Three Reasons Michigan Basketball Will Make the Final Four

After taking down both Howard and Saint Louis in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan is headed to its seventh Sweet 16 in the last seven NCAA Tournament appearances. The Wolverines are now set to take on Alabama on Friday in the Sweet 16, and while anything can happen on the court, the Wolverines are a big favorite to reach the Final Four.

Here are three reasons why Michigan will get two more wins this weekend and reach the Final Four.

Dominance in the paint

In both wins of the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines have had their way in the paint. Which comes to no surprise if you've watched Michigan closely. The Maize and Blue can be hard to defend due to their talented guard play to go along with their big men.

In the win over Howard, Morez Johnson Jr. scored 21 points, making all of his shots, and Aday Mara had 19 points. Then against Saint Louis, Mara had 16, Johnson had 15, and Yaxel Lendeborg did a little bit of everything, scoring 25 points.

Michigan Wolverines forward Morez Johnson Jr. (21) dunks the ball against against the Howard Bison — Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Michigan's next opponent, Alabama, can score the ball as well as anyone, but the Crimson Tide also has a hard time stopping the opponent. Bama hasn't been challenged this postseason, but Michigan's big men will likely give the Tide more than they can handle.

As long as Michigan can have two of three big men playing good basketball, the Wolverines are going to be very, very hard to beat.

Availability issues for the opponents

The final four teams left in the Midwest region are Michigan, Alabama, Iowa State, and Tennessee. Both the Wolverines and Volunteers have been mostly healthy and haven't missed many players in the NCAA Tournament.

Sure, Michigan lost LJ. Cason prior to the Big Ten Tournament, but the Wolverines have looked very good in each of their last two games without the backup guard. While Michigan has appeared to figure some things out, both Alabama and Iowa State have been without a starter.

The Tide lost starting guard Aden Holloway, who was Alabama's second-leading scorer this season. He was arrested after police found 2.1 pounds of marijuana in his apartment. While Alabama is scoring the ball fine without Holloway, Michigan will present a big challenge to the Bama offense on Friday.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) is helped off of the court after suffering an apparent injury — Jeff Le-Imagn Images

As far as Iowa State, the Cyclones lost one of their top players after big man Joshua Jefferson suffered an ankle injury early in the game against Tennessee State. The All-American didn't play against Kentucky, and although Iowa State won the game, it's only going to be more challenging for the Cyclones if Jefferson can't take the court.

Lessons learned from Big Ten Tournament

One bad game and your season is over when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. And while the Wolverines have to figure out their perimeter defense, Michigan had looked a lot more engaged on both sides of the court since suffering the loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan has looked as good as ever in its last two games. During the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines didn't look the part — even in the wins.

The Wolverines appeared to be a little overconfident and a loss at that time wasn't a bad thing for Michigan. The Wolverines know what's on the line and the team doesn't want to suffer another loss as they did before.