Stress-free stretch of games
With “the game” on Saturday the default anxiety setting is high. Add to that OSU’s dominance (albeit against middling-at-best B1G opponents), injuries galore, and a sense that the pendulum will soon swing back. Nervous fans needed three nights of worry-free games. And boy, were they worry-free! Dusty’s charges played in such a way that watchers could happily doom-scroll social media instead of distracting themselves with puppy videos and endless solitaire games.
Alpha dogs
There was no doubt who the best team was in Las Vegas. The margins of victory document dominance, but it’s the videos of the team’s aggression and comprehensive supremacy all over the floor. The stats won’t unequivocally show the grip Michigan basketball had on the games because they were so far ahead that the final minutes allowed the opponents to rack up rebounds and sundry stats. It was Michigan basketball who walked firmly into a roil of dogs snapping and baring their teeth and immediately quieted the scene, with the troublemaker rolling over onto its back.
Each player has an identity
Yax is the stat stuffer. Mara is the inflatable tube man flailing his arms in front of the basket, deterring would-be rim attackers. In the paint, Morez is the immovable object on “D” and unstoppable force on “O”. Cadeau breaks back court pressure and drops dimes. Nimari is both a dead-eye shooter and a calming presence. Roddy is also a calming presence, but it's with his efficiency and ability to get to the rim whenever he wants. LJ is quicksilver with the ball in his hands and menace as an on-ball defender. Trey is simply smooth. And Tschetter knows where to be and what to do.
Excellence
Want proof of excellence? How about a diamond-encrusted basketball and a million dollars? How about effusive praise from studio shows? Or articles that are forced to reference statistics decades old. Surely this quote from Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who has coached over 900 games: “I mean, come on. Literally every aspect of the game I could talk about was lacking. We just got absolutely throttled. So, I’ve never been involved with anything like that.”
How much fun they’re having
When Kiwi Oscar Goodman posterized some poor Gonzaga bloke, the Michigan bench crumbled into a frenzied heap of joy. The tangle of limbs and arms wasn’t just benchwarmers putting on a show for the cameras; it was the whole team rejoicing over a teammate’s excellence. The Michigan team’s joy and happiness were evident in their half-time huddle before they went into the locker room and while their teammates were giving post-game interviews. A Michigan basketball fan on the same flight back to Detroit as the team thanked Coach May for the great week. He had a big smile and said, “We had fun too.”