Championship Monday Pits UConn vs Wolverines
How Huskies Made it This Far
UConn went cold in the second half of its national semifinal against Illinois. When crunch time came, the Huskies made enough hoops and played plenty of defense in vanquishing the Illini.
D1 Men’s College basketball odds had UConn as an underdog here despite beating Illinois by 13 in the regular season. This is a tournament-tested team and will be going for its third national championship in four years.
After a pair of easy victories in D1 Men’s college basketball tournament, the games got tougher. The Huskies outlasted Michigan State and pulled out a miracle, last-second win against Duke in the Round of Eight.
Dan Hurley has taught his team how to play great defense, and it does enough on offense in big games to get the job done.
Dan Hurley’s record in the tourney: 20-5; record over the last four tournaments: 18-1; record in the Round of Four: 5-0; record in the national championship: 2-0
Michigan Wolverines Are Sizzling
The Wolverines are going to have a tough time for the Huskies. They have been playing blazing basketball, having advanced from the Round of Four by crushing an Arizona team that had lost two games all season.
Michigan’s three losses were to unranked Wisconsin, and ranked teams in Duke and Purdue. The closest game in the Big Dance was a 13-point win over Alabama. Everything else has been blowout city. Michigan is the first team to score more than 90 points in every one of its tournament games.
There is a huge X factor in this game: Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg suffered an MCL sprain and rolled an ankle. He is the Wolverines’ leading scorer. If he is unable to go or limited, this would have a huge impact. “I’m going to push through, there’s no way I miss the game on Monday night,” he said on national TV after the romp over Arizona.
Breaking Down the Title Matchup
UConn is going to have to control the tempo. It can not get into a sprint with Michigan on Monday. The Huskies are underdogs in college basketball championship Monday odds by 7 points, with the total set at 144. The money line has Connecticut at +253 and Michigan at -305.
Hurley’s team will have to take smart shots and not let Michigan run. That would be a recipe for disaster. That being said, the Huskies are capable of dictating the pace of the game. And the slower it goes, the better their chances are. One should keep an eye on the status of UConn guard Solo Ball. Hurley revealed on Sunday that Ball had a sprained foot and was in a walking boot. He did not practice.
One player with a fascinating game with a game story is Tarris Reed Jr., the UConn center. He started his college career in Ann Arbor as a Michigan Wolverine. He played two seasons with Michigan, starting 31 games as a sophomore. He averaged 6.1 points and 5.5 rebounds at the Big Ten school.
He has blossomed at UConn, averaging 12.1 points per game and 8 rebounds over two seasons. Reed would love to beat his former school the same way it would love to teach him a lesson that he should have stayed in Michigan.
Pick: Over 146 points
