Villanova-Michigan rematch of NCAA title game on tap for next season
The defending national champion Wildcats will take on the Wolverines on Nov. 14. It is a Villanova home game but the venue has not yet been determined.
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It won't take long before Villanova and Michigan renew acquaintances on the basketball court.
The two finalists in the 2018 NCAA championship game, an April 2 matchup won by the Wildcats, will meet again on Nov. 14 in the Gavitt Games, an annual series of eight contests that pairs teams from the Big East and the Big Ten conferences.
The contest will be a Villanova home game, but it has yet to be determined whether it would be held at the renovated Finneran Pavilion or at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Wildcats defeated the Wolverines, 79-62, at the Alamodome in San Antonio to win the national championship for the second time in three years. Donte DiVincenzo scored 31 points in the victory and was named the Final Four's most outstanding player.
It remains to be seen how different the two teams will look in their November rematch. Villanova's Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges and Michigan's Moe Wagner have declared for the NBA draft. Three other players — the Wildcats' DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman and the Wolverines' Charles Matthews — have decided to go through the draft process but have not hired an agent.
This will be Villanova's third appearance in the Gavitt Games. The Wildcats defeated Nebraska at the Pavilion in 2015 and won at Purdue in 2016.