{"id":62099,"date":"2018-04-03T07:38:51","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T07:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=62099"},"modified":"2018-04-03T07:38:51","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T07:38:51","slug":"donte-divincenzos-big-night-fires-villanova-way-national-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/donte-divincenzos-big-night-fires-villanova-way-national-title.html","title":{"rendered":"Donte DiVincenzo’s big night fires up Villanova on way to national title"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donte DiVincenzo’s big night fires up Villanova on way to national title<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Like most freshmen, Donte DiVincenzo thought being on a big-time team meant he was big time, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Michael Jordan of Delaware,\u201d Villanova coach Jay Wright called him, and no one who heard it then could have mistaken it for a compliment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Turns out, Wright was onto something without even knowing it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The backup guard came off the bench to give the reeling Wildcats a lifeline Monday night and wound up getting them their second national title in three years. His 18 points in the first half turned the momentum of the game in Villanova\u2019s favor, and his back-to-back three-pointers in a 52-second span in the second half provided an exclamation point to the Wildcats\u2019 79-62 victory against Michigan.<\/span><\/p>\n

DiVincenzo finished with a career-high 31 points, most ever by a non-starter in the championship game and most by anybody since 1989.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, he was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s worked so hard to make himself the best player he can be every day,\u201d Jalen Brunson said. \u201cHonestly, this is nothing special \u2014 excuse me, this is very special. This is nothing surprising for us. We\u2019ve seen Donte do this multiple times this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just so thankful that he was able to have one of those nights tonight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s something of a tradition now, a guard coming off the bench to lead Villanova to the national title. Two years ago it was Phil Booth, who had a team-high 20 as the Wildcats beat North Carolina in the championship game.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this, this was something else.<\/span><\/p>\n

DiVincenzo was 10-for-15, including a blistering 5-for-7 from three-point range. After the last of his threes, he turned toward the camera and winked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hey, when you\u2019ve got game like Jordan, there\u2019s no point denying it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven if we had played our best, it would have been very difficult to win that game with what DiVincenzo did. It was an incredible performance,\u201d Michigan coach John Beilein said. \u201cSometimes those individual performances just beat you, and you just take your hat off and say, `Good game.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Though DiVincenzo was the Big East\u2019s Sixth Man of the Year and has had big games before \u2014 Gus Johnson hung the nickname \u201cBig Ragu\u201d on him after his tip-in basket beat Virginia last year \u2014 he\u2019s spent most of the year in the shadow of Brunson, Booth and Mikal Bridges.<\/span><\/p>\n

But even if the rest of the country didn\u2019t know what he was capable of, his teammates sure did.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two years ago, when Villanova was preparing for its Final Four matchup with Oklahoma, DiVincenzo was given the task of playing the otherworldly Buddy Hield on the scout squad. The freshman, redshirting after an injury, played the role almost a little too well, repeatedly lighting up his teammates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can\u2019t guard Donte,\u201d Wright said then, \u201chow in the world can we expect to guard Buddy Hield?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A better question might be how in the world can anybody expect to guard DiVincenzo?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I think about if I\u2019m a good defender or not because sometimes in practice he just makes me looks bad,\u201d Bridges said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Added Brunson, \u201cBuddy Hield\u2019 Donte was a special person. It\u2019s someone that might have just came out tonight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What makes Villanova so special is that it has an endless number of ways to beat you. There are a half-dozen Wildcats who can score. If the offense doesn\u2019t kill you, the defense will.<\/span><\/p>\n

But early in the game Monday night, Villanova was struggling. After dropping three-pointers like it was a Pop-a-Shot contest Saturday night, the Wildcats couldn\u2019t get any to fall. It wasn\u2019t having much luck with 2-pointers, either.<\/span><\/p>\n

But after Michigan took a 21-14 lead on Moe Wagner\u2019s layup with 10:59 left, DiVincenzo scored on a jumper to start a 23-7 run to close out the half. DiVincenzo had 12 points during the decisive spurt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wagner made a layup to start the second half, but Villanova scored seven unanswered points and all that was left was to wait for the confetti. As the final seconds of the game ticked down, DiVincenzo\u2019s teammates mobbed him and he threw the ball high into the air.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, no, I did not think that I was going to have this kind of night,\u201d DiVincenzo said. \u201c\u2026 These guys did a great job of finding me, and I just found myself in a rhythm.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Michael Jordan of Delaware. The nickname has a whole new meaning now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/columnist\/nancy-armour\/2018\/04\/02\/donte-divincenzos-big-night-fires-up-villanova-way-national-title\/480286002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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