As the Final Four approaches, many people are ecstatic that it will be played right here in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. Many fans who filled out brackets are pleasantly surprised with the teams that have made it to this point in the season.
But if you look closely, all four of the teams got hot at the right time. These teams will need to continue to lean on what got them here in order to move on to the championship Monday night.
Louisville is the clear favorite to take home the championship Monday night. They were the best team coming in to the tournament and still are the best team out of the four left. The Cardinals will need to rely on their guard play over the next two games, just like they have all season.
Russ Smith is the primary scorer for this Louisville squad while Peyton Siva is the player that makes everything run smoothly on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. If either of these guys are off their game, the Louisville offense will be sporadic and have a tough time scoring. Siva also cannot afford to get into early foul trouble as he did in their Elite Eight game against Duke.
Louisville must make sure their full court press is at its best over the weekend. The last thing the Cardinals need is to be giving up easy layups off of poor execution.
The Shockers should just be happy to be in the Final Four. As a No. 9-seed, they have gotten much farther than many, and probably themselves, thought they would go. But if Wichita State (Kan.) plans to win Saturday against the Cardinals, a few things must happen. First off, the Shockers need to be hitting their threes consistently. The three ball is always the equalizer that allows mid-major teams to compete with some of the best teams in the country.
Malcolm Armstead needs to be able to handle the press and make plays to counteract the pressure Louisville will provide. Carl Hall and Cleanthony Early also have to have big games, scoring and giving the Shockers second chance opportunities on the boards. If all these things happen, the Shockers might have a chance to pull off the upset.
If Syracuse (N.Y.) is going to make it to the finals on Monday, they need to rely on what has gotten them to this point so far in the tournament: zone defense and efficient offense. The 2-3 zone has looked as good as it has all year in the first two games of the tournament.
The defense is forcing turnovers and limiting field goal percentages because they have been able to expand their zone and guard opposing players farther away than they had been all year. The success of the offense has really been based on the play of Michael Carter Williams all year.
When he plays well, the Orange can put up a lot of points, but when he struggles, the rest of the team struggles. During this tournament Williams has been aggressive, taking the ball to the basket and setting up his teammates for easy baskets.
If Carter and Williams can put together a good game offensively, and the defense is just as good as it has been all tournament, Syracuse will have a great chance to move on to the finals on Monday night.
This is a great matchup for Michigan. The Wolverines are a good three point shooting team, which should help them score off the 2-3 zone. Nik Stauskas was on fire last Sunday when Florida decided to play zone against Michigan.
Trey Burke will not be able to drive to the basket but still should be able to get some good looks. The key will be a good performance from Tim Hardaway, Jr., who had a terrible game against the Gators. The zone will prevent center Mitch Mcgary from having a good game, just as it impeded Cody Zeller when Syracuse played Indiana. Hardaway needs to pick up the load and knock down some shots in order for Michigan to win.
This team needs to show up defensively Saturday night. Throughout the season, the Wolverines have been known to take some games off defensively, and Saturday night cannot be one of those games.
– By Brian Chavkin
Photo courtesy of Ucumari, Flickr
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