Coming off of the Bench was not a Barrier for Divincenzo
Typically, college basketball games are decided by the starters on each team and the bench has a minimal impact on games, especially in the Final Four. Teams will live and die by running their starters into the ground in the most important games. In 2018, this was not the case, however. The 2017-2018 Villanova Wildcats were an elite collegiate basketball team, who ultimately went 36-4 overall and won the National Championship. Starting four future NBA players in Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Eric Paschall, and Omari Spellman, it was actually Donte Divincenzo, a non-starter, who won the 2018 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player award.
In the Final Four game against the Kansas Jayhawks, Divincenzo played 28 minutes off of the bench and recorded 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Not only this but he scored his 15 points on 66.7%/60.0%/100.0% shooting splits and had a 207-offensive rating, which led the game. He dismantled the Jayhawks during the Wildcats’ 95-79 victory, despite playing the 6th most minutes on Villanova. Divincenzo was not a one-hit wonder, however.
Just two days later in the National Championship against Michigan, Donte Divincenzo took it up another notch. Villanova coach, Jay Wright, gave Divincenzo the reins and played him a whopping 37 minutes off of the bench, leading all players. Donte scored 31 points on 10/15 shooting (and 5/7 from beyond the arc), which is still the highest scoring output for a bench player in the National Title game of all time. Mikal Bridges added 19 points, but no other Villanova player scored in double-figures. It was essentially a two-man show, primarily led by Divincenzo as Villanova crushed the Wolverines 79-62.
Remy Martin is the 2022 Version of Divincenzo
This year, it is very plausible that Remy Martin could replicate at least a lite-version of what Donte Divincenzo accomplished four years ago. Martin was arguably the top transfer addition in the country and was even named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 19.1 points per game each of the previous two seasons at Arizona State. Unfortunately for Martin, he dealt with a nagging knee injury this season, so much so that he did not play in any games for almost an entire month (January 29th-December 26th). When he returned from injury, he assumed a bench role for the Jayhawks and slowly got back to form.
In the first weekend of March Madness Remy Martin looked the best he has all year, scoring 35 points across two games on 13/22 shooting (59.1%). He added four assists each game and showed incredible pace and play-making off of the bench. Then in the toughest game of the season against #4 Providence, Remy Martin shined brightest and looked to be the alpha dog for the Jayhawks. While Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun struggled (shooting a combined 4/14 from the field and 0/6 from three), Martin completely took over and posted 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in 27 minutes. This was the most points he scored all season and was the sole reason KU was able to fight off Providence in their 66-61 victory.
Now set to face off with the same Villanova program who ended Kansas’ title hopes in 2018, Remy Martin could release his inner-Divincenzo and crush the Wildcats despite not starting for KU. Remy Martin has already won the Most Outstanding Player for the Midwest Region and is now looking to add a National Championship and/or a Final Four Most Outstanding Player award to his resume. Coming off of the bench this season was definitely not Martin’s goal, but if he is able use his swagger, speed, and late-shot-clock creation to lead KU to their first National Championship since 2008, then it will all be worth it.