Michigan Basketball: 5 Reasons Wolverines can make Final Four

Michigan coach Juwan Howard celebrates after clinching the Big Ten championship with a 69-50 win over Michigan State on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at the Crisler Center.Michigan MSU
Michigan coach Juwan Howard celebrates after clinching the Big Ten championship with a 69-50 win over Michigan State on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at the Crisler Center.Michigan MSU /
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Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Defense and rebounding

Despite the loss of Livers, who is a very solid defender on top of everything else, Michigan basketball is one of the better defensive teams in the tournament.

Franz Wagner should have been the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Dickinson is a huge presence inside, which can make hitting 3-point shots in the paint difficult.

Not only did U-M rank sixth according to KenPom in defensive efficiency, but the Wolverines also have the 15th-best field-goal percentage defense and are a top-20 defensive rebounding team.

Michigan generally doesn’t allow a ton of 3-point shots, so it has taken teams with really tremendous individual talent to beat the Wolverines.

Next. Bold predictions for U-M in March Madness. dark

The defense and rebounding ability, which shouldn’t take a huge hit without Livers should help the Wolverines advance to the Sweet 16 and give them more than a fighter’s chance of getting past the Elite 8 and into the Final Four.