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Jay Bilas is one of the foremost analysts in college basketball and has been so for a while. The former Duke star has been a mainstay on ESPN, as both a studio analyst and color commentator, and even was on the call when the Wolverines lost to the Blue Devils in the February nonconference, neutral-site matchup.
On Monday, Bilas linked up with prominent Michigan alum Rich Eisen to break down the Final Four, and naturally, the duo got talking about the Wolverines.
While Bilas sees this game as being a really good matchup, and one that Michigan absolutely could win, he does see one place where the Wildcats could have the advantage, and it's a place that has hurt the Wolverines a few times this season.
"Two teams that match up really well together size-wise and with physicality," Bilas said. "I think they play a little bit differently. Arizona is an inside-oriented team. They're going to pound the ball inside in high-low situations, getting downhill. They want to put pressure on the rim all the time. And so they have great positional size in the interior, but the free-throw line is going to determine the game.
"Obviously, there are other aspects. One team out-rebounds, the other whatever, turnovers. There are a lot of factors. But the biggest factor is going to be, can Michigan play the physical game that they're going to have to play to beat Arizona and keep Arizona off the foul line? Because Arizona makes more free throws on the season and in their tournament games. They make more free throws than their opponents attempt, and the free-throw line is the most efficient place to score in a basketball game. And if you see Arizona getting to the line 25 times, 30 times, that's going to be advantage Arizona."
As it pertains to free throws, Michigan occasionally struggles from the line, but it is actually ranked higher than Arizona on the season, having made 74.2% of its shots from the stripe to 73.5%. However, as Bilas notes, the Wildcats get to the line much more frequently, ranking third in the country, averaging 26.8 free throws per game. Michigan is 68th, averaging 22.9.
Even with that metric, the Wolverines do have other advantages. Bilas notes that the maize and blue shied away from some of them in the game against the Blue Devils, but so long as Michigan plays its game, it will be very difficult to beat.
"Michigan has a different gear than most teams. They can go on these 20-2 runs or something," Bilas said. "I'm not sure that's necessarily possible against Arizona, but they're the one team that can do that in this tournament. And I think you and I talked after the Michigan-Duke game in Washington, D.C., the thing that surprised me about that game was that Michigan didn't get to their second and third actions in possessions against Duke. I thought if those two played again, they wouldn't let that happen, and they can't let that happen against Arizona.
"Michigan runs a great offense. They've got so many weapons. Yaxel Lendeborg, chief among them, he'll be like the queen on a chessboard for Dusty May. But if they get to those second and third actions, kind of like UConn does, they're going to be extraordinarily difficult to beat. That's going to be a great game, and it's worthy of any championship game we'll ever see. And one of the great things is we get in the semifinals, and then you get a great championship game after that."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Bilas on Michigan vs Arizona Final Four matchup
Continue reading...
On Monday, Bilas linked up with prominent Michigan alum Rich Eisen to break down the Final Four, and naturally, the duo got talking about the Wolverines.
While Bilas sees this game as being a really good matchup, and one that Michigan absolutely could win, he does see one place where the Wildcats could have the advantage, and it's a place that has hurt the Wolverines a few times this season.
"Two teams that match up really well together size-wise and with physicality," Bilas said. "I think they play a little bit differently. Arizona is an inside-oriented team. They're going to pound the ball inside in high-low situations, getting downhill. They want to put pressure on the rim all the time. And so they have great positional size in the interior, but the free-throw line is going to determine the game.
"Obviously, there are other aspects. One team out-rebounds, the other whatever, turnovers. There are a lot of factors. But the biggest factor is going to be, can Michigan play the physical game that they're going to have to play to beat Arizona and keep Arizona off the foul line? Because Arizona makes more free throws on the season and in their tournament games. They make more free throws than their opponents attempt, and the free-throw line is the most efficient place to score in a basketball game. And if you see Arizona getting to the line 25 times, 30 times, that's going to be advantage Arizona."
As it pertains to free throws, Michigan occasionally struggles from the line, but it is actually ranked higher than Arizona on the season, having made 74.2% of its shots from the stripe to 73.5%. However, as Bilas notes, the Wildcats get to the line much more frequently, ranking third in the country, averaging 26.8 free throws per game. Michigan is 68th, averaging 22.9.
Even with that metric, the Wolverines do have other advantages. Bilas notes that the maize and blue shied away from some of them in the game against the Blue Devils, but so long as Michigan plays its game, it will be very difficult to beat.
"Michigan has a different gear than most teams. They can go on these 20-2 runs or something," Bilas said. "I'm not sure that's necessarily possible against Arizona, but they're the one team that can do that in this tournament. And I think you and I talked after the Michigan-Duke game in Washington, D.C., the thing that surprised me about that game was that Michigan didn't get to their second and third actions in possessions against Duke. I thought if those two played again, they wouldn't let that happen, and they can't let that happen against Arizona.
"Michigan runs a great offense. They've got so many weapons. Yaxel Lendeborg, chief among them, he'll be like the queen on a chessboard for Dusty May. But if they get to those second and third actions, kind of like UConn does, they're going to be extraordinarily difficult to beat. That's going to be a great game, and it's worthy of any championship game we'll ever see. And one of the great things is we get in the semifinals, and then you get a great championship game after that."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Bilas on Michigan vs Arizona Final Four matchup
Continue reading...
