Coaching Legacy of Allen Finch (CH2K8)

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Selection Sunday

#1 Seeds
East: NC State (29-5) (#1 overall Seed)
South: South Carolina (27-4)
Midwest: Cincinnati (28-7)
West: UConn (24-7)

Michigan Seeding

Michigan got the #2 seed in the West Regional after defeating Penn State in the Big Ten tournament final. Coach Finch was pleased with their placement and they will be facing #15 Cal Poly in the round of 64.

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Michigan overcomes slow start versus Cal Poly

#2 Michigan vs. #15 Cal Poly

Michigan entered the game as heavy favorites as most #2 seeds do but it looked like there could be some trouble very early on. Cal Poly stunned the wolverines by scoring the first 8 points of the game and was up 19-8 at one point. Now down by double digits Coach Finch called a timeout to get his team refocussed and they did just that. Michigan proceeded to go on a huge run and would enter half time with a 41-28 lead. Michigan continued their new found drive to win and kept Cal Poly at bay for the rest of the game. Michigan goes on to win 86-68.

Michigan was led by Tony Shropshire who had 15 points 7 assists and 5 steals. Morban was relatively quiet with 7 points and 3 assists but Goral led the team in scoring with 19 points. Kickert had 11 points 2 rebounds and 2 assists and Kouyate had 4 points and 6 rebounds. Reggie Opacic had 10 points and 2 assists off the bench and Ogunoye added 8 points and 3 assists off the bench.

Michigan 26-6 (12-6).

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Michigan tees up on Iowa yet again

#2 Michigan vs. #7 Iowa

Michigan has had their way with Iowa this season, consistently carving up their 3-2 zone. You would think that the Hawkeyes would have adjusted but they did not and Michigan let the threes fly once again. Michigan stunned Iowa and went into the half with a 49-36 lead. Iowa picked up their pace in the second half but didn't bother focussing on their defense as Michigan kept raining down threes. Michigan took down their conference rival for the fourth time this season 103-89. In the four games that these two teams played Michigan averaged just over 104 points per game.

Michigan was led by Goral who had his second 30 point game against Iowa with 32 points and 5 assists. Morban had 23 points and Shropshire had 12 points and 13 assists. Reece Kickert had 7 points and 4 assists and Kouyate had 4 points 3 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals. Reggie Opacic had 13 points and 3 assists off the bench and Wilbur Cage had 12 points and 2 assists off the bench.

Michigan 27-6 (12-6).

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NCAA Tourney Breakdown

East: In the east #1 seed NC State advanced to the Sweet Sixteen after defeating #9 Charlotte and #16 IPFW. Charlotte upset #9 Notre Dame in the first round. NC State will be facing #5 Memphis scraped by #4 UCLA 86-85, who beat #13 Belmont in the first round, in the second round after beating #12 Wichita State in the first round. On the other side of the east bracket #2 Louisville took down #7 Purdue and #15 Mount St. Mary's. They will be facing #3 St. Bonaventure defeated #11 San Francisco and #14 Montana.

West: In the west #1 UConn will be facing #4 Duke after beating #9 Hawaii and #16 Charl. Southern in the first round. Hawaii took down perennial contender #8 Georgia Tech. Duke beat #5 Villanova and #13 Florida Atlantic and Villanova beat #12 USC in the first round. #2 Michigan will be facing #3 Providence in the Sweet Sixteen. Michigan defeated #7 Iowa, who beat #10 Utep, and #15 Cal Poly in their quest for their second national title. Providence beat #6 Kansas in the second round and #14 Furman in the first round. Kansas took down #11 Houston in the first round

South: #1 South Carolina will face #4 Fresno State after beating #8 Old Dominion and #16 Miss. Valley State in the first round. Fresno State defeated #12 Kentucky in the second round after beating #13 Niagara. Kentucky defeated #5 Seton Hall in the first round. #2 Tennessee defeated #10 Mississippi State who upset #7 Pepperdine in the first round. Tennessee beat #15 Stephen F. Austin in the first round. They will face #11 Syracuse who upset #6 Marquette in the first round and #3 Toledo in the second round.

