Michigan Basketball: Wolverines end Cinderella, Advance to Title Game

Michigan battled all game and never gave up as they held off  Loyola-Chicago and will play Monday night in the National Championship game.

Michigan knew they were going to have their work cut out for them. Loyola-Chicago is an 11 seed, but they certainly aren’t playing like one. The Ramblers have been on some kind of run. They have embraced the Cinderella story. Loyola likes being considered the under dog and they have a 98 year old who they have been rallying behind the last couple weeks.

The Wolverines didn’t care that they were playing a Catholic school the night before Easter. It’s been a great story, but the coaching job John Beilein has been doing this season is something else.

Beilein has been known for having great offensive teams at Michigan. The numbers are still up there. The Wolverines are still averaging over 74 points per game. It’s their defense that they pride themselves on. They’re a top-10 defense as they only allow on average 63 points per game.

Michigan got to the Final Four as a three seed. They had their typical beating of the 14. They barely escaped Houston to reach the second weekend. From there they demolished a Texas A&M team who previously put a beat down on the defending National Champions. They thought they were going to do the same to Florida State, but the Seminoles played them a full-40 minutes like they have all Tournament.

More from Busting Brackets

• NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 5 teams for top-100 SG Larry Johnson
• Oregon Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2023-24
• Big East Basketball: Ranking all head coaches going into 2023-24 season
• Florida State Basketball: Is Seminoles roster good enough to win in 2023-24?
• SEC Basketball: 10 potential additions for the league if they ever expanded

Beilein certainly was hoping that this game was going to be like the one against the Aggies.

It started out in favor of Michigan. They were going to establish their length early on and slowly put the Ramblers away. Moe Wagner is one of the best inside-out players in the country. It’s hard to match him in any contest. Jon Teske relieved him and it looked like they were going to dominate the way they did in the Big Ten Championship game.

The defense was locked in early. Charles Matthews hasn’t been talked about much during the Tournament. He was completely ready for the Final Four game. The box score will show 17 points on 7 for 12 shooting. What’s worth looking at is that he only made one three-pointer. He came up with five boards and three steals.

It was evident early on that Zavier Simpson was off. He’s the driver and scorer near the basket. Michigan was going to have to get going from somewhere else. Matthews took it upon himself to ignite the offense. He’s an early candidate for All-Big Ten next year. He’s going to go off in the final two games to show why he needs to be mentioned among the elite players in the league.

Loyola wasn’t going anywhere though. One breakdown of the Michigan defense and the Ramblers are going to capitalize. That’s exactly what happened to close out the half. The Wolverines had a couple mental collapses on the defensive end and Loyola is smart enough to take advantage. They defeated some pretty good teams to get this far.

Don’t ever count out Beilein though. This guy has made adjustments all season at halftime. That’s why he was named Coach of the Year. Big Ten fans have seen first hand on what kinds of changes he can make.

It didn’t happen immediately. Cinderella didn’t want the clock to hit Midnight yet.

Wagner wasn’t all that impressive in the first half. But he’s a big reason why Michigan is such a great second half team. He re-established himself as a great player who can perform anywhere on the court. His size and ability to shoot from where ever was just too much for the Ramblers.

The experience also took over. This group of guys wanted to be the team to get back to the National Title game. They have had some great recruiting classes since the 2012-13 team, but haven’t been able to do anything with it.

This squad was ready to change it. And they have been succeeding all season. After failing to land in the top-four of the Big Ten, the Wolverines have done nothing but win ever since.  This team has a 13-game winning streak going. Don’t tell them that though. They don’t want to wake up from this dream. It’s been a great ride.

Michigan really doesn’t have a STAR player. Wagner is great. He can stretch the floor. Wagner went completely nuts for 24 points on 10 for 16 shooting and three three-pointers. He also destroyed Bill Raftery’s glasses and made a meme out of newly named Hall of Fame player Grant Hill.

Matthews showed up and was awesome. Muhammed-Ali Abdur-Rahkman is a senior who doesn’t want to quite playing basketball. This team is deep and is playing great on all sides of the court. They don’t need highly talked about All-American when everyone buys into the program.

Next: 10 biggest transfer busts of the season

This was an all-around team effort. They went down and trailed at halftime. Michigan didn’t come out of the second half completely on fire. But they knew it was possible. The Wolverines continued to play their game, shots fell and they now have a date on Monday night for a National Championship.

None of those guys from the runner-up team are still playing, but the program knows there’s still unfinished business.