Louisville set to face Michigan in the finals
This is the moment we have all been waiting for, the Louisville Cardinals will face the Michigan Wolverines on Monday night to determine who is the national champion in collegiate basketball. Both teams have fought their way to get where they are, and both have a lot of history behind their rise to the top, the question that remains (and will soon be answered), is which team will come out on top.
The Case for Louisville:
The Cardinals have not made it this far since 1986, which was they year they won it all. Now that they are back on top, can the repeat history, or will they leave on the losing side of Monday night’s game? We will have to find out but you can bet they will try to make another run at history.
The gruesome Kevin Ware injury was a dramatic loss to the Cardinals. His presence on the court was missed very much, as he was a key player to their success. Yet, through his injury the Cardinals found a new motivation to win, one that goes beyond bringing a trophy home. In winning this upcoming game they are doing it for Ware, which gives them that extra push to play their best.
The Case for Michigan:
Like the Cardinals, the Wolverines haven’t made it this far since the 1980s. Michigan last appeared in a championship game in 1989.
The Wolverines have shown that they are resilient and will not allow a bad day by one player to spoil the entire game. While some of their premier players were struggling in the Final Four game versus Syracuse, the Michigan bench stepped up to pull the team ahead to victory. Trey Burke has been regarded as a leader behind the Michigan offense, yet struggled mightily versus Syracuse. But the Wolverines did not let that stop them as they fought on to win it 61-56.
“We know Trey is our leader, and sometimes he’s not going to have a game like he’s had all season,” said Tim Hardaway Jr., who led Michigan with 13 points. “That’s when our team stepped up.”
What to look for:
The big storyline between these two teams is that Michigan is widely regarded as the best offensive team in the tournament, while Louisville boasts the best defense. It will be a match between the two big facets of the game to see who will come out on top.