Midwest: #1 Cincinnati made it to the Sweet Sixteen after defeating #8 South Florida and #16 Coppin State. South Florida defeated #9 George Washington in the first round. Cincinnati will be facing #12 UNLV who upset #4 Stanford in the second round and #5 William & Mary in the first round. Stanford defeated #13 UW-Milwaukee in the first round. On the other side of the bracket #10 North Carolina made it to the Sweet Sixteen Along with #11 Arizona. Arizona upset #3 Florida State in the second round after upsetting #6 Southern Miss. North Carolina beat #2 Texas A&M in the second round and # 7 Fordham in the first round.

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Michigan advances to the Elite Eight

#2 Michigan vs. #3 Providence

Michigan entered the game against Providence with an unwavering confidence and that is what led to their strong performance against them. The first half went about as poorly as Providence could have expected if not worse as Michigan caught fire once again. Michigan dominated Providence and was able to head to the locker room with a 50-29 lead. Michigan picked right back up where they left off in the second half extending their lead to 29 at one point. Like many of the wolverines games their defense let up as the game winded down but the damage had already been done. Michigan goes on to win 95-79.

Michigan was led by Goral who had 21 points 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Shropshire notched another double-double with 10 points and 10 assists and Sami Morban had 16 points and 5 assists along with 2 blocks. Reece Kickert was rock solid with 17 points and 3 rebounds and Kouyate had 6 points 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Chris Ogunoye had 10 points off the bench.

Michigan 28-6 (12-6).

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Michigan wins battle against Duke

#2 Michigan vs. #4 Duke

Michigan came into the Elite Eight expecting Duke to challenge them and that is exactly what the Blue Devils did. The first half proved that both of these teams were pretty evenly matched as no team could take a discernible lead in the period. Duke was able to gain an edge as the half was winding down and went into the half with a 43-37 lead. Something clicked with the wolverines in the locker room and they came out the gate running. After a run to make the game very close Michigan kept up their pace to put up 50 points in the half. Michigan would go on to win 87-78.

Michigan was led by Goral who had 23 points and 5 assists. Morban had 18 points on 5-5 shooting from three and Kouyate had 5 points and 4 rebounds. Shropshire had 5 points and 10 assists and Reece Kickert had 12 points and 2 assists. Chris Ogunoye had 10 points off the bench and Ricks had 6 points and 3 rebounds off the bench. Reggie Opacic had a strong performance running the second unit with 3 points and 5 assists.

Michigan 29-6 (12-6).

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NCAA Tourney Breakdown

East: #1 NC State came out of the eastern region after taking down #5 Memphis in the Sweet Sixteen and #2 Louisville. Louisville defeated #3 St. Bonaventure in the Sweet Sixteen.

West: In the Elite Eight #2 Michigan won against #4 Duke who upset #1 UConn in the Sweet Sixteen. Michigan was able to beat #3 Providence in their Sweet Sixteen matchup

South: In the South #1 South Carolina was upset in the Sweet Sixteen by #4 Fresno State. Fresno State then went on to win by one point against #2 Tennessee in the Elite Eight. Before their loss Tennessee was able to end #11 Syracuse's cinderella story.

Midwest: #1 Cincinnati was able to make it to the Elite Eight but were defeated by #11 Arizona who will take another trip to the Final Four. Arizona defeated #10 UNC in the Sweet Sixteen while Cincinnati beat #12 UNLV in the Sweet Sixteen.

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Michigan reaches the title game yet again

#2 Michigan vs. #1 NC State

Coach Finch has just reached his third consecutive championship game after their showdown with prohibited favorite NC State. The wolverines were expecting a stiff challenge against the wolfpack as every game they played in the tournament to this point they outscored their opponent by an average of 46 points. Michigan was up to the task as they stunned NC State in the first half when they ran up the lead and were in a comfortable position with a 46-34 lead. In the second half the wolfpack made the game a little dicier as the game was narrowed to a 3 point game at one point. Michigan responded in the best way possible and blew NC State away as they went on to win 85-69.

Michigan was led by Sami Morban who had 26 points in another great showing. Shropshire had his smallest output of the season with 3 points and 3 assists while Goral had 9 points and 9 assists as the primary playmaker for the first unit. Kickert had 11 points and 7 rebounds while Kouyate filled up the stat sheet with 8 points 6 rebounds and 4 assists. The bench had a great performance with 4 of the 5 bench players scored 6-8 points each. Ogunoye had 8 points and Reggie Opacic had 6 points and 5 assists off the bench. Ricks was able to have 6 points and 3 rebounds and Wilbur Cage had 8 points and 3 assists off the bench.

Michigan 30-6 (12-6).