Michigan Basketball: 3 keys to beating Loyola-Chicago

Make. Shots.

It goes without saying, but Michigan basketball’s biggest key to beating Loyola is to bounce back from the atrocious shooting performance it had against Florida State.

Michigan should be able to bring a lot of Loyola’s offense down to earth, but this is still a team that is ranked tenth in the nation in both two-point and three-point shooting percentage. The Ramblers will make shots, and all it might take them to secure another upset is one hot run from behind the arc while Michigan struggles with its shot.

Revitalizing the offense shouldn’t be hard to do from two. Florida State had the size to constantly disrupt Michigan’s shots inside. Against Loyola, it’s the opposite. Michigan has the size and length advantages here.

Due to Krutwig’s size, the Ramblers have given up a lot at the rim this season. That’s not only good news for Wagner and Teske. Those Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Zavier Simpson and Charles Matthews drives that Florida State took away in the Elite Eight are wide open here. Michigan’s athleticism alone is going to create open buckets.

Getting all the two-pointers in the world might not matter if Loyola keeps draining threes on the other end. Michigan just needs to stick with its shooting. Seeing the team go 4-for-22 from deep against Florida State was rough, but it happened on relatively open looks. Those should start dropping.

Even if the threes don’t fall in Michigan’s favor, it can still beat Loyola in a variety of ways, especially with defense, athleticism and bullying the Ramblers inside the arc.

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But a win combined with a particularly hot shooting performance could be just the bump this team needs if the Wolverines want to stand a chance against the winner of Kansas-Villanova.