The Villanova Wildcats overcame a slow start and blew past the Michigan Wolverines to capture their second national title in the past three years, covering the spread in the process and completing a perfect 6-0 ATS NCAA Tournament run.
Villanova ended up running Michigan out of the gym, easily covering the 6.5-point closing chalk in a 79-62 victory. The Under 144.5 cashed as well.
The Wildcats trailed the Wolverines by seven points midway through the first half, thanks to great ball pressure from the Wolverines and the Wildcats inability to hit a shot early. However, Villanova made some adjustments and Donte DiVencenzo played out of his mind, scoring 31 points off the bench and the Wildcats never looked back.
Villanova was truly dominant during its championship run. Monday night’s victory made it so Villanova had won every game in the tournament by double digits, so it’s no surprise the team went a perfect 6-0 ATS in the tourney. And it wasn’t just that Villanova was winning and covering, it was doing so with ease, covering the number by almost 10 points per game.
The last team to go 6-0 ATS during a championship run was Duke back in 2015.
The ATS run ended what was a great year for Villanova backers, as the Wildcats end the season 28-12 ATS (70 percent). The Wildcats were 20-11 ATS in the regular season, but took their game to another when the postseason came around going 8-1 ATS.
Villanova entered this season as 12/1 contenders for the title, according to William Hill US and were as long as 30/1 last summer. But by the time the tournament rolled around the Wildcats were one of the favorites to win it all at 9/2.
The Westgate Superbook released their college basketball championship odds for next season earlier on Monday and has Villanova pegged as a serious contender once again in 2019, hitting the board at 8/1. They trail only Duke and their unreal recruiting class at 5/1. Kansas and Kentucky also join Villanova at 8/1. Michigan is further down the board at 20/1.
