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UConn vs Michigan (Championship)

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Mara being an eraser in the middle is what makes them dominant on D. Kind of Clingan-esque in that way. Tarris has the bulk to get into his body and limit him, but won't be able to just go over him. I was a little surpised watching him challenge and alter 3's last night, I didn't think he was that mobile.

And on the offensive end have to get hands up when Cadeau tries PnR lobs to him, alter/block the pass. Make Cadeau shoot, it's his Achilles heel.

Otherwise I think we match up with them well on defense. The D that Smith and Ross, and even Stewart bring off the bench is really good.

Last night vs. Arizona it was a pretty wide open game. Arizona forced a lot of offense and it didn't help that Bradley spent fouls foolishly. Two losses, Duke and Purdue, not so much. Purdue had the heady point guard to direct the offense, like Silas. And 3 point shooting, like Mullins/Karaban/Ball/Ross can bring.

Like I said last night, git 'er done!!
 
Cadeau is feeling uber confident, and his shot is no longer an issue. We need to be physical with him and contest hard. He’s their only true PG and he’s small, but he’s good.

People think of him from UNC but that stink is worn off - he’s good.
 
DblCrossbar said:
On the counterpoint, UConn is a team that Michigan doesn’t want to see at this stage either. Not only the Hurley mystique, but style of play and the fact that UConn has kept B1G teams from scoring big is a thing. UConn loves the underdog role here. Michigan plays like a juggernaut, but if they can be frustrated enough, something Hurley and staff can unexploited, maybe it comes crashing down for big bloo.

A tall task indeed but UConn can use its depth to wear teams down. Yes the Huskies were up by 10 mid way through the second half, but Reibe, Smith, Ross, and Stewie were on the floor with Ball for 2-3 min, and were very serviceable, giving the majority of starters a key rest. After the 4:00 TV time out Illinois looked gassed, clunking shot after shot on the front rim. Michigan is more athletic, but there’s a chance to wear them down too if UConn get good minutes and contributions from their bench.
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I think our style of play scares them. That is why May took time away from the prep for their game to watch us play.
 
upstater said:
If the game is tight, Michigan may start feeling the pressure.
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Feels like the kind of game where first 5-10 minutes will tell us how it plays out. I do wonder if at any point UM applies full court pressure based on StJ, and the fact they have the size, length and depth to run it. Dusty is smart - if he feels like we are playing our game, I can see him trying to dictate pace.

I’d be ready for that.
 
jibsey said:
We saw him make 3’s hobbled. Mara makes a lot dunks on passes above the rim and one thing that worries me is that Reed can’t lose him for a second by guarding other players up high.
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This is true, but ankle and knee injuries are worse pain wise in the ensuing day or two. Yax will undoubtedly find a way to be ready, but the Huskies need to test him from the get go and make him work. Mara is very Edey like without the stamina. Will the game plan similar to one vs Purdue in ‘24? In that case Reibe will need to play a role and defend with arms straight up to wear him down similarly.
 
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Mara impacted so many shots last night it was ridiculous…the problem is UConn is going to put up 30-35 three pointers and he’s not a factor out beyond the arc. He could help neutralize Reed, but our game plan isn’t to “pound the paint” like Arizona. Our plan needs to be making them defend us for 20-25 seconds and getting a clean three and hitting 40% of them. We do that and we put up a lot of them and we win.
 
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Listen to Goodman: aside from the opinion, he’s just SUCH a tool. Even when he pumps UConn I can’t stand this dude.

 
Doctor Hoop said:
Mara being an eraser in the middle is what makes them dominant on D. Kind of Clingan-esque in that way. Tarris has the bulk to get into his body and limit him, but won't be able to just go over him. I was a little surpised watching him challenge and alter 3's last night, I didn't think he was that mobile.

And on the offensive end have to get hands up when Cadeau tries PnR lobs to him, alter/block the pass. Make Cadeau shoot, it's his Achilles heel.

Otherwise I think we match up with them well on defense. The D that Smith and Ross, and even Stewart bring off the bench is really good.

Last night vs. Arizona it was a pretty wide open game. Arizona forced a lot of offense and it didn't help that Bradley spent fouls foolishly. Two losses, Duke and Purdue, not so much. Purdue had the heady point guard to direct the offense, like Silas. And 3 point shooting, like Mullins/Karaban/Ball/Ross can bring.

Like I said last night, git 'er done!!
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Purdue only hit 4 3’s against Michigan. Cluff and Kaufman-Renn, in foul trouble and playing under 30 minutes, killed them for 41 points.
They overall shot around 55%.

Michigan is great; but beatable.
 
Mr. French said:
Cadeau is feeling uber confident, and his shot is no longer an issue. We need to be physical with him and contest hard. He’s their only true PG and he’s small, but he’s good.

