Can Alabama play enough defense to keep up with Michigan in Sweet 16?
Tony and Andrew break down what the Michigan Wolverines can expect when the team faces Alabama in Sweet 16.
The road to the Final Four gets a lot tougher for 1-seeds – and Michigan basketball, specifically – in the second weekend of March Madness.
A whopping 13 of 16 1s have made the Sweet 16 in the previous four NCAA tournaments – but just seven of those have advanced from there to the Elite Eight. And four of those came last season, in an exceedingly rare tourney in which all four 1-seeds made the Final Four.
This year’s tourney isn’t quite shaping up that way, with South 1-seed Florida already falling in the second round. West 1-seed Arizona advanced on Thursday, March 26, leaving just U-M in the Midwest and Duke in the East to join the Wildcats, one win from the tourney’s final weekend.
Will Yaxel Lendeborg and the Wolverines do it? Four Free Press sports writers sound off on U-M’s chances against 4-seed Alabama on Friday (7:35, TBS, truTV):
Tony Garcia
The Tide have the shooting and know their formula to win: “execute the game plan, make shots, protect the way to ball, find a way to rebound,” Oats said. Saying it is one thing. Doing it is entirely different.
Michigan has more avenues to victory. If the shots aren’t falling, it can go inside. If drop coverage isn’t working on pick-and-rolls, U-M can hard hedge. Alabama doesn’t quite have the same room for error. It must hit 3s, lots of them, to win this game. It’s reasonable to think the Wolverines are in a tight game that they eventually pull away in. The pick: U-M 94, Alabama 82
Carlos Monarrez
Michigan’s defense will be the big difference since Alabama kind of considers defense optional. But the Crimson Tide won’t stop chucking up 3-pointers, so if the Wolverines can defend at the perimeter and use their size to improve their offensive rebounding, they should move on. The pick: U-M 88, Alabama 80.
Jeff Seidel
At some point, the Wolverines are going to face a serious test in this tournament. But not in this game. Alabama can score, especially from long range.
Alabama put up 90 in its first two NCAA games, hitting a total of 31 three-pointers. But Alabama won’t be able to score like that against Michigan. And far more important, Alabama won’t be able to stop the Wolverines. Alabama’s lack of defense will be the difference. The only thing that could make this close is if Michigan sleepwalks through the first half. The pick: U-M 85, Alabama 72.
Shawn Windsor
The Wolverines may not shoot like the Crimson Tide, but they score almost as well. Also, they defend. Alabama does not. That’ll be the difference as Dusty May gets to the Elite Eight for the first time with U-M. The pick: U-M 87, Alabama 74.
