When Michigan basketball and Arizona meet in the Final Four on Saturday night, it will be one of the most-anticipated matchups in college basketball history.
Both teams are ranked in the top five of all-time in terms of the KenPom ratings. So literally, we have never seen a matchup quite like this.
Michigan is a slight favorite, but in order to advance to Monday night, here are three things that the Wolverines need to avoid against Arizona.
Foul trouble
Arizona draws 19.9 fouls per game, which is 18th-best in college basketball. The Wildcats are also the third-best team at getting to the free-throw line (26.8 attempts per game).
Michigan's frontcourt has been dominant. Some have called it the best ever in college basketball, but foul trouble has been an issue for Aday Mara. He got two early fouls against Tennessee. It didn't hurt the Wolverines against the Vol. It will if it happens against Arizona.
Mara especially has to avoid foul trouble. The defense isn't the same without him. Michigan also needs to avoid putting the Wildcats on the free-throw line too much. If Arizona gets anywhere close to its average on free throw attempts, that will be a bad sign for U-M.
Don't allow a ton of offensive rebounds
Arizona isn't a great shooting team. They don't attempt a ton of 3-pointers and only have two players on the roster who average more than one 3-point field goal per game. Only three players who attempt at least one 3-point attempt per game are shooting above 35 percent.
So the Wildcats' offensive efficiency is explained with dominating the paint, getting to the line, and crashing the offensive glass. Much like Tennessee, keeping Arizona's offensive rebounding rate in the mid 30ds will be essential.
If it's in the 40s or 50s, which Arizona has done, averaging 12.3 offensive boards per game, it could be tough to overcome.
A cold shooting night
In all three losses this season, Michigan has shot 32 percent or worse from 3-point range. The Wolverines were under 30 percent in two of those three losses.
The Wolverines won't get as many good looks as they have been getting. Arizona won't need to double like other opponents, at least theoretically.
So expect more contested 3-point shots for Michigan, and as long as the Wolverines can shoot in the mid-30s, they should have a great shot to advance.
If that number is under 30, it might take the best defensive effort of the season to advance.