Title game takeaways: Michigan thrives in rock fight

Another incredible college basketball season has concluded, with the last team standing proving its dominance from start to finish. theScore highlights key takeaways from the NCAA Tournament championship game.

Michigan’s fine with a rock fight
Michigan spent the entire NCAA Tournament breaking scoreboards with explosive offensive performances, becoming the first team ever to score at least 90 points in each of its first five tourney games. However, Monday’s victory showed the Wolverines are far from a one-trick pony and can beat anybody in college basketball at their own game if needed.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but few neutral observers would claim the national championship as a work of art. That was by design, with Dan Hurley admitting in the first half that the rock fight was how the Huskies viewed their path to victory.

Michigan didn’t even make its first triple of the contest until almost midway through the second half, yet its lead was up to 11 points when that shot swished through the hoop. Do you know how good you have to be in today’s college basketball world to have a double-digit second-half lead with essentially no triples?

The Wolverines are KenPom’s No. 1 defense for a reason, and UConn provided clear evidence of why. The Huskies connected on just 30% of their shots from the floor and made only nine of their 33 attempts from beyond the arc. Add 11 turnovers to the mix, and that’s how Michigan got the job done without its offense firing on all cylinders.

Well, that and the presence of Aday Mara.

Blueprint for modern college hoops
You can’t go two minutes talking about college basketball today without mentioning the transfer portal, which opens Tuesday. Michigan’s victory is a prime example of the portal’s impact, as the Wolverines aggressively built their roster through transfers. Dusty May’s outfit became the first team in NCAA history to win the national championship with a starting lineup comprised entirely of transfers.

Four of those starters – Yaxel Lendeborg, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr., and Mara – weren’t even on Michigan’s team last year. Their immediate impact turned the Wolverines into an absolute juggernaut, with a title now the payoff.

However, Michigan isn’t strictly a portal haven without an eye on player development. Trey McKenney – the 20th-ranked high school recruit in the nation last year – canned one of the biggest shots of the night for the champions and tallied nine points with eight rebounds in 29 minutes.

Gone are the days when new coaches get time to flip a roster with big results expected in Year 3 or 4. We’re in a society of immediate gratification, and that’s made its way to college basketball. May’s success at Michigan this season demonstrated that there are no more excuses for well-funded programs across the country.

UConn couldn’t guard without fouling

Michael Reaves / Getty Images Sport / Getty
While playing physical, gritty defense is an outstanding strategy against a more talented team, the plan goes up in flames if the referees aren’t afraid to blow their whistles early and often. That proved to be the case Monday, leading to UConn’s downfall.

The Huskies’ 22 fouls probably leaned closer to 20 before a couple in the dying seconds, but the discrepancy would’ve still been large regardless. As a result, Michigan took a whopping 28 free-throw attempts. That’s where we need to heap more praise on the Wolverines, because the champs converted an eye-popping 25 of those chances – a massive jump from the 75% shooting they entered with.

Perhaps the more pressing issue was who couldn’t stay on the floor without fouling. The starting backcourt of Solo Ball and Silas Demary Jr. was under heavy watch from the officials throughout the contest. Demary fouled out in only 21 minutes, while Ball ended with four fouls in 17 minutes of action.

The pair’s absence forced Malachi Smith and Jayden Ross into extended minutes. Although both performed well, you aren’t taking down the top team in the country when your bench is forced to play expanded roles.

Hurley deserves his flowers
It didn’t end with a third NCAA title in four years, but Hurley can walk away from Monday’s game knowing his team executed the game plan. We covered earlier that the veteran coach knew UConn had just one path to victory: a rock fight. He achieved that by keeping the Michigan sports car stuck in traffic the entire game. The Wolverines finished with only two fast-break points all night.

The Huskies also won the rebounding battle and held the Wolverines to just two triples after they made 12 against Arizona in the Final Four. Michigan’s 69 points marked its third-lowest output of the season.

However, UConn couldn’t guard without fouling or make enough shots to win. We covered the fouling issues above, but the brick house that went up Monday was an all-timer. According to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, the Huskies’ 30.9% field-goal percentage was the fourth-worst ever recorded in the NCAA Tournament championship.

While that can largely be attributed to Michigan’s elite defense, UConn still had plenty of open looks that just didn’t drop. That’s ultimately the difference between a third title for Hurley and a runner-up finish.

You can view the original article HERE.