Michigan Basketball: Breaking down the rest of the Final Four

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Loyola-Chicago

Loyola-Chicago is the biggest story of the NCAA Tournament. Loyola got a tournament bid by winning the Missouri Valley Conference. Its resume going into March Madness was solid, but rather unimpressive. The Ramblers played only two games against top 100 opponents this season. Boise State dominated them, but they turned it around a few days later with a big win over Florida.

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After the tournament tipped off, Loyola proved they belonged with the big dogs, overcoming Miami, Tennessee, Nevada and Kansas State. Like Michigan, the team has had to scrape by to advance. It won its first three games by a combined total of 4 points. Against Kansas State, the team started to go off, bumping off the Wildcats with a comfortable 16 point win.

Loyola presents a notable size difference compared to the past two teams Michigan has played. Texas A&M had pro-level forwards while almost everyone on Florida State had significant length. Loyola doesn’t have a single player taller than 6 feet 9 inches. Moritz Wagner and Jon Teske should enjoy taking advantage of some mismatches this weekend.

What Loyola lacks in size it makes up for in shooting. The team ranks tenth in the nation in both 3-point shooting percentage and 2-point shooting percentage. The Ramblers are fifth in the NCAA in effective field goal percentage at 58 percent. Only two players in the rotation are shooting the three less than 35.6 percent on the season, and neither player really attempts deep shots.

Ben Richardson, who had 23 points against Kansas State, is shooting 43.8 percent from deep in the tournament. Clayton Custer is shooting 57.1 percent. Even for a team like Michigan that can play stingy perimeter defense, that’s terrifying.

Luckily for Michigan, Loyola turns the ball over a decent amount. The Ramblers have 30 turnovers in the past two games. Their size also gives them few opportunities at second chance points.

For Michigan to move onto the NCAA Championship game, it needs to limit damage from deep and use its superior size to its advantage. This is a good matchup for the Wolverines on paper, but Loyola’s shooting is going to be a tough obstacle.

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