Michigan vs. UConn Tactical Breakdown: How the Wolverines Can Win the National Championship

Michigan rolled past Arizona last night in what was supposed to be an all-time type Final Four matchup. Michigan and Arizona had been two of the top three teams in college basketball all year, and analytically, were two of the best teams in recent memory. The game however turned out much different than most people thought. Michigan was able to get it going early and had Arizona's offense flustered all game long, as they went on to win 91-73.

The biggest story coming out of the game though is probably the health of Michigan's best player and Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg. He left the first half with an injured ankle and knee and while he did come back, he did not look like he was moving anywhere close to his normal level. Despite the injury he came back in and still netted 11 points in 14 minutes. His health will be a big story for this next game and might ultimately decide who wins the National Championship. Let's dive more into the keys for Michigan to win this game below.

Defend the three point line

This game for Michigan in my opinion will ultimately come down to how well Michigan defends the three point line against UConn. UConn doesn't have the same type of weapons that Arizona had inside, and we saw how Michigan was able to shut their offense down. UConn does shoot it better from three point range though when compared to Arizona. UConn as a team hit 12 three's against Illinois on the way to their win, and it was spread amongst six different Huskies that hit three point shots against Illinois. To beat them, you really need to defend the three point line very well, no matter who's in the game.

Value the basketball

One of the bigger issues Michigan's offense has had this year is the turnovers, and UConn on the other side does an excellent job of valuing the basketball and not turning it over. In order to avoid having a big shot disparity in this game against a team that doesn't turn it over very much, Michigan will really need to value the basketball. They can not afford to have a high turnover game in this one and expect to win because UConn almost certainly will not have a lot of turnovers themselves.

The Wolverines have proven they can do it, but they also still turned it over 13 times against Arizona despite winning big. I'm not sure turning it over 13 times is going to be a recipe for success for Michigan in this game, so they really need to value the basketball on offense against UConn.

The role players need to step up once again

The first key for Michigan to win this game is for the role players to step up once again. With Yaxel Lendeborg likely not being 100% for this game, there will be more pressure on the rest of Michigan's team to carry the offensive load. Elliot Cadeau, Nimari Burnett, Trey McKenney, and Roddy Gayle Jr. all need to step up like they did against Arizona. The four of them combined for 34 points against the Wildcats and they need to do that once again.

Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. should be able to have some success down low against a UConn front court that isn't quite as big as the Wolverines. To keep the offense rolling at a high level, they need to hit some shots from outside one more time, and if they do, the Wolverines should be cutting down the nets on Monday night.