The University of Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team is poised to make a run to the Final Four after winning the Big Ten tournament by defeating the University of Wisconsin Badgers 59-53 on March 16. Following their win over the No. 6 seed Purdue University Boilermakers and upset over the No. 2 seed University of Maryland Terrapins, the Wolverines are once again atop the Big Ten in hoops.
The Wolverines will look to start their potential run on March 20 as they face off against the Big West Conference champion UC San Diego Tritons in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Former Florida Atlantic University head coach Dusty May took the Michigan head coaching job this past offseason following a horrendous 8-24 season where the Wolverines won just three games in conference. May immediately turned the program around winning 13 of his first 16 games and starting 5-0 in conference play. His first-year squad would end the regular season with a record of 22-9 after losing a few tough games towards the end of the season. These struggles quickly disappeared with their three-game run to win them the Big Ten Tournament.
The Wolverine offense has been a big reason for their success this season, much of which comes from their twin towers attack. Their starting line-up is the only one in the country that boasts a pair of 7-foot players. Junior transfer from Yale University Danny Wolf and senior transfer from Florida Atlantic University Vladislav Goldin combine to be a dominating force in the paint. Goldin averages 17 points and has scored over 20 in seven of his last eight games.
Wolf averages a double-double, scoring 13 points a game and grabbing 10 boards. Although he stands at a towering seven feet, Wolf can easily handle the ball and shoot the three, averaging 34% from beyond the arch this season. With these point-guard-like attributes, these twin towers run an almost unguardable screen and roll with Wolf handling the ball and Goldin cutting to the rim.
The duo played especially well in the Big Ten Tournament. Combined, they scored or assisted on more than half of the 226 points scored by the Wolverines during the tournament.
Despite all of this recent offensive success, the Wolverines are by no means the top team in the nation. They are a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament because of their nine losses, including two double-digit losses to rival Michigan State Spartans.
Recently, they have not shot the three-point shot well and have struggled badly with turnovers all year. With an average of over 14 turnovers a game, the Wolverines rank a horrendous 340th out of all 364 NCAA Division I teams, a problem that could hinder them in close games.
Regardless of these weaknesses, what makes Michigan so ready to make a run to the Final Four is the momentum they carry from winning the Big Ten Tournament. In recent years, Power 5 conference teams that win their conference tournament or lose in the finals are much more likely to make deep runs in March Madness. Momentum from previous games is vital in college basketball, and there is no greater momentum builder and confidence booster than winning a Power 5 conference tournament.
Michigan knows how to win close games. The Wolverines have 12 wins over Big Ten opponents by 4 points or less, a record for any NCAA DI men’s basketball team ever. While this may sound like Michigan is punching above its weight class, it also shows that Dusty May’s squad knows how to close out games. Anytime the game comes down to the wire, Michigan fans can expect their team to get the job done, a very important trait for success in March Madness.
Michigan is hot at the right time. Coming off of their tournament win, their towering star players will continue to play well. Pair that with the version of Michigan that fans got to see in Indianapolis over the weekend, and there is no telling how far this team could go. They are capable of making the Final Four and could even compete for a national championship.
March Madness is back, and so is Michigan basketball.
