VILLANOVA, Pa. –No. 18 Michigan took control early on Wednesday night at the Finneran Pavilion and went on to post a 73-46 victory over No. 8 Villanova before a sellout crowd on campus. The Wolverines scored first and quickly built a double-digit lead they never surrendered.
 
Villanova was unable to solve the Michigan defense, struggling to create offensive opportunities throughout the night.
 
"Obviously, I was just very impressed with Michigan's team," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "We knew this was a great defensive team. I said to a couple of people before the game that I thought that this could be John (Beilein)'s best defensive team. They hadn't been shooting it great from three but they have the potential to become a really good 3-point team."
 
"For us, part of it is my fault. We're not as organized as we want to be. We're trying to find a lineup in the early season. When you play a good team like that, it doesn't look good. We were too disorganized out there to play a team like that."
 
Michigan grabbed the early 4-0 lead on baskets by Jordan Poole and Charles Matthews. A pair of Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree free throws got Villanova on the board before the Wolverines scored four more points to make it 8-2 at the 16:28 mark of the first period.
 
Entering the game Villanova head coach Jay Wright spoke glowingly of Michigan's defense. That sentiment proved prophetic as the Wildcats battled mightily to get good looks, registering only two field goals – in 10 attempts – through the game's first 8:32. The Wolverines held a 14-7 lead at that juncture.
 
Michigan then reeled off an 8-0 run to push its lead to 22-8 at the midway point of the half. With 7:05 to play the Wolverines were on top 26-10 while connecting on .600 of its field goal attempts. VU, meanwhile, was just 3-of-15 (.200) from the field, 1-of-6 from beyond the arc (.167) and had committed five turnovers.
 
The Wolverines efficiency included another 11-0 run later in the period that pushed its lead to 36-13 at the final official timeout of the half. By the time the two teams headed to their respective lockers rooms at intermission Michigan held a 44-17 lead.
 
Matthews paced the Wolverines with 16 first half points. The Wildcats, meanwhile, were unable to solve the riddle of the Michigan defense, converting on 6-of-25 first half field goals.
 
In the second half, the Wildcats didn't have much more luck in chipping away at the deficit. Michigan's margin never dipped below 24 points.
 
Senior Eric Paschall led the Wildcats with 10 points while classmate Phil Booth added nine points. Villanova ended the evening with 21 turnovers.
 
Asked if he thought that this might be a learning experience for his unit, Wright responded: "I hope so. We just didn't have that cohesiveness that you have to have against good teams. Phil and Eric felt the pressure to get it going because we weren't in synch. They're too good a defensive team for that. They read that and did a great job of attacking Eric."
 
The Wildcats will be back in action at the Finneran Pavilion on Saturday when they host Furman at 5 p.m. (FS2 and 610 ESPN Radio).