Michigan vs. St. Louis Tactical Breakdown: How the Wolverine Can Beat the Billikens

Michigan was able to win their first round matchup in the NCAA Tournament last night against the Howard Bison by a score of 101-80. It was a game with a lot of fireworks, as both teams were shooting the lights out in the first half. Howard ended up losing some steam and couldn't keep up in the second half which led to a 21-point Michigan win.

Michigan's offense was explosive in this one, and Morez Johnson Jr. led the way with 21 points on 8/8 shooting with 10 rebounds to go along with it. After having a rough Big Ten Tournament, it was nice to see Morez Johnson Jr. respond and have a great performance here in this one.

After beating Howard, the Wolverines will advance to take on the St. Louis Billikens who beat the Georgia Bulldogs 102-77. That game was a very fast paced game as well, with St. Louis really controlling most of the game. It'll be an interesting matchup for the Wolverines with the winner advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Let's dive more into how the Wolverines can beat St. Louis below.

Control the paint

I had this same point for Michigan's first game of the NCAA Tournament against Howard and it came true so I'm going to stick with it here. The easiest way for Michigan to win this game is to control the paint against the Billikens. With how long Michigan's front court is, there really shouldn't be another team in the country that can match up with them physically until they reach the Final Four.

They need to keep pressing their advantage there and I think that's something that's easier to do outside the confines of the Big Ten. The Big Ten is a very rugged and physical league and I think Michigan will be able to lean on their front court more in this NCAA Tournament. St. Louis's starting lineup's tallest player is listed at 6'6", so if Michigan can't control the paint in this game, they're likely in trouble.

Defend the 3-point line

This has been something Michigan has struggled with a few times this year, most notably the two games against Wisconsin, but also in that first half against Howard. Michigan has been susceptible from beyond the 3-point line at times this year on defense and Howard ended up hitting 14 three's against Michigan's defense in the game. Michigan needs to tighten up the perimeter defense if they want to advance in this game because St. Louis is the #2 team in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage at 40.2%. Michigan can give up some threes and still win if they dominate the paint, but keeping them in check from the 3-point line will go a long ways in ensuring the Wolverines avoid the upset.

Force turnovers on defense

This hasn't been Michigan's strength on defense this year, but it's something St. Louis is very susceptible of in this next game. The Billikens are 283rd nationally in turnovers per game and with how long Michigan is, they should be able to give St. Louis problems with their length. St. Louis hasn't seen a team like this all year so if Michigan can clog up those passing lanes more than St. Louis is used to, it could lead to some turnovers and nice transition offense opportunities for the Wolverines.

Michigan will once again be the favorite in this game but St. Louis is a significantly better team than Howard was. Michigan's length should cause a lot of problems for the normally very good shooting Billikens team, and if the Wolverines can control the paint, defend the 3-point line better, and force some St. Louis turnovers, they should be able to win and advance to the Sweet Sixteen.