Will UConn win its third men's basketball championship in four years, or will Michigan win its first since 1989? That will be decided Monday night after each team rolled to semifinal wins Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
No. 2 UConn had the tougher time against No. 3 Illinois, eventually winning 71-62, but despite the relatively close score, Illinois never led by more than one point and held a lead for just over four minutes throughout the contest, and not once in the final 25:30. UConn led by as much as 14, and the Illini got as close as five points in the second half, but that was short-lived. The Huskies could not pull away, but they held a double-digit lead for much of the second half.
Michigan, on the other hand, served notice they are the team to beat, reouting fellow 1-seed Arizona, 91-73. Guard Elliot Cadeau had a double-bouble with 13 points and 10 assists — the team had an unusually high 22 total assists — and center Aday Mara nearly matched Cadeau's feat, with a game-high 26 points and 9 rebounds.
My take: These games were a major disappointment. UConn-Illinois saw bad shooting by both teams and despite Michigan's impressive dominance, it was a beatdown blowout. Michigan is the easy pick to win it all, but that UConn team just seems to finad a way to beat teams. Hopefully, the final's good.
THE ASYLUM
Michigan, UConn roll to final
Will UConn win its third men's basketball championship in four years, or will Michigan win its first since 1989? That will be decided Monday night after each team rolled to semifinal wins Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
No. 2 UConn had the tougher time against No. 3 Illinois, eventually winning 71-62, but despite the relatively close score, Illinois never led by more than one point and held a lead for just over four minutes throughout the contest, and not once in the final 25:30. UConn led by as much as 14, and the Illini got as close as five points in the second half, but that was short-lived. The Huskies could not pull away, but they held a double-digit lead for much of the second half.
Michigan, on the other hand, served notice they are the team to beat, reouting fellow 1-seed Arizona, 91-73. Guard Elliot Cadeau had a double-bouble with 13 points and 10 assists — the team had an unusually high 22 total assists — and center Aday Mara nearly matched Cadeau's feat, with a game-high 26 points and 9 rebounds.
My take: These games were a major disappointment. UConn-Illinois saw bad shooting by both teams and despite Michigan's impressive dominance, it was a beatdown blowout. Michigan is the easy pick to win it all, but that UConn team just seems to finad a way to beat teams. Hopefully, the final's good.
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