Hunter Dickinson was Michigan’s best player this season and stepped up in the NCAA Tournament. To open the bracket, Dickinson posted 48 points across wins over Colorado State and Tennessee while shooting better than 60% from the field.

In a Sweet 16 loss to Villanova, Dickinson was held below those numbers with 15 points. An even bigger issue was an inefficient 6-for-16 shooting performance well below Dickinson’s season average of 56.3% from the field.

After the game, Villanova head coach Jay Wright discussed facing the talented big man. Wright called Dickinson “a helluva player” and said the Wildcats were focused on disrupting the timing of Michigan’s offense.

“I think Justin was making a good point, they’re a very well-coached team. They have great timing offensively,” said Wright. “Hunter Dickinson is used to getting the ball at certain spots at specific times on his cut.

“And as Justin was saying, our ball pressure was taking that timing off a little bit, so when he was catching it, he was catching it a little bit off his spot, and we were trying to hold our ground. You saw a couple times he backed us down, it was automatic. We were trying to hold our ground, so instead of taking a five-foot jump hook, it was an eight, ten-foot jump hook.

“Or like Jermaine was saying, sometimes he had to make a quick move and was moving a little quicker than he normally did. That’s what we were trying to do.

“He’s still a helluva player and a difficult guy to scheme for. He kicked it out of there for threes. He offensive rebounded. He’s tough.”

Wright also credited Michigan for a tough physical battle and congratulated Juwan Howard and the Wolverines on a strong season via social media.