As we march on towards the end of the season, buzz is reaching its peak for the year in basketball. March Madness’s Final Four has crowned a champion, and playoff seeds are being clinched in the National Basketball Association. As analysts make predictions and nervous fans scream at the TV, here’s a recap of the March Madness Final Four.
Illinois and the University of Connecticut (UCONN) represented the southern region to earn a championship spot, with Michigan and Arizona being the western matchup. With 30 million eyes on these four teams, the stories written in these two games summed up an amazing season in college basketball.
Michigan, the number one seed, proved they deserved the championship spot quickly, taking a ferocious 16-point lead at halftime, led by center Aday Mara. March Madness seeding is determined by a 12-member National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) selection committee that ranks all 68 teams from number one to 68 based on performance metrics like the NET rankings, record and strength of schedule.
Though an even second half proved Arizona still had fire left in the tank, it proved too little too late for Coach Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats. They went home looking for a title that the school hasn’t seen since 1997. Michigan played a commanding effort, showing they had what it takes and hinting at what was to come, winning 91-73.
Next, Dan Hurley and the UCONN Huskies were aiming to prove they could win a 4th national title in four years, ready to cement legendary status in the history of NCAA basketball. They were coming off an amazing win against Duke, stunning the world with a 35-foot game-winner from Braylon Mullins.
Right out of the gate, shots were not falling for either team, with the Huskies shooting 35% from the field and Illinois with 33%. This didn’t faze UCONN for long, as they then shot back up 29-37 at halftime. Similar to Arizona, Illinois rallied back in the second half, but couldn’t break out of their shooting slump and lost 62-71 to the UCONN Huskies, sealing the championship matchup between the Huskies and Wolverines.
The championship game was played in Lucas Oil Stadium in front of 25 thousand basketball fans, ready for one of the biggest spectacles in modern sports. The five-month season rested on the shoulders of 17 young men, freshmen through seniors, and two elite coaching staffs who fought to be there.
The momentum of the game shifted many times, and a very even match was played. For UCONN, the poor shooting still stifled their usually amazing shooters, and they found it difficult to gain rhythm behind the three-point arc all night, shooting 27%. This culminated in turnovers and fatigue for the Huskies, who had a tough first half, but never seemed to waver in confidence and dominated the rebounding all night.
On the other side of the ball, Michigan played a very similar game. Rough shooting numbers and sloppy passes prevented them from gaining a huge lead throughout the night, when they had shown they were capable of turning on the heat and putting up huge numbers in previous games. At the end of a mostly equal first half, the Wolverines were up 29-33.
Tarris Reed and Alex Karaban, the starting center and power forward, respectively, continued to own the glass, rack up rebounds, and create second-chance opportunities for the Huskies to have multiple shots per possession. The Wolves gained lots of rhythm going into the second half, went on a big run, and carried that momentum into the lead, which they never gave up. Elliot Cadeau, the starting point guard, had a big night with 19 points and was the biggest contributing factor to the Michigan Wolverines’ 63-69 win, crowning them as national champions.
All the young players in this game have strong futures ahead of them, with lots of potential NBA talent shown all throughout the season, and March especially. As Michigan raises another banner in their stadium, Dan Hurley and the Huskies are ready to regroup and be a championship contender again and again for years to come.
