of heroics.
Villanova overwhelmed Michigan 79-62 in the national final with a swarming defense, its free-flowing team offense and a healthy dose of redshirt sophomore Donte DiVincenzo. Villanova became the first team since Roy Williams' 2009 North Carolina team to win all of its NCAA Tournament games by double digits.
DiVincenzo scored 18 points of his 31 points in the first half as Villanova grabbed a nine-point lead that it steadily built on in the second half. He scored another 11 straight at one point in a memorable stretch that included him nailing a cold-blooded 3-point shot and winking at the crowd as he ran down court.
That was well after Michigan got down by 15 early in the second half, and many fans were already calling it.
Many Michigan fans felt the game was poorly officiated, with complaints (in some cases correctly) that Villanova was getting away with some travels.
But make no mistake, this one was over by halftime, when Charles Barkley said Michigan was in trouble after executing a perfect game plan and was still trailing by nearly double digits. Michigan led 21-14 early but trailed 37-28 at halftime.
And there were plenty of people in full agreement with the former Round Mound of Rebound.
One problem? The Wolverines didn't use national semifinal hero Moritz Wagner too much in the first half or for the game really. He got a really nice early basket and didn't get many touches afterwards.
But it was Villanova's night. The best team in college basketball all season proved it on the game's biggest stage.
This story was originally published April 2, 2018 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Villanova blasts Michigan in NCAA final. Social media reacts."