People think of him from UNC but that stink is worn off - he’s good.
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He is still the weakest link on that Michigan team. He was 5-17 total from the floor. I think he hasn't dealt with the pressure on the ball he will get from Demary and even Smith(Arizonia let him have everything). I like our chances to neutralize his impact and that will be critical to us winning.
 
RuffRuff said:
Feels like the kind of game where first 5-10 minutes will tell us how it plays out. I do wonder if at any point UM applies full court pressure based on StJ, and the fact they have the size, length and depth to run it. Dusty is smart - if he feels like we are playing our game, I can see him trying to dictate pace.

I’d be ready for that.
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Sure they may have the size, length, and depth to run full court pressure but I’m not sure that is their defensive identity the way it is for St. John’s. Michigan seems like a ‘pack it in the paint’ type of defensive style. I think we will be able to get our perimieter looks which should open things up for Reed.
 
Was there any particular reason Michigan had a competitive big 10 tournament. People will mention the Purdue loss but they also almost lost their first 2 games.
 
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TroyHall98 said:
Sure they may have the size, length, and depth to run full court pressure but I’m not sure that is their defensive identity the way it is for St. John’s. Michigan seems like a ‘pack it in the paint’ type of defensive style. I think we will be able to get our perimieter looks which should open things up for Reed.
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That’s exactly how they play defense. The UConn offense will give them fits, just have to hit the open shots. They really have to shoot better than they have the entire tournament, because the shots will be there…….while they may be able to slow Michigan down some, not gonna stop them completely.
Gotta make the shots
 
RitzLuce1 said:
Was there any particular reason Michigan had a competitive big 10 tournament. People will mention the Purdue loss but they also almost lost their first 2 games.
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they just didn't play very hard. they almost lost vs penn state first time around and then beat them by 40
 
3rdbass said:
He is still the weakest link on that Michigan team. He was 5-17 total from the floor. I think he hasn't dealt with the pressure on the ball he will get from Demary and even Smith(Arizonia let him have everything). I like our chances to neutralize his impact and that will be critical to us winning.
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I agree,I mentioned us being physical and contesting hard against him.
 
RitzLuce1 said:
Was there any particular reason Michigan had a competitive big 10 tournament. People will mention the Purdue loss but they also almost lost their first 2 games.
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Wisconsin slowed them down and hit 16 threes. They should have won that game, and beat them in regular season
 
RuffRuff said:
Feels like the kind of game where first 5-10 minutes will tell us how it plays out. I do wonder if at any point UM applies full court pressure based on StJ, and the fact they have the size, length and depth to run it. Dusty is smart - if he feels like we are playing our game, I can see him trying to dictate pace.

I’d be ready for that.
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Gonna be harder to do that with only one PG and Yaxel hurt. This might a game their injuries hurt them.
 
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Mr. French said:
I agree,I mentioned us being physical and contesting hard against him.
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I still like him take 3s than other players on their team. We just need to keep him out of the lanes for pasing opportunities.
 
We gotta incorporate a lesson from each of UM’s 3 losses into the gameplan:

Wisconsin Lesson: hit at least a dozen 3s
Duke Lesson: slow down the tempo to a total of 60 or so possessions
Purdue Lesson: feed Reed he needs to have a 20-10 game

This is the exact recipe I thought our team would be using all season…We have plenty of the second and third ingredients. Let’s save our best shooting game of the year for last.
 
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What I really like is that MU hasn’t seen a team like us yet, our motion offense wears you down, and it’s done that to everyone we’ve faced so far. If we keep playing the way we have all tournament, we’ll be in good shape. Reed just needs to be a little more physical inside and make Mara actually work on defense. Mara doesn’t have great foot speed, but his length makes up for it, so opening up the middle is key. Knock down a few outside shots and that should loosen things up even more.
 
Michigan’s backup guard got injured at Illinois.

In the games following his injury- 3 point win at Iowa, 10 point win vs Michigan State at home (competitive game until late), 4 point win vs Ohio state, 3 point win vs Wisconsin, and 10 point loss vs Purdue. Obviously they lost to Duke before the injury.

It’s really the NCAA tournament they turned back into a juggernaut. They did give up 80 points vs Howard and didn’t exactly have a tough regional path.

This will be hard but doable.
 
I think this game suits UConn. The pressure is all on Michigan. They've never been in this situation.

Hurley has the advantage

Yes, they're freaky talented, but so was dook

Yes, they'll score, but we have shooters and we can and will go on runs

The momentum lies with us because we know how to win. We know how to come from behind if we have to. We can make the big time shots

I'm confident that we will have a good chance late in the game to close this game out and bring number 7 home.

Go UConn
 
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