Tonight is the night. Michigan will play UConn for the national championship in an effort to end a 37-year drought.
That drought has featured four national title game losses. The Fab Five lost twice. So did John Beilein, the greatest Michigan basketball coach of all time.
Sports don't care about your storylines. UConn has an impressive one, too, as it tries to win three titles in four seasons, something that hasn't happened in a long time.
Dan Hurley is winning NCAA Tournament games at a level not seen since John Wooden. As I wrote Saturday, this will be the Wolverines' greatest challenge. Michigan is the favorite, but here are four factors that will determine the national championship game.
3-point shooting
Michigan basketball has made at least 10 3-point shots in all five NCAA Tournament games this season. All year long, the Wolverines have unbeatable when they hit 3s.
They are undefeated when they shoot 33 percent or better from beyond the arc. That will remain true tonight. UConn has a great defense. They won't give up as many open looks as Michigan has been getting, but as long as Michigan shoots 33 percent and makes around 10 treys, it will win.
Offensive rebounding
UConn is a good offensive rebounding team. The Huskies average more than 12 per game. They also rebounded better than 33 percent of their misses in three of five NCAA Tournament games. They didn't against Michigan State or Illinois, though.
It was 24 percent against Illinois and 17 percent against Michigan State. The Wolverines should have the edge. They haven't always been elite on the offensive glass, but are consistently good. Aday Mara, Morez Johnson, and hopefully, Yaxel Lendeborg can give U-M the edge on the glass.
It's not easy to create offensive advantages against UConn. Offensive rebounding is one way Michigan can and needs to do it.
Transition points
The more this game is played in transition, the better for Michigan. The Wolverines will want to push the pace. Honestly, the goal should be to score 90 points, and to play with a tempo that can achieve it, because if Michigan is able to play fast, it's hard to see UConn keeping up.
Arizona was a juggernaut. Their transition defense was as good as it gets. UConn is great there, too, and that's one area where the Huskies have to win in order to have a chance.
If Michigan is effective in transition, it will cut down the nets.
Elliot Cadeau needs to be great again
Despite the shooting percentage, which wasn't as bad as it looked, because some of Cadeau's misses were actually passes off the glass to Aday Mara, the Michigan point guard was great against Arizona.
The Final Four showed why Dusty May brought Cadeau to Michigan. He had 13 points and 10 assists. His on-ball defense was incredible, too. He needs to bring that energy again, while also being a ball-screen maestro.
UConn's hedging will make it a different challenge than Arizona's drop coverage. Cadeau needs to find Mara and his shooters. They need to convert, but if he's the best guard on the floor, the Wolverines will overcome the program of the decade to win it all.