Upset after upset, this year’s March Madness has been anything but the expected. After making their first final four appearance in twenty years, the Michigan Wolverines are certainly shocking the nation and ruining many people’s bracket one game at a time.
Although the Wolverines went through a slight slump throughout their last few games before the NCAA tournament, they are undeniably back to playing like the team that was named the best in the country in late January earlier this season.
Starting as a 4 seed in the tournament, not many believed that the Wolverines would defeat number 1 seed, Kansas, or number 3 seed, Florida. However, after the Wolverines crushed the Florida Gators in the elite 8, Michigan became the favorite to win for the first time since the second round of the tournament.
After the Wolverine’s big win on Saturday night over number 4 seed, Syracuse, they will take on number one seed, Louisville Cardinals on Monday night for the NCAA championship.
The Cardinals seemed to have gained a second wind for their season after Louisville’s guard, Kevin Ware, suffered a career altering injury during the Duke game just over a week ago. Ware’s awkward landing on his leg not only changed his perspective towards the game, it encouraged his teammates to train harder, play harder, and win the championship.
After Louisville defeated Duke in the elite 8, they managed to slide past the Shockers with a slim, four-point victory. However, the “hot” Wolverines will be a much different story on Monday night.
As both teams prepare for the biggest game of their college career, fans and opposing teams will watch in anticipation of the new NCAA champions. One question that arises for Michigan State and Ohio State fans is who they should root for. Do they root for their “Big Brother” and bitter rival? In many cases, the answer is surprisingly yes. Not because they like Michigan, or enjoy watching them win, just because they represent the Big 10 conference. However, regardless of who cheers for who, both teams will need to bring their “A” game on Monday night to make history.
Michigan will need top performances by their leading scorers in the tournament, Mitch McGary and Trey Burke, in order to compete with Louisville’s heart and desire to win for injured player, Kevin Ware.
The big game will take place in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Monday, April 8th. Tip off between the two teams will be at 9:23 p.m. and based off of both team’s prior performances throughout March Madness, should be an outstanding game to watch